“What the fuck? Where the hell am I?” she demands, tugging at her restraints.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Rowan chides. “You don’t ask questions- only answer them.”
Vivian’s head swivels, taking in each of us before landing on Sebastian. Her face crumples in a momentary defeat. “Bash,” she pleads, but he doesn’t respond. Her nostrils flare. “Why would you let them do this to us?”
Karl laughs, stepping into her field of vision and blocking her view of Sebastian. “There is no you and him- there hasn’t been in a very long time, Vivian. You saw to that, or don’t you remember?”
“I had to,” she screams. “I had. If I didn’t…” she stops, not finishing her sentences.
“If you didn’t, what?” Sebastian snaps, stepping around Karl. “You keep saying that and never explain why- tell us why!”
Vivian’s shoulders slump. ” I can’t tell you,” she sighs.
“Can’t or won’t?” I challenge seeing the play long before her eyes lift.
She glares at me. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she seethes before smirking. “You and this town are full of men who think they run everything. You know nothing.”
“And you do?” Liam goads. “You, who was so easily swayed that you gave up the supposed love of your life and, like a coward, did whatever you were told. You think you’re in charge?”
Vivian screams and tries to launch herself at Liam, but she’s securely strapped to the chair. “I did whatever the fuck I had to in order to survive. I fucked whoever I was required to in order to win, and I killed whoever the fuck I had to, to get you back,” she shrieks, facing Sebastian.
I look at the guys and know we’re all thinking it.
Bethany, Trisha, Summer, and Meagan. All four girls- dead because of some twisted obsession.
“You had me, Vivian.
You fucked that up with all your lies and scheming,” he reminds her.
She shakes her head. “No! No- I did this all for you- for us. We can be together soon, Bash. I just need to do one more thing, and you’re mine. All mine. She promised me.” Vivian mutters the last sentence repeatedly, more to herself than anyone in the room.
“Who’s she, Vivi?” Sebastian coaxes. “Tell me who she is, and we can work this out.”
Hope lights her eyes, but I see the moment she remembers herself. “No. I can’t tell you. If I tell you, then I can’t have you.”
I try a different tactic. “Who is the last person you have to get to? Tell us, and we’ll help you so you and Bash can be together.”
“The Bradford cunts. All of them, starting with the twin boys. They’re going to be next. They have to be next,” she mumbles to herself again.
She’s losing it.
“This bitch is wrapped tight, and that’s saying a lot coming from me,” Karl states, and I nod in agreement.
“What the fuck?”
All our heads snap in the direction of the voice at the door.
EMMA
Shocked gazes meet mine.
“Fuck, you’re early, Angel,” Karl says.
I ignore him, walking to the bitch that said she would kill my siblings. Starting with my brothers.
“Repeat what you just said,” I snarl, grabbing a fist of her hair. She’s still mottled with bruises. She needs more, in my opinion.
Manic eyes bore into mine. “You heard me, you trash whore. I’m going to start with their eye-.”
I punch Vivian in the mouth. Then I strike her in the eye, and she screams.
Fuck her cries.
Arms attempt to grab me, but I throw my elbow back. I hear a grunt of protest but ignore it.
“Twisted fucking bitch,” I shout, stepping back and kicking her in the chest.
Hands wrap around my waist, and I fight to break free, but I’m squeezed tighter. “She deserves this and more, Dove, but we need answers,” Liam’s voice soothes.
I know he’s right, but it doesn’t stop the rage roiling in my stomach. Inhaling, I take in my surroundings. When Karl called and told me Thomas would bring me to meet them, this wasn’t what I expected to find.
We’re in a barn. There’s a table to the left filled with all types of tools. I remember seeing weapons like these in the storage room at the building my Dad used to train me. My eyes land on a baton. It’s one I recognize. It doubles as a taser.
“Okay,” I raise my hands in surrender.
“If I put you down, will you behave?” Liam probes.
I side-eye him. “I promise to try.”
The second my feet hit the floor, I take a step in the direction of the table. August sees me and smirks, shaking his head, but doesn’t signal for me to stop. Instead, he winks and dips his chin, encouraging me to take another step. “How would getting rid of the Bradfords help?” August inquires, bringing everyone’s focus back to a very bloody Vivian at the center of the room.
She sneers, her once-white teeth stained red. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. Those were my orders if I wanted to have my Sebastian. This cunt and her family were just a means to an end.”
I snatch the baton off the table and click the charge, standing away from the table when Rowan’s gaze lands on me. His eyes narrow, and I shrug, careful not to touch the wand to my leg.
“At least they were until you touched Bastian,” Vivian snarls. “Now, I’m going to enjoy making this bitch suffer.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.