Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
When I push the button leading to the dorm level rather than the floor where my apartment sits, she speaks for the first time since the plane. “Where are we going?”
“The dorms, of course. Where did you think?”
She stares at that lit button like it holds the answers for a moment. Her bottom lip disappearing under her teeth. “I didn’t think…”
“What? You didn’t think I’d let you stay in your own room? It’s about time you did.” We step off the elevator with me in the lead. She waits a beat as if afraid of running into anyone on this level. I can’t blame her. But it isn’t as if I would let anyone harm her in my presence. I doubt that would offer her much comfort at the moment, though.
“Come on. Your room is up here.” Roughly halfway down the hall, I use my master key to unlock the door before swinging it open and stepping inside. “You should be more than comfortable here. It’ll be an upgrade from having to share a space with me.”
I keep my tone clipped, professional while I examine the space. It’s typical of every other room—nothing more, nothing less. The notion of giving her bleak, shitty accommodations did occur to me, but I’m not a complete bastard. Besides, I allowed Aspen’s mistreatment when she first came here, and I only ended up regretting it. Some lessons I manage to learn.
Still, there is a great deal of difference between making sure she has the basics and making things too easy for her. So while the room is clean and furnished, it’s a step down from what she’s accustomed to after staying in my apartment.
One glance at her tells me that’s not what she’s concerned with. “I didn’t know I would be here alone. You didn’t tell me I wouldn’t be staying with you anymore.” Her expression is one of horror.
“What? Did you think we’d play house? My brother wasn’t kidding when he said everyone knows what happened with Brookshire. What did you think it would mean for me—and you—if word got around that I was giving you special treatment?” I continue when it looks like she’s going to protest, “No, this is the end of us, in every way. We’re never going back to the way things were. Understood?”
“So I don’t get any protection at all? You know they’re going to try to kill me. Even though it wasn’t my fault.”
I make a big deal of rolling my eyes so she knows just how tiresome this is. “Once again, this is the safest place for you. No one can touch you here.”
“No. No one can kill me here—and your brother already said it. They still got to Nash.”
The sound of my daughter’s name coming from her mouth makes me see red. Before I know it, she’s up against the door with my hand around her throat. I lean in close, snarling. “Don’t you say her name. Understood? You don’t speak of her, you don’t see her, as far as you are concerned, she doesn’t exist. Nod, so I know you understand.”
Her face is deep red, and oh, there’s so much hatred in her eyes to go with the rapid fluttering of her pulse under my fingers. Good. Let her hate me. Hate is easy, clean, and uncomplicated.
She jerks her chin in response, lifting her lip in a sneer.
And I smile. “Good. See? It isn’t so hard getting through to you.”
“You bastard.”
My smile widens. “When you’re right, you’re right.” I let go of her, and she slumps against the door, but that doesn’t last long once I’ve opened it again. It’s better this way. I have to believe it’s better this way.
Without glancing at her over my shoulder, I say, “You’re on your own.” And once I’ve closed the door, she’s no longer my problem.
14
DELILAH
So this is it. This is the room I’m going to die in. It’s going to be my tomb. I won’t even get to see the sun again, thanks to these stupid, windowless walls.
Because what’s the alternative? Dying somewhere else? Either way, the result is the same. I won’t be breathing air anymore. I might as well do it on my own terms, alone, with as little pain as possible. I’ll slowly starve since I doubt anybody would go out of their way to make sure I get food.
Of course, I know there’s no chance of leaving this life peacefully. I’m infamous. And I’m sure Lucas will find out if I don’t show up for class after a few days or if I’m never seen in the cafeteria. He might not want anything to do with me, but I have no doubt he would drag me from this room and force me to face my fate.
He would probably get off on it. It wouldn’t surprise me if he jerked off while watching my fellow students stone me to death or something barbaric like that. He’d finally have his revenge for his precious daughter, and nobody would ever have to know about our dirty little secret.