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Asher settled in his seat with a pleased smirk. “There’s no need.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. For a man who had a father that was apparently way past the usual amount of paranoia, he was certainly confident in himself.
“Understood.” The driver tucked the paper into his front pocket and threw the SUV into gear. He didn’t offer anything further to the conversation while he guided us down the long driveway. The iron gates ahead didn’t part until we were bearing down on them.
“Shouldn’t you blindfold me for this?” I lowered my voice to a soft whisper. There was a part of me that immediately felt like a fool, especially when demons had better hearing than a human could hope for. Hell, mine had even started to improve. I could hear the prince’s steady heartbeat from the other side of the car.
Those piercing golden eyes slid over toward me. “Should I?” The edges of his lips twitched. “Is that what my pet desires?”
All it took was my breathing hitching on his unspoken, teasing offer for the decision to be made for me. I couldn’t find the will within myself to speak as he raised his hands up to tug his tie loose. A simple gesture from the prince was all he needed for me to lean in his direction so that he could tie on the makeshift blindfold.
It was hard enough maintaining the patience required when I didn’t know where we were going. Now that one of my senses had been taken away, I could feel my nerves threatening to spiral out of control.
Asher had absolutely no desire to help tame that frazzled energy. He simply rested his hand on my inner thigh, occasionally dragging his fingers closer until they brushed against me. It was such a simple and brief touch, yet it lit me on fire every single time. A soft chuckle warned that he had me exactly where he wanted me: unsure of what was going on and horny as hell.
I had no idea how much time had passed before the SUV finally slowed down before coming to a complete halt. The engine continued running while the prince eased out of the SUV. When fingers released me from the seat belt, I jerked.
“Relax, pet.” The prince took hold of my lower arm, guiding me along the back seat until I reached the small metal step attached to the outside of the SUV.
I didn’t move without some kind of prompt on his part. Only a small part of me tensed when he released me long enough to kick the door shut. The weariness faded as soon as he took me by the arm again and started leading me on. The cold breeze brushed against me occasionally, although it didn’t nip at my soul like it did when I was a child. Yet, the sudden adjustment to the temperatures was nothing compared to when a door opened. A faint energy slammed against me.
It was enough to squeeze all of the air from my lungs.
“Before I take this off… I want you to understand there is a reason why I’ve brought you here. Your childhood is haunting you, pet, and I seek to corrupt those memories in a different manner. You are no longer trapped in this hell. Physically doing something about the source will help end these nightmares.”
I gritted my teeth, a mixture of weariness and panic seeping into my veins. Oh, no… My lungs restricted the airflow as the prince finally tugged his tie off my eyes, revealing my childhood home. There hadn’t been much time that passed between my own blood locking me out of the house and tonight, yet there were so many boxes littering the ground floor.
Anita had taken her illegal business to the next level.
The emotions tearing through my veins quickly dissipated, replaced by pure rage. I curled my fingers until my nails started to dig into my palms while I drifted toward the back of the house. Even the kitchen was being used as storage space, except this room had been raided. Most of the boxes had been emptied and then tossed about. There was absolutely no sorrow on my part with that.
My mother deserved to be robbed of her newfound riches.
I nudged an empty box away from me with the tip of my shoe. “Did she get a reward for turning us in?”
“Yes.”
An empty laugh escaped me before I had the chance to stop it. “I fucking knew it.” Flexing my jaw, I closed my eyes and attempted to shut out the sight of the boxes. Granted, it was before any bond had been formed between the prince and I. That didn’t stop the rage from growing that the woman had managed to screw me over in the worst way possible at the time.
Guilt had haunted me for several days after the rest of the organization was killed. Hell, I didn’t even know if the brothers were still alive. Yet the way the prince embraced me was nothing compared to the desperation of trying to fit in with them — and failing miserably.
The window on the back door had been broken with the intent of getting at my mother’s illegal stock, allowing the next breeze to wash in a disgusting aroma. My stomach churned at the smell of rotting flesh. While my mind was still reeling from it, I found my eyes drifting toward the tiny backyard. There was only a large tree to take up most of the space and a small figure was currently hanging from the one low branch.
It took me far too long to realize it was my mother’s body swaying in the wind.
Holy fucking hell… My throat was dry within seconds, making it extremely difficult to speak. “Did you…?”
“Have her killed?” Asher approached me with slow, cautious steps. “No. Your mother’s greed did that, I’m afraid. I had no desire to go through the lengths it would require to do the transaction in private. Rumors were already circulating about her sudden wealth when the others learned the organization that you were a part of had been completely torn apart. Only a fool wouldn’t be able to put those pieces together.”
The noise that snuck out of my lips was nothing short of bitterness. “Good riddance,” I muttered. Turning away from the kitchen, I fully expected Asher to simply ease out of my way and let me continue my mindless wandering. I froze when he remained in my path.
The prince closed the distance between us with slow, casual steps. As soon as I was within reach, he reached out to seize my chin. “I didn’t bring you here to unbury painful memories, pet. This house was nothing more than a hell to you, one that I seek to remove. Destroying it myself would do absolutely nothing for those nightmares. I want you to bring this house down.”
All of the questions that had been buzzing around my mind finally ceased. Reality sank in so quickly that the air caught in my throat, and the room threatened to tilt around me. Now it made sense why Asher would be eager to bring me here. Leaving it behind like I had done absolutely nothing when it came to stopping the nightmares.
Asher only broke eye contact long enough to grab a sledgehammer that had been abandoned nearby. With his fingers coiled firmly around the handle, he reached out to take one of my hands and transfer the heavy tool. “Go wild.”
I stared at him for a moment in shock. Part of my soul was completely baffled with what I would even do with such a thing. The rough surface of the tool’s worn handle felt foreign in my hand. While it didn’t seem like my body would understand what to do, I soon found myself peering around the room. All it took was one look at the empty boxes and my mother’s body outside before the rage returned in full force.
