Home > The Palace (Chateau #4)(7)

The Palace (Chateau #4)(7)
Author: Penelope Sky

Fender’s face had burned in my mind every moment of every day since I’d left.

I’d never forget the way he looked at me.

He hated me.

I did what was necessary to keep my sister and myself alive, but I still felt guilty for what I’d done.

That man loved me…and now he hated me.

My eyes drifted to the window, and I stared at the apartment across the street. My neighbor was in his usual spot, on his laptop at the dining table, living a normal life of work and home…ordinary.

Don’t touch her. Don’t look at her. You know what the boss said.

He already knew I’d burned down the camp with Raven, but he spared me.

When I’d left with Raven, he’d let me go. Goodbye, chérie.

And when Raven burned down his most prized possession…

He didn’t kill her.

He…didn’t kill her.

I got to my feet even though I had nowhere to go. The apartment was dark because my mind was shrouded in misery. I could make out the furniture and the kitchen from the light that had been left on in the bathroom. “He kept his promise to me…”

 

 

Six

 

 

A Beautiful Lie

 

 

Fender

The camp was back to its former operations.

But working double time to make up for the losses.

Magnus supplemented my salary along with those of the surviving guards out of his own pocket. My distribution partners were promised double their order for the next shipment to make up for their losses.

Magnus hadn’t left the camp in months because he had too much work to do.

We barely spoke to each other.

If he was pissed that I’d emasculated him, I didn’t give a damn.

He didn’t leave me a fucking choice.

I sat in my office with the fire burning. Spring was here, soon to intensify into summer, but I still enjoyed the fire for company. It complemented the burn down my throat from the scotch Gilbert tried to hide from me.

Yes, I was killing myself.

And, no, I didn’t care.

There was work to do, but I’d been at it all day, so I closed my laptop with the glass between my hands, my eyes on the enormous mantel that took up most of the wall on the other side of the room.

Gilbert entered the study. “Sir?”

I looked at him and lifted the glass to my lips for a drink.

He came closer, walking quicker than usual with a flare of urgency. “Sir, Melanie is here to see you.”

I nearly dropped the glass onto the desk. My fingers tightened to prevent the slip. My sip was cut short, and my drink was returned to the surface of the wood. Anger rushed back like an unexpected tidal wave. She used to be the face that brought me peace. Now she was the face that brought me misery. It was still in my dreams. It was still in my thoughts. It was still in the fire that burned right this very moment. “No.” I grabbed my glass again and took the full drink I wanted seconds ago.

“Deny her entry?” Gilbert asked for clarification.

“Yes.” I leaned back in my chair and stared at the fire like the matter was settled.

Gilbert nodded then departed.

The last time she’d looked me in the eye on the grounds of my palace, I’d expected a very different request from the one she made. I expected her to admit that leaving me was a big fucking mistake. That I ruined her for all other men. That she didn’t feel safe unless she was with me. That she missed the life I gave her. That she missed being taken care of. That she missed me.

Instead, she asked me to give her something I had already promised.

Pissed me the fuck off.

Now she was probably here to ask for something else—like her sister’s freedom.

Never.

Gilbert returned to the study. “Sir…she refuses to leave.”

“Then she can sleep out there. I don’t give a shit.”

He nodded then stepped out again.

But he was right back inside a moment later. “She’s climbing the gate. What are your orders?”

“She’s what?” I slammed down the empty glass, knowing she was going to slip, fall, and break something. It was dark, and that gate was fucking high. And she had no athleticism or coordination.

He listened to the radio in his ear. “She’s climbing, sir.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” I pushed to my feet. “Tell her to get down. Have them open the gate.” I marched out of the study, through the foyer, and out the front door to the roundabout that circled the fountain. In nothing but my sweatpants, I watched the golf cart come around, drop her off, and then depart.

She stood in front of me. Unafraid.

She should be afraid. Now, she was in ordinary jeans and a cheap blouse, her makeup unremarkable. Her hair wasn’t as shiny. She was thinner than she used to be. But she was just as gorgeous as I remembered—and that made me angrier. “What the fuck do you want, Melanie? I owe you nothing, and I will give you nothing. If you came here to get me to release your sister, you’ve wasted your time and mine.”

Her hands came together at her waist, her mannerisms exactly the same. With bright eyes, she looked into my gaze, giving me a look she’d never given me before. “I want to come home…” Her eyes watered as she let those words float off her tongue on a whisper.

My eyes narrowed instinctively. It was the confession I’d wanted to hear—just at the wrong time. Months had passed, and I hadn’t heard from her. The one time I did, she wanted something from me. She was an accomplice to her sister, destroying everything I’d built entirely on my own.

When I said nothing, she winced with rejection. “I’m sorry that I hurt you—”

“I’m not going to release your sister.” She only wanted me for one thing. Women used me for my money and my dick, but she bled me dry for her obnoxious sister. I wouldn’t bleed another drop. “Not now. Not ever. Go home.”

“That’s not what I’m asking you—”

“I’m not stupid, Melanie. You insult me.”

She instinctively shifted back at my vile words. “I left with her because I had to. If I’d stayed, I never would have seen her again. She wouldn’t have forgiven me if I’d chosen to be with you. I didn’t have a choice—”

“You told me that you would stay even if you could leave.”

“And that was the truth. I’d never expected Raven to get out, and when she did, it changed everything.”

“That’s the difference between us, Melanie. You break your promises. I don’t.” I stared her down hard, flooding her with hatred, before I turned back to the house. “It doesn’t matter if the circumstances changed.”

“Fender.” She came after me and grabbed my arm.

I twisted out of her grasp as I pivoted back to her, my hand now on her wrist. All of it happened quicker than she could even blink. “Leave.” I pushed her hand off me, ignoring the electrical impulse that zapped my hands and traveled all the way to my brain in a nanosecond.

With heartbroken eyes, she stayed. “You have no idea what you’ve done to me. You’re the reason we were in that camp in the first place. You’re a drug lord and a murderer. And yet, I’m absolutely lost without you…” Her eyes overflowed with tears.

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