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He looked shattered, and I realised he hadn’t slept for days. I gave him a sympathetic look, affronted when he returned it with a tight-lipped stare.
‘Bad night?’ I guessed.
He sneered, looking past me. ‘Not as good as yours,’ he said cruelly, flicking his gaze up and down me. ‘You get off on Dornan killing people?’
Furious, I yanked my scarf down and tipped my head back so he could see the bruising across my neck. ‘Go fuck yourself,’ I said, swallowing back tears as his face fell.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked, reaching out a hand to touch my neck. I pulled away sharply, narrowing my eyes at him.
‘I’m fine,’ I snapped. ‘Don’t you worry about me, John. I’m just fine.’
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
MARIANA
It was a tense drive home. I sat in the back of the truck with Jason, who Dornan had drugged yet again. I was starting to seriously worry about him killing his new son, who I’d still not actually seen awake in almost twenty-four hours, with an overdose. The kid had wet himself in his comatose state, and we drove home with the smell of piss filling the car.
When we finally arrived back in Los Angeles, John drove to my apartment. When we pulled up, I didn’t move. After a few moments, Dornan turned around, looking at me expectantly. ‘You can get out,’ he said.
I didn’t budge. ‘Where are you taking him?’ I asked, pushing the boy’s fringe off his face.
‘To the clubhouse,’ Dornan replied. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him. I’ll let him wake up and give him something to eat, introduce him to his brothers. He’ll be fine.’
I felt my mouth open in shock. ‘You just fucking murdered his mother,’ I hissed. ‘You can’t just feed him and expect him to be okay.’
Dornan’s mouth twisted into a grimace. He got out of the car, yanking my door open and gesturing for me to get out. I hesitated for a moment, and he took hold of my arm, pulling me to my feet.
I looked down at John, who was watching with a detached expression on his face. I knew there was nothing he could reasonably do, but it still pissed me off that he was just going along with everything without questioning Dornan’s sanity.
‘I’ll be back in a sec,’ Dornan said to John, placing his hand in the small of my back and taking my duffel bag from me. I cringed against his touch as he escorted me up the stairs, remembering how he had forced himself into me, while I’d been begging him to stop. As soon as we were at the front door to my apartment, I took the bag from him, unlocking the door and letting myself in.
The apartment was empty, Guillermo nowhere in sight. As soon as we stepped into the kitchen I turned on Dornan.
‘You need to bring Jason up here,’ I said. ‘I’ll take care of him. He doesn’t belong at the club.’
Dornan raised his eyebrows. ‘And what are you gonna do with him, huh? You’re not his family. You’re not anybody. What makes you think he’d be better off here with a stranger?’
I laughed in disbelief. ‘A stranger?’ I echoed. ‘You’re a stranger! He doesn’t even know you. The only thing he knows is that you murdered his mother!’
Dornan stepped forward and slapped me across the face, so hard I tasted blood. I brought my hand up to my cheek, shocked by his sudden outburst, but not surprised.
‘You’re losing it,’ I said coldly. ‘You’re really fucking losing your mind.’
‘I thought you, of all people, would understand,’ he said, and for a moment he sounded like a lost little boy, completely at odds with the way he’d been acting.
‘I don’t understand,’ I said. ‘What happened to you? So she left you. Why would she stay here and bring a baby into this fucking mess?’
‘Shut up,’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘No,’ I replied. ‘No, I won’t. You tell me, Dornan. Tell me why she should have stayed with you – while you were married, by the way – and had a baby in this fucking life? She deserved better. Your son deserved better than this.’
‘Shut up!’ he roared, pushing me hard against the wall. He charged at me, and before I could get out of his way, I felt a hand around my throat and a fist in my stomach. I doubled over in pain, gasping silently for air that wasn’t there, but he didn’t release his grip. I saw stars, then brilliant bursts of white that spread across my vision and merged into one, and still he wouldn’t let go.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
MARIANA
The bleeding didn’t start right away.
