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“Wait, like home as in home home?” Taylan asks. I peer out the window as I answer.
“Yeah, I’m done fucking around. We get her, head home and move in on Gio. I’m tired of waiting for Christiano to lead us to his brother. We storm through his borders and take out any son of a bitch that is loyal to the Dario family.”
“Are you going to give his men a chance to surrender and join us?” Xander says.
“Why the fuck would I do that?” I snarl.
“Because you are the rightful heir to the Da Luca family, they may not know who you are because you’re under your mother’s last name but if you tell them who you really are, I think a lot of Gio’s men will jump ship and follow the true heir to Canada.” I mull over Xander’s words. I know they hold merit but if I come out of the shadows and admit to the world who I truly am, that means I would never be Knox Bronson again.
Stepping out of the car, I look around and take in the crowds of people strolling through the park, like it’s just another ordinary day in their lives. I see them smile and take photos. I spot a family wrangling their three kids to try to capture the moment in a picture but the children refuse to stand still and just want to go off and play. I bet that family has thousands of photos, unlike mine. I never met my father until the night I killed him. My mother never had any photos or wanted to share any details about him with us, she claimed we were safer not having anything to do with him.
“Let’s go,” I bark as I make my way into the circus that is Central Park. Xander and Taylan flank me as we scour the area for one little girl who has started a fucking war. If Percy hadn’t promised her to Gio I would have stayed out of her life like I said I would. Agreeing to that deal with River was the only thing that kept her safe from me. I guess it turns out even with me staying away she was never truly safe. Her father has lied to her and manipulated her for years. She has no idea how much danger she is truly in.
“Knox.” I grind to a halt and turn to where Xander is pointing. My brows raise in surprise.
“This seems way too fucking easy,” I grit out as I make my way toward the park bench where Lakeland sits under the shade of a tree. Me and the guys are on high alert. Either this is a trap or she really is fucking stupid. She should be hiding or at the very least running and not sitting in plain sight. I motion for Xander and Taylan to stand back and keep watch as I approach Lake, keeping my eyes peeled and remaining on high alert for anything out of the ordinary or anyone acting sketchy. At the sound of my approach, she doesn’t look up or even make a move when I sit down beside her. She looks like a homeless person sitting here in my clothes with her hair in a tangled mess. I see the stains of her tears marking her cheeks.
“You were right,” she says barely above a whisper. Narrowing my eyes, I debate if I should indulge her with an answer or drag her ass out of here. The decision is made for me when she continues, “I stopped by a local Pharmacy to see if they stocked the medication I have been taking for years.”
I take in the way her shoulders are hunched and she keeps picking at the cuticles on her fingers. Intrigued by what she is saying, I reach out, grip her chin and force her gaze to mine. “What the fuck does that have to do with you thinking I am right about something?” My tone is hard and unyielding but she doesn’t flinch, it’s the sight of shame in her eyes that has unease crawling up my spine.
“The pharmacist had no idea what I was talking about. The labels on my medication said the names were Xanoral and Linoium. I could never pronounce the names correctly and thought that was the issue but when she handed me a pad and pen and I wrote them down, she still looked at me like I was nutcase. I explained to her what the pills looked like and how often I took them. She called a friend who said they had never heard of them either. It took the better part of an hour for four of us to figure out that the medication I was on wasn’t legal.” The bitterness that laces each of her words has me searching her eyes for the reason why.
“What did you find out?” I push. She inhales sharply as her eyes begin to harden when she looks up at me.
“My father was drugging me.” This news has my brows raising and my teeth clenching. I knew he was a sick fuck after what he allowed to happen to River but this is sadistic.
“How?”
“The names, Xanoral is Xanax and Doral mixed together. Linoium is Librium, Klonopin and Valium mixed together. Percy had someone mixing these fucking medications. I took those fucking pills every day for the last six years!” She’s getting hysterical now.
“What does mixing them together mean?”
Her eyes spark with anger. “Mixing them together and taking them daily makes them act as a memory suppressant.” I recoil, dropping my hold on her chin as I stare down at her.
“What?” The amount of anger that laces that one word has her tensing and drawing back slightly. She darts her tongue out to moisten her lips in a nervous gesture.
“I think my sister was right. Percy was drugging me to keep me from remembering that night.” I heard her words, I heard her speak them myself, but it’s not sinking in. My mind won't process what I very plainly just heard her say. If she lost her memories then that means she really can’t remember who I am or what happened that night. The fact her own father continued to drug her means that something bigger is at play here, something I am not seeing and in my world, that shit can cost you your life if you aren’t vigilant and a step ahead of your enemies. Feeling suddenly exposed, I grip her arm and pull her to her feet as I drag her back to the car with Xander and Taylan following after us.
Lakeland
I don’t protest or even struggle when Knox shoves me into the car or even when we arrive at the airstrip and he drags me onto the plane. No one has uttered a single word. Worry gnaws at me at the sudden change in Knox. I expected him to be furious when he found me—I knew he would, I didn’t bother to run after discovering what my father had been doing to me for years. Call me crazy but I would rather be stuck with Knox’s overbearing ass then be forced to go back to my father, until he is behind bars or dead I can’t risk being on my own. I sit in my seat silently and gaze out the window of the plane. Chatter from Knox’s men sounds out as we take off. Once we are level in the air, Knox unfastens my seatbelt and leads me to the back of the plane. Unlike last time he doesn’t need to drag me, this time he walks with my hand clasped in his.
Once we enter the small room where he forced me to my knees, I gnaw on my lip wondering if he will do that again. He releases my hand and moves toward the tiny bathroom nestled into the back of the room and flicks the light on before looking back to me.
“There is shampoo and soap in there. I had Mary leave a toothbrush out for you as well.” A strange sense of loathing washes over me and I frown, trying to decipher what this feeling is but words spew out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“Who the fuck is Mary?” My eyes widen but I quickly school my features when I realize the feeling coursing through me is jealousy! Knox’s face starts to piss me off when I see him trying not to laugh. I growl at the bastard and shoulder past him into the bathroom and slam the flimsy door closed.
“Mary set out some clothes for you on the bed,” he calls out.
“I’m not wearing that whore’s clothes,” I mutter bitterly to myself as I begin to undress.
“I heard that.” My nostrils flare at the sound of laughter in his voice.
“Dick,” I call back as I step into the shower that is so small I have to shuffle around to reach for the soap. As uncomfortable as the shower is due to its size, I enjoy the feeling of the hot water and allow it to wash away some of my stress. I work hard to keep my mind off my sister and the guilt I feel for leaving her alone in that place before fleeing with Knox.
Stepping out of the shower, my jaw unhinges, the clothes I discarded are no longer on the floor and two white towels sit on the small counter. Fucking Knox! I wrap my hair in a towel before securing the other around my body and brushing my teeth. Mary may be a whore but I am grateful for the supplies she got me. I rinse my mouth out before taking a long look in the round mirror. My eyes seem to have a bit of life back in them and the handprints around my neck are barely visible now, which I am grateful for. Deciding that I can’t hide out in here forever, I steel my spine and exit the bathroom to find Knox sitting on the edge of the bed with his phone clasped in his hand. I spot the clothes beside him and scowl at the pile.
