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“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know exactly what you mean. You want me reliant on something. A fake leg, a walking frame, a cane—”
“I haven’t given you your cane yet. I told you I would when you did something to deserve it.”
“Ha.” I waved at all the boxes of his accounts. “I’ve been working up here like a troll in a cave counting gold for months. What more do you want me to do?”
“Do those three things I asked you a year ago, and you can join me outside. No more chair. No more future persuasion.”
A chill ghosted down my spine at the mention of the chair. I’d lived in fear of being strapped back into it, but so far...he’d been true to his word.
I bared my teeth. “Like I told you then, I am never going to kill, rape, or traffic.”
He snorted. “One day, Aslan. One day.” Darkness filled his already lethally black stare. “Anyway, I didn’t come here to chitchat.”
“Why did you then? How about you just fuck off, and I’ll go take that shower?” I hopped toward the walk-in wardrobe where my prison uniform awaited. Black track pants, black sweatshirts, and white t-shirts all lined up in a row.
Cem followed me. “You might want to hold onto the wall.”
I glowered at him. “Why?” Fisting a fresh t-shirt and trackpants, I hopped and turned to face him. “You planning on finally killing me?”
A cold, sly smile crossed his face. “No, I merely want to tell you who I spoke to today, and I feel the blow might be a little upsetting.” Lifting his hand, he pretended to inspect his fingernails. “Did you know it’s been a year since you returned to me?”
“A year since you shot me, then left me in feverish amputee hell, you mean?”
“Semantics.” He lowered his hand. “What if I was to tell you if you came with me right now, if you killed one of my enemies, fucked a slave, then oversaw the shipment of eight shipping containers of cocaine arriving next week, that you could have everything you ever wanted?”
Leaning my shoulder against the shelving, I crossed my arms. “I seriously doubt you know what I want—”
“You want Nerida. You want to live together in a country where you can legally get married. You want a family with her. A home where you can always be safe.”
I froze.
I wobbled a little and balled my hands in my fresh clothes. “I never want her name on your tongue again.”
His face hardened. “You lied to me, Aslan.”
“What? How—”
“I’ve been asking you for months if you see numbers in colour. You took to running my books without any wars whatsoever. Even I’m blown away at the intelligence you possess. I’ve asked you numerous times if you inherited my trait, yet each time you sneer and say you would never accept any gift that came from me. Genetic or otherwise.”
“So?”
“So...I happen to know you do see in colour. That you were secretive about it back then, and you’re secretive about it now.”
My heart slowed to a dangerous beat. “Who-who told you that?”
“I also know that you’ve killed someone.”
“No, I—”
“You shot him in the calf with a harpoon—ironically in the same spot as I shot you with the tranquiliser. Unlike me, who has fought to make amends ever since, you cut off two of this man’s fingers, were about to cut off his cock, then threw him overboard.”
A blizzard filled my chest. All the strength I’d cultivated and power in my body vanished. My right leg threatened to give out; my voice resembled a churning storm. “Y-You spoke to her.” Pure fury fired through me. “You spoke to Nerida? What. The. Fuck?”
Launching myself at him, I managed to hop the short distance and swing a fist.
It landed against his cheekbone, but I didn’t have the power.
