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He pauses, then looks my way over the top of her head. “All of us.”
9
REN
Iknew better than to think there was any kind of, like, feeling behind Xander getting me out of there. He stormed New Haven to save his daughter. I happened to be there, was all. I’m sure he did it more for my parents and for Luna.
The second we clear the front gate along with the rest of the team Xander brought along, I’m escorted into an SUV while Scarlet is ushered into another. Nobody says a word. It’s just understood that I’m not going to ride with them. The most I get out of Q is a dirty look before he climbs into the vehicle with his family.
There’s plenty of time to think as we make the long ride back to where I have no idea what’s waiting for me. I feel like I should prepare myself for all possibilities, since the last thing I want is to get caught unaware by somebody as dangerous and well-connected as Xander Rossi. My head’s still aching enough to be a distraction, but I can’t let it get in the way.
They don’t trust me. That much I know without anybody throwing it in my face. I mean, the armed men sitting on either side of me in the backseat tell a clear story without a word needing to be spoken. I’m sure Scarlet told her family all thesame shit she told me, all that bullshit about River, about me being sick. Why does she have to use that word so much?
They don’t trust me, so they will probably keep me locked up somewhere. Either that, or they’ll drag me straight to Xander’s office and interrogate me for as long as they feel like it. About what? For starters, about all the shit that happened back at Corium. It feels like a lifetime ago.
They won’t understand, no matter what I tell them. There’s no way. They weren’t there. They only think they understand the hell River and I and so many others went through.
What if they want to know where River is? Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell them. I won’t desert my brother the way he deserted me. That’s not how I operate.
Once we’re back at the compound, I’m dragged from the SUV in silence. There’s no time to appreciate being back in a familiar place before I’m forced to get moving across the wide lawn. “I can walk on my own,” I mutter, not that it matters. They have their orders, and they know better than to slip up.
With both of my arms held in a vise grip, I’m led around to the east wing of the main house while Xander and his kids walk up the front stairs. Scarlet manages to crane her neck and look my way only once, and only for a second, before Xander says something to distract her from me. What is she thinking? How is she feeling? She looked worried, that much is for sure. For herself or for me?
There’s a door set in the house’s foundation, half covered by ivy. The hinges squeal when one of the guards opens it, and when I peer inside, I see there’s nothing beyond it but a set of stairs leading down into inky darkness. There isn’t enough room for the three of us to walk side-by-side so one guard stands in front of me and the other behind me, giving me no choice but to descend and face my fate.
The cell they shove me into is small and cold. The kind of cold that seeps into a person’s muscles and bones. I’ve gone from one cell to another. Lucky me.
“Can I get something to drink?” My question goes unanswered. The men walk away on heavy feet, leaving me alone down here with nothing but silence as company. Well, I’m used to being alone.
Iron bars separate me from freedom, though my captivity could be worse. Compared to New Haven, this is a four-star hotel. A sink, a toilet, a cot. Not everybody has a small prison in their basement, complete with plumbing.
I drop to the cot, which is only about a hundred times more comfortable than that shitty excuse for a mattress at New Haven. I might be a prisoner, but I’m afforded a little bit of dignity.
What’s the endgame here? Now that I’m locked up, there’s the question of what comes next. Why keep me prisoner? What do I need to do to get out? Do they ever plan on letting me out?
New footsteps, and this time they aren’t so heavy and plodding. I sit up and face the bars with my hands gripping the mattress. The footsteps get closer. Two pairs.
It’s one thing to know Q hates me for everything I’ve done. I can handle that—I knew this was how it would end up. I followed River’s orders because it was more important to get revenge on the man who let Rebecca live than it was to honor my history with the Rossi family. She should’ve died so all the evil could die with her, but Xander let her slip through his fingers. That much, River and I always agreed on.
It’s the way Q is looking at me that’s tough to swallow. I don’t expect his forgiveness, and I won’t ask for it unless I know I’ll get it. I’m not going to throw myself at his feet and beg.
Xander clears his throat, standing with his hands folded in front of him. “Thanks to you, we were able to get Scarlet out of there.”
“Thanks to you, she was there in the first place,” Quinton growls. As if I’m the one who abducted her. Like I touched the whip to her back.
The thought of her back makes me ask, “How is she? I wasn’t really able to get a good look at what they did.”
That’s all it takes for Xander’s face to darken while his eyes go hard. “She’ll get over the physical pain.” I know what he’s trying to say without putting it into words. She won’t get over the emotional part of it so easily. Or at least that’s what he thinks. I know she is much tougher than he believes.
“Somebody kicked the shit out of you,” Q observes, smirking as he looks me up and down. He sounds pretty happy about it.
“Yeah. That came after I called you.” I touch a hand to my left cheek, where it stings, thanks to a punch somebody gave me back there. Now that I am in full light, the dried blood on my knuckles is an ugly reminder of what happened tonight.
He growls. “It wasn’t as much as you deserve.”
“Enough,” Xander mutters out of the corner of his mouth. “There are other visitors here to see you. I’ll give you a minute to wash up there at the sink. I don’t want your mother or sister seeing you this way.”
Mom. Luna. Shit. As glad as I am to see them, I know what they must be thinking. Obviously, they were already here. They couldn’t have shown up this soon after my arrival otherwise. What has Xander told them? How much do they believe?
