AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“In light of everything I’ve told you, she knows nothing, and as for the boy, I believe you owe her the chance to explain.”
Perhaps. I stroke my fingers down her legs as she groans awake, and I sit beside her on the bed, waiting for her to open her eyes as I dismiss Percival. I’ll deal with him and the rest of them later.
For now, I want to see what is salvageable of me and my darling girl. Eve.
The first woman to catch my eye, to weaken my resolve, to survive me. And when all is said and done, I hope that I’ll survive her too.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
EVE
“You drugged me,” I whisper coarsely. My mouth is so dry that my throat and sinuses hurt. The grogginess isn’t letting up fast enough so that I can force my way out of here.
“I had no choice,” Henry replies, holding out a bottle of water to me. “It’s sealed.”
Shaking the water bottle in front of me, he makes a show of opening it slow enough that I can hear the seal break before I snatch it from him and gulp it down greedily.
“Slowly, Eve, or you’ll vomit,” he tells me, pulling the bottle from my grip when I don’t listen. “I don’t want you to be sick.”
A crackling laugh bursts from me, earning me a frown when I say, “Sick is the least of your concerns right now. You drugged me and…and…” I pause as a lightbulb goes off in my head. “Were you going to kill me? Are you going to kill me?”
Henry doesn’t reply for a long moment. Instead, he stares down at his lap in thought. He appears crestfallen and confused, but the clench of his jaw also betrays the anger he’s trying to hide.
“At least you’re not lying about it,” I spit, lifting the heavy covers off me with effort before I stumble off the bed. My legs are jelly as I try to stand, and the strength in my arms gives the more I try to push myself up. “What have you done to me?”
A grave expression falls over his face as he stands and rounds the bed to where I’m sprawled on the floor.
“I’m sorry,” he tells me. “The sedative will take a while to wear off completely. You should rest, and then we can talk.”
“Talk.”
“Yes.” Crouching in front of me, Henry scoops me up into his arms and sits on the bed with me in his lap.
“Talk. Talk? Don’t you think it’s too late for that?” I try to push myself away from him, but his hold tightens, and my strength is all gone. “You were going to kill me.”
“You threatened me, and you let the Chapman boy touch you. You let another touch what’s mine.” An arm cradles me tightly to his chest as he reaches for his phone on the bedside table. “I’ve looked at these photos and tried to understand why. I thought we—I…”
“Alfie is my friend, and his mum is my neighbour. It’s not what you thought, but maybe you wouldn’t have gone down that rabbit hole if you hadn’t killed his aunts.” I jostle myself lightly so that I can see his face properly in the light.
Henry’s still the most beautiful man I’ve ever known. Even after he’s as good as admitted he was going to kill me, and knowing what I know he’s capable of, butterflies flutter in my belly when his stare narrows on my lips with want. My heart still stutters when he drops his phone on the bed and his fingers stroke my face.
Even through my hatred of what he’s done and what he’s capable of doing, I still love him. The voice in my head still whispers that he would never hurt me. I’m lying to myself and losing all my morals because of him.
“There was no need for him to touch you like that. It wasn’t going to bring his aunts back.”
My cackle rips through my sore throat. “Maybe it’s not about what I did or didn’t do,” I mutter in between coughs. “It’s about the fact that your actions are eating at you.”
“I don’t regret my actions, Eve,” he tells me matter-of-factly, and the stoic expression on his face backs up his words.
I don’t know if I’m angry at him for being so cold or at myself for instantly trying to justify his indifference with knowledge of what I read about his victims and Alfie’s family.
“Of course you don’t.” I press my hands to his chest, hoping that he’ll release me this time.
“You can fight me as much as you like, but I’m not letting you go.” Henry adjusts his grip on me, threading a hand into my hair while the other claws into my waist.
“I want to go home, Henry.”
“I’m not letting you leave me.” His forehead lowers to the top of my head so that his lips are at my ear. “I’m your home.”
