Page 116 of Hellbound

Why did the question make every muscle in her body clench?

“Stellan was the target. Not Daniel. Because—”

“Because, unlike your stepfather, you wanted to kill Stellan,” Vale said evenly.

“No.” Marian set her mug down hard and dragged a clammy palm down her cheek. Killing Stellan unraveled her. Had he not threatened Tori, Marian was certain she’d never have lifted her blade. “I can’t do this again. I’m going to fuck it up. I fuck everything up.”

Vale exhaled slowly. “This facade of yours is getting old, my leiah.”

Marian’s hands curled into fists on the counter. “What the fuck did you just call me?”

“The crass idiot you pretend to be—a poor impression, by the way. I know you’re well-educated. I read your bylines in the Times.”

Marian balked. “How do you keep …”

“Those are all details anyone with access to a search engine could find. But I’m eager to know what happened to the investigative journalist Marian Meyer, who must have had a normal life and some shred of self-confidence once. Where did she go?”

Outrage slowly materialized. “She died and went to Hell.”

Vale strode toward the kitchen island and braced his hands on the edge.

“Except your professional existence vanished well before you ever set foot in my office. It was the lawsuit, wasn’t it?”

His words struck like a kick in the teeth. “Once upon a time, I thought you actually respected my privacy.” Marian seethed. “Let me guess; you hired a private investigator? Hacked my shit? Is that how you found all this out? How long have you known?”

“Civil cases are public record. You of all people should know that.”

“Careful you don’t pull a muscle dodging all my questions.”

He moved, then—an imposing, glowering shadow that had her conceding more ground than her pride would have liked. But pride wasn’t home just then. It vanished when he looked at her like he’d just cornered a mouse. The lion advanced slowly.

“You never asked for more money than I offered you for any dive. I could have made your problems, your stepfather, all of it, disappear, but you kept me at arm’s length and chose to live in squalor instead. Now I see why. You gave up.”

“You don’t see shit,” Marian snapped.

“Spare me the fight tonight.”

“You think I owe you compliance because I ruined your plans? Because you’re angry with me?”

“It’s not you I’m angry with.” Something odd flickered in his gaze just before it turned flinty. “And this isn’t a transaction.”

Marian jeered back despite the warning in his eyes. “Bummer; I like you better when we’re making deals.”

Cold metal materialized around her neck. Marian let out an exasperated groan. “For fuck’s sake, Vale.”

His hand curled in the air, and the leash drew taut. He pulled her closer. “Daniel was one man. One cretinous, vile little man who didn’t deserve your mercy. Not after what he did to you.”

Vale’s vitriol was so sudden and confusing that it left her spinning. Such ire over a lawsuit. Vale didn’t even know the half of what Daniel had done to her.

When Marian didn’t reply, he tugged on the immaterial tether binding her to him. “So then why do you do it? Why do you insist on making your life hell?”

Harder, he pulled on her collar, until Marian finally snapped.

“Because I killed my mother! And I don’t miss her at all!” She shoved her mug away so fiercely, it shattered in the sink. “This is what I deserve.”

Her heart raced as she pushed away from the counter. Vale’s power vanished from around her neck as everything she’d held at bay tonight—every guilty thought and ugly memory—burst. She paced the length of the island.

“Daniel was right, people like me don’t belong in the normal world. I killed someone. I said I’d never kill anything ever again, but that’s all you want from me. There’s no life for me after this is done, either. I don’t know how to … I can’t … I don’t remember how to be normal. I’m too fucking broken.”