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She was always going to die. Somehow, I managed to hold in the thought.
“Shhh,” I soothed. “It’s not your fault. As soon as Lucas stuck her nose into our business, she wrote the lines of her own ending. I was going to kill her remember, but she took me by surprise and tasered me.” I shuddered at the thought. “Then, once I was down, she struck me over the head with my own decanter. She could have killed me.”
“We were all wrong,” she whispered, “but only one of us is dead.”
“I know,” I replied, kissing her wet hair. “And it’s the right one.”
“Master!” Her horrified gaze rose to meet mine. “How can you say that?”
“Because it’s the truth,” I consoled. “We’ve found something special together. Something someone like Lucas could never understand, and we deserve our shot at happiness.”
“How can we after this?” Her brow creased.
“We’ll heal,” I assured her. “You forgave me for all the odious things I’ve done, little girl. With time, you’ll learn to forgive yourself.”
“I don’t know, Master.” She shook her head, mewling as my palm squeezed her backside.
“Well, I do,” My tone was emphatic. “So, until you’re sure, you’re going to take my word for it.” Lifting her chin, I waited until she recognized the surety in my voice. Tiffany had heard it many times before and understood what it meant. I would have my way, and she was coming along for the ride, whether or not she wanted to. “Do you understand, little girl?”
She nodded against my fingertip, although her eyes still begged to differ.
“Say it.”
“I understand, Master.” She sagged against me.
“Good.” Her acquiescence would do for the time being. “Let’s finish up and get dry. We’ll get through this, but in the meantime, I want you to always remember something.”
“What’s that, Master?”
I couldn’t believe she had to ask.
“I love you,” I told her. “And because, by some miracle, you love me, too, I know all things are possible.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tiffany
I kept waiting for remorse to kick in, for regret to create spores in my soul and eat me up from the inside, but the truth was that it didn’t happen. Yes, I was regretful, but only because of my past programming—the fact that I’d been taught it was wrong to kill and conditioned into thinking I should pay for my sins. That’s what my parents had told me, what my peers had believed, and what a life of criminal law had constantly reinforced.
The truth, though, was Kade had started to break down that programming long before Lucas had crept into Barrington House. He’d started the day he confessed his crimes and helped me to process the aftermath. He’d shown me it was more than possible to do awful things and never be convicted for them, but more than that, it was possible to move on and be happy. I was a long way from happy, but his example meant that while still sickening and shocking, my actions were easier to reconcile than they should have been.
“How are you feeling now, little girl?” His soft voice stirred me from my morose thoughts.
“Okay, Master.” I wasn’t okay. Or maybe my new realization meant that I was. I didn’t know anymore.
“You haven’t eaten your sandwich.”
Glancing down, I noticed he was right. “Yeah, I…” Sighing, I skimmed my fingers over the bread. “I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat.” His tone was insistent.
“Master.” Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lucas’ pale face behind my lids. “Please, I feel sick.”
Gaze narrowing, his stare drilled into me. “Eat half of the sandwich.”
I could tell the compromising approach was killing him.
“You need energy, Tiffany.”
