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“Tired?”
“What the hell do you think?”
I got up and went to a mini fridge in the corner of my office, pulling out a water bottle and taking a deep drink from it. When I walked back over, I watched Sara track it and hid a smile. Sitting down across from her, I took another sip and then set it to the side.
“Did you hire that dude to fake roofie you?”
That jarred her more awake, and she glared me, swallowing hard. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Why’d you think about giving me a fake name?” I asked and her lips pinched, but she gave a small start. “Did you know who I was, Sara? Did you know that I’d catch you out?”
“No, I mean—I’d seen you before.” Sara shook her head as I raised an eyebrow and went to speak. But she cut in, her voice shaking a little, “Enough, Daniel.Enough.Please,please,just tell me that Lia is okay. Can you do that? Can you call up your Family and find that out?”
“How many vibrators do you own?” I leaned forward as she jolted, her forehead creasing. “I bet it’s at least eight. Maybe some real innovative shit that hasn’t hit the market yet.”
Sara’s face went tight, then she gave smirk, though it was tired around the edges. “Can you,” she asked in a slow and sweet voice, “get the fuck over yourself already?”
“Me?” I pressed a hand to my chest. “What was your first impression of me, I wonder.” I went to pick up the water bottle, sure that Sara wouldn’t say a word, and then stilled as she began to speak, slow and thoughtful, her voice rasping from exhaustion.
“Hard to read, wished you didn’t smoke, the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my entire life, and a man who knows how to dress.” Sara’s gaze was hard to meet. “Creative, observant, intelligent—maybe as intelligent as me. And…” She swallowed hard. “Intriguing in a dangerous way. In a way that I thought I wanted to get to know, a way I thought I could handle.” Her voice cracked and she groaned, glancing at the water bottle, and then steeling herself. “Lia said that I should get your number, date you and get you to quit smoking.”
“She did?” I asked with a soft chuckle, then I sucked in a breath as Sara’s face lit up and her eyes shone. “Well, fuck me.”
I couldn’t believe I’d slipped up like that. Or that part of me that was reveling in the look on Sara’s face, the relief and hope evident in her eyes.
“You do know Lia,” Sara said, and to my surprise, a single tear slipped free. “And she must be still alive, right?”
I shifted my jaw to the side and picked up the water bottle. “Why were you looking for addresses?”
“To find Lia,” Sara cried out. “I know that she was taken by you—you all.” She winced and I knew she wouldn’t ask for water. Not yet. “I worked alone. No one hired me. I thought I was smart enough to get in, to maybe useHyperionagainst you for Lia. Or to just give you money.”
I stood up and walked over, causing Sara to flinch back. “Here.” I offered the water bottle and she looked at me. “I’ll pour slow.”
“No, untie me,” Sara said. I lowered the bottle and tipped it against her neck, causing her to gasp as icy water ran down her chest and stomach. “Jerk.”
“Drink, or I leave you here, and we can start this later today.” I pressed the bottle under her lips, and she sighed, then let me give her a sip, followed by another, and another. “Why do you care so much about Lia?”
“What do you mean?” Sara frowned up at me. “She’s my best friend. She’s gone through hell and then some, she lost her mom—I’m her family now. She’s been there for me, and I will always be there for her.” Sara shifted in the seat, blinking tired eyes, and I knew she had to be growing more and more uncomfortable, more desperate. “Please, Daniel.”
“Please, what?” I sank down to a squat. “I’m sorry this interrogation isn’t going the way you wanted it, too. It would help if you stopped lying.”
Something seemed to shatter in Sara’s eyes and her head tipped back as she whispered, “What?”
“How convenient that Lia’s best friend finds me, what a week after we took her?” I straightened slowly and Sara followed with her eyes, breathing hard. “It’s cute that you thought you had me, sweetheart. But you showed your hand the second you mentioned Weiss and Lia. I know you’re after the cop’s dirt on the Michaelsons.” I leaned in. “You think you care about this Lia, your supposed best friend? That’s nothing compared to what I’d do for my family—for my cousin who is the head of this family.”
In the back of my head, I heard an echo of the last voice I ever wanted to hear—the voice that belonged to a man rightfully rotting in a federal prison for the rest of time.
I’ll do anything for this family, Rhino. You’re the head of the family—you want somethin’ done, just ask the Reaper.
And then other memories, dredging free from a place that I’d thought I’d locked away, shit I thought I’d never have to hear again.
Look at me, you fuckin’ disgrace,screamed a voice in the back of my head, and too late I’d realized I’d gone too deep inside of myself, into the silt of memories that made me a monster, in order to survive an even worse one.You better hope your uncle never asks me to get rid of you—I’d do it. I’d kill you.You’re not a fuckin’ Michaelson. You’re just a fuckup, a weak ass little bitch, a goddamn monster—and I’m gonna teach you to cry, boy.
A sob ripped me out of my nightmare, and I stumbled back, breathing hard, pressing a hand to my face, and looking around. For a split second, I didn’t know where I was or why I had a beautiful, half-naked woman tied to a chair, and I started forward, looking her over. Checking for any injuries. But she was just tied up, tired, and a little teary-eyed. Not great, but…
“Some family to protect when you’re so fucking haunted that you just disassociated for a good minute, Daniel,” Sara spat at me and tears rolled down her face. “You think I don’t know what that looks like—what’s going on in your head?” Her chest heaved. “And you have no idea what I’ll do to protect my own.None.”
“Did I hurt you?” I asked in a ragged voice.
