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He’ll have a nasty shock this afternoon when the balance is set to zero.
“Because I gave it to Victor.”
“You what?”
Victor snorted and slapped his thigh, having a great ole time.
“You gave my fucking money to a motherfucking trafficker? Es-tu fou putain!?” (Are you fucking insane?!) Q roared, his voice echoing in every corner of the office.
“For the first time in my life, I’m clearheaded, actually.” I buffed my nails on my jeans. “And if you’re close to having an aneurysm from that part of the tale, allow me to tell you the rest.” Keeping my eyes off Ily and Victor, I murmured, “I fucked her. I claimed her. I bound her to a cross and drew her blood. And you know what? It was the best night of my life. All that fucking loneliness…all that struggle…it’s gone. I’ve found where I belong, and it’s right here. With a slave all of my own. A jewel to keep for as long as it pleases me.”
“You’re still there?” Q asked, deceptively soft. “With Grand. Right now?”
“He is indeed.” Victor stood from his chair and sauntered over. “Hello, my old nemesis. I suppose congratulations is in order for your son. I didn’t know you’d multiplied. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to—”
“Fuck you,” Q spat. “You think you’re safe? That I’ll never find you? Think again. I will find you, Grand. And when I do—”
“You’ll have to kill your own kin to get to me.” Victor laughed. “Think you can do that?”
“He’s fucking dead already,” Q hissed. “I should’ve done it the night he tripped over my doorstep. No matter, I have a rosebush patiently waiting to feed on his rotten heart.”
I didn’t flinch.
Didn’t care.
As far as I was concerned, this conversation had done all it needed to.
Q had made it abundantly clear we were family, and now I never wanted to speak to the bastard ever again.
“Any last words, Vic?” I raised my eyes.
Victor leaned over the desk, deliberating.
Neither of us saw Ily bolt from her spot on the couch and fly across the room.
“Help! Please help! My name is Ilyana Sharma. My father is a cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. Please tell Krish I’m—”
Victor backhanded her.
She switched from flying toward the phone to flying backward.
She landed flat on her back, gasping for air, winded and wide-eyed.
The golden carpet cradled her as she squirmed and choked, her hands clawing at the thick strands.
I shot to my feet and dashed to her side, completely forgetting Q until he seethed, “I’m coming for you, Ilyana. I vow I’ll find you, and I’ll fucking kill my brother for what he’s done to you.”
The line went dead.
I tossed the phone away.
With slightly trembling hands, I gathered Ily into my arms and stood with a grunt.
She still struggled for breath; I spoke over her bird-like gasps. “I’ll transfer the rest of his money to you in the morning. I don’t want a single penny of what’s his. But…a million of that is hers. I promised it to her the night we met, and I intend to pay my debts, especially seeing as I’ll be claiming every shred of her soul.”
Victor slowly picked up the phone from the floor and tapped it against his thigh. “You’re honourable. I like that in a friend. Consider your request granted.”
“Good.”
“That…” He raised an eyebrow. “That was an interesting conversation.”
“Are you satisfied?” I cocked my head, hoisting Ily a little higher in my arms. “Satisfied I have nowhere else to go and nowhere else I’d rather be?”
For the longest moment, he studied me, studied Ily in my arms, then the strangest, softest affection appeared in his navy stare. “You know, Henri…I’m also well acquainted with loneliness. It’s a curse, you see. A curse for those who recognise the world for what it truly is.”
I scowled. “How do others see the world?”
“They see it as their God-given right to find a mate, have a litter of children, shackle themselves with a house, a mortgage, a pet, and a lifelong tax bill. For those who don’t want that or don’t fit into that pre-programmed mould, we’re forever on the outskirts…alone.”
Ily gagged and then sucked in her first proper breath.
I rocked her without thinking, tenderness as fierce as my lust. “So that’s why you made your own world? On this island?”
“Exactly.” Coming toward us, Victor pressed a doting kiss on Ily’s cheek before cupping mine. “I like you, Henri. Despite our rocky beginning, I do believe you’re finally seeing the light. And for the first time in decades, I see myself in another. All my other guests? They’re a temporary fix to the loneliness that can still haunt…even in this paradise. You remind me of myself when I was your age. You remind me that I don’t have children to leave my utopia to. You remind me that there is more to life than fun and fucking.”
