“You learned that early. We tried to teach Lita. She thought she was higher on the food chain than she was. She thought her voice had weight and she could make decisions and calls on things she had no knowledge of. She wanted to be in charge, but no matter how many times she was warned, it never got through her head. Pretty people don’t control this place. We do.” He pointed at himself.
“The sooner Evie learns, the better things will be. You did good, kid.” He slapped my shoulder and turned to go back to the main room. “Oh, and Sebastian.”
I straightened and turned to face him. “What?” I said through gritted teeth.
“We know.” He didn’t need to finish the statement. I heard him loud and clear. “And we’ll make sure the police can’t even identify that little bitch’s body if she tries anything else. I’ll rip her fucking throat open with how hard I use it before her body gets dumped.”
“Is that a real threat?” I snarled, leaning toward him.
Fred stopped smirking and nodded. He furrowed his brow, and his lips settled into a grim line. “Yes, Sebastian, it is.”
I shook my head, grimacing. “You’d make your possible daughter fuck you? You’re sicker than I thought.”
Castle’s brows rose, the surprise that I knew this nugget of knowledge evident on his face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think I do. Your friend Dourif sang like a bird before Evie slit his throat.” I stepped forward. “He told us everything. The gang rape, the murder, that one of you is Evie’s biological father. All of it. Evie doesn’t care. She wants you all dead.”
Fred’s eyes had widened, but the more I continued, the more relaxed his face grew, returning to its cold, demanding expression. “Is that so? I see why you went all in. Well, she better watch herself. She already knows what we can do. She’s lucky you were here tonight to fight for her. None of us would have been so nice.” He pointed at me, and I almost snatched his finger and snapped it in half.
“Why don’t you come over this weekend? We can talk all about this possible paternity and all that. I just redid my hot tub. Bring your girl again,” he said, his eyes darting to the bathroom door behind me.
“Why? If you think you know something, why not end it now?”
He snickered. “I like a good back-and-forth.”
He left, and I continued waiting patiently for Evie. After another five minutes, I grew concerned and walked into the bathroom. My gaze went straight to the open window above a small table.
I hurried to climb the table and crawl out to find her.
“Evie!” I called as I got to my feet in the grass. Looking around, I found myself on the side of Frederick’s yard. I yelled her name again and hurried to the front. I found her stumbling back to my house, wobbling on her heels, hair knotted and wild from where I’d yanked on it.
“Evie!”
She didn’t look back.
“Evie, please! Talk to me.”
“The power of Christ compels you,” she groaned as I caught up to her.
“Evie…” I sighed. “I was watchingThe Exorcist,” I tried, but she sniffled loudly.
“Don’t. Sebastian, you—” She put her hand up, and I stopped trying to talk.
I reached her as she made it to my door, and I grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around and gripping her tightly.
“Evie, I’m so sorry. I had to. They were going to...” I didn’t want to tell her what happened at the table. I didn’t want to scare her worse than I was sure she already was.
“To what? Force me to—”
“Yes!” I shouted over her.
She flinched. Sighing, I reached into my pocket and unlocked the door, pushing her gently inside and locking it behind us. I turned to her. “It was either me or one of them. They forced me to place you as my bet.”
“Why?”
The ins and outs of this world, the politics of it all, were so disgusting and vile that I struggled to get the words out. If I told her that I’d tried to get more information about Lita out of them, would she feel guilty? I couldn’t make her feel worse than she already felt, so I shoved it down.
Evie saw my struggle and shook her head. She sniffled again and wiped her tears. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done. Like you said, you used your second free use...whatever. I just want to go to bed. Where’s my phone?” she asked, patting her dress.
