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Fear flitted across his features. Then he sighed, knowing I was right. Knowing I was referring to Dominic, he had no choice but to obey.
“It kept her alive. That was never a lie.”
“It made her sick,” I snapped. “When she quit them, she was fine.”
The man shook his head. “She was never fine. The meds kept her on reserve. Blood pressure. Heart rate. The lower. The safer. Yes, she would feel ill. Tired. Nauseated. Lightheaded. But she lived.”
I let out a slow breath through my mouth, keeping my calm and not showing the storm raging underneath the surface.
“And when she stopped?” I gritted out.
“When she stopped, she lived on borrowed time.”
“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
He laughed at everything I let slip in that one line. “She’s dead, isn’t she? That’s what it means.”
“She’s your daughter,” I hissed. “How can you—”
“I did her a favor!” His voice rose until he shouted. “I spared her a life as a sex slave!”
His words slammed into me with the force of a sledgehammer. It suddenly made sense. The lies. The lies about the lies.
“You told Mr. X she was never sick.” It was no question. The man let him believe there was nothing wrong with Kaylie. That the so-called illness was a sham to keep her under his control. He wanted her to die, so Mr. X couldn’t have her. The thought of his twisted games made me sick to my stomach. “You wanted her to die.”
“I wanted her to be free,” he snarled. “It was her only way out.”
“You’re a doctor,” I hissed. “You could have fixed her, you could have saved her long ago, but you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t!” he shot back. “I had no choice.”
“You saved your own ass by selling your daughter.” My voice was icy cold. Muscles quivered under my skin, eager to rip into him and tear him to fucking pieces for the monster he was. “By condemning her to death.” I spat the last word in his face, and he flinched from the sudden intensity.
“I’m glad she’s dead,” he snapped. “If it meansyoucan’t have her.”
The control I clung to snapped. A scream ripped from my throat as I lunged for him with all the rage and power I had. The glass didn’t budge, but it didn’t stop me from slamming into it, shouting at him while he laughed.
Strong hands grabbed me, pulling me away from the booth, and I fought in a blind rage, cursing the guards holding me, and the son of a bitch who needed to die. Then, a sizzling pain shot into me, and I collapsed.
When I came to, two guards stood over me. I struggled to my feet, ignoring the strange weariness of my muscles.
“Get the fuck out of here,” the taller, fatter one said. “And don’t come back.”
“You’re lucky to get away with a warning.” The other said, nodding a shaved head toward the exit.
I shot him a glare, noticing a taser tucked into his belt, and groaned. So that was what floored me.Fucker. I scowled at his smug smile, then turned to walk.
*
I took her hand and swore to never let it go. I would have fucking loved her even if she lied. But with the disgusting truth fresh in mind, that love for her was deeper. Richer. She was as goddamn innocent as she looked. A pawn. A tool. She’d been manipulated and used. She’d been lied to. It nearly got her killed. But never again. She was mine now, and I’d protect her with my life.
“Hey.”
Her voice was like a caress. Soft and light, spreading through me and filling me with a warmth that melted away the ice.
“Hey.” I reached out, touching her face with the same gentleness I saw in her gaze.
“I wanna go home,” she whispered.
