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He huffs. “For what it’s worth, I’m am a bit sorry for what’s going to happen to you. This isn’t your fault, but your father has to suffer for what he did. I’m not going to lie to you, today is going to be the worst day of your life. First, you’ll marry me, then I’ll use you in ways that will make you wish you were dead. But you won’t die. You’ll survive, and then, I’ll do it again and again until you are a fragment of the daughter you once were.” He stops, breathing with his eyes closed for a moment, then finishes as frost forms around my heart. “You’ll go back to him and you’ll tell him how much you hate him for what he’s done to you. You’ll curse him and tell him the horror of your life. You’ll blame him for your pain. You’ll hurt him far worse than I ever could. Do you know what happens in prison, Anna?” He pauses, on a couch and a sniff. “Of course you don’t. But, you will after tonight. Your father will feel pain like I did only it’s worse because it’s happening to you. Every time you’ll come back to me with his blessing. Because if you don’t he knows what will happen.”
His words are so plain, so devoid of emotion but I’m not scared. What he does to me, I don’t care but I want to know more. I want to climb into this monster’s head and pull out anything that might help me later. “Why?” I ask, hoping the open-ended question will draw out something I can use.
“Because that’s how I felt, Anna. That’s why. Because every day in prison, I knew I was innocent, just like you. And every day, I suffered. I suffered in ways right now you can only imagine, but soon you’ll know them only too well. I came out of prison different. Harder. Without emotion but patient. I waited. Ten years I built up my empire. Grew my fortune. Waited for this moment. This marriage will end. Your sentence is the same length as mine. Five years. Unless, of course, after our time together, you want to stay…”
Quietly, I turn away, watching the trees and houses steak by and he doesn’t try to speak to me for the rest of the ride.
And I feel nothing. No fear. No sadness.
Because my body still bears the marks of the man I love. Cyrus was first, and he’ll always be first. Alex can do what he likes, whatever he thinks I have to take for my father’s sake, and I’ll endure it all knowing that he can’t ever take from me what I willingly already gave.
To someone else.
Chapter Eight
Cyrus
Sometimes you have to pack a lifetime into one night. I’m sorry.
I read the note again. Twelve words.
Twelve words that are cutting my heart out.
Fuck.
No.
I don’t accept that.
I can’t.
The paper crumples in my fist as I growl under my breath. I won’t allow her to walk out of my life. I don’t know what the fuck is going on with her, but I don’t believe for one second that she did this on her own. Someone is pulling her strings. Her dad, maybe. This fiancé, whoever he is. I don’t know, but I’m going to find out, and I’m going to stop whatever is happening.
I thought it was a miracle when I woke up from a dead sleep. The demons from my dreams were gone. She’d slayed my inner dragons, then I realized she was gone, and they roared back into the daylight and I’m not sure they will ever be put away again. Not without her.
I pull out my phone as I flatten out the paper again. I might not like what’s written there, but it was still written by her. And that makes it precious to me.
“Hello?” Tor sounds groggy as he answers the phone.
“I need your help, bro. I need any help you can give me. Call Chance too. I need you all right now. Something shitty is going down and I need to fix it.”
There’s a pause, and I hear Natalie in the background. I’m sorry to do this to them, but I need back up because I don’t know what’s what but I know I’m bringing her with me when I find her, even if it takes an army.
“Hold on, brother.” A second later, Tor’s back on the line. “Tell me what you need.”
“You’ve got PIs on call, right? Good ones, if I know you.”
“Sure. The best. They find shithead husbands trying to hide out. I find mistresses and people with no names. Yeah, whatever you need, what’s going on?”
“Just call them. Tell them to be ready. I need to find someone.”
“Who?”
“The distraction.” I pull my hand down my beard as I think about how monumental a task this is, and how little time we might have to do something about it.
“No shit. That was fast. She’s already on the run from you?” I hear the humor in his voice but there’s not time for fucking jokes right now.
“I’m going to tell you a few things, and I need you to listen, not talk. Her name is Anna Farkas. She’s the daughter of Niko Farkas and she’s engaged or promised or some fucking thing. I don’t know who she’s engaged to. I’m going to head to their house now, but I need to know who this fiancé piece of shit is. She doesn’t want to marry him, some sort of arranged thing but there’s more to it. I don’t know the fucking details but I have to fucking find her, man.”
