His eyes narrow, and he leans forward to brace his elbows on his wrinkled slacks. “You don’t fear death? What about pain? Do you fear that?”
I give him my most unhinged smile. I let him see how far the darkness has permeated me. “Do I look like I fear death? Pain is only another word for living, and I’ve dealt with more of it than you will ever know.”
Arthur waves his hand and sits back in his chair again. “Oh, well then, I suppose this experiment will be extra interesting. I look forward to breaking you, Ivan. The strongest ones are usually the quickest to fall.”
I let his words roll around in my head. He plans to torture me, or he’s given me more of his perverse drugs. Hell, he could do both at the same time if he managed to get the dosage right.
Now that we’ve sat back to silently contemplate each other, I can see Priscilla in his features. Maybe she’s his niece or his sister. Much much younger sister.
Arthur cuts through my thoughts with a huff. “Oh, please forgive me. I forgot to introduce you.”
The door behind him opens slowly, and someone stumbles into the room on bare feet. She turns, and I catch sight of her creamy thighs and delicate hands. Her face is still flushed, and her eyes go wide as she finally turns to look at me. I stare her down as she keeps as much distance as possible from the man in the chair and me. He reaches out and jerks her toward him by her bicep. “Priscilla, dear, don’t be rude to our guest.”
She clears her throat, clearly recoiling from his hold. “We’ve already met, as you well know.”
Arthur cuts a fake laugh. “Oh, of course, how silly of me. You two haven’t just met. By the reports my men gave me, they found you both quite cozy.”
I shift my gaze to him and let him see the contempt I feel. “Well, your drugs were effective, I suppose. But if you are asking if I fucked her? No. I didn’t. She’s nothing but your little plaything, and I don’t want anything to do with Capri's sloppy seconds.”
For the first time since I don’t know when, I feel a sharp spike of guilt in my chest. It’s not true. I still want to drag her onto my lap and fuck all the rage out of me. I want to rip my arms from the socket to cross the room and keep her safe. Even if she doesn’t deserve it.
Arthur chuckles softly and drags the girl closer. Her soft pink sweater and black sweatpants aren’t enough to disguise how much she hates his touch. “Oh, well, if she doesn’t, please you, I have many more girls you might try out. I guess you won’t be calling me Papa anytime soon, then.”
I narrow my eyes. Keeping the rest of my face blank as I consider his words. Papa?
But the asshole doesn’t miss anything. Not one damn thing. Interesting. A member of the Capri family who might actually be worth going head-to-head with. All the rest of them are whimpering fools. Would this one cry when I showed him his own intestines? For once, I was more curious than anything else. I gave in to the feeling. “Papa? Is that your twist on Daddy because I assure you there’s not a man alive who could get me to call him Daddy and live to survive afterward.”
Arthur only curls his lips up in another enigmatic smile. “Oh, he hasn’t figured it out yet, Cilla, dear. Do you want to tell him, or should I? This is going to be so much more fun now.”
Priscilla keeps trying to get out of his hold, and in response, Arthur only tightens his grip further. I’m about five seconds from ripping my own hand off just to get to her and remove his. She didn’t do me any favors but back in my room, for a few seconds, she chased away the darkness enough that I could think.
My demons are back in full force now, though, and the darkest part of me can’t wait to unleash them on the entire Capri family. I’ll kill them all. Anyone even remotely associated with the Capri’s won’t survive their mistake.
Arthur’s voice cuts through the red rage rolling through my head. “He does brood beautifully, doesn’t he, darling? Since you aren’t going to tell him, I suppose I should do the honors.”
Priscilla gives one last attempt to get out of his grip and then stands her ground, her chin hiked up. She doesn’t meet my eye when she speaks, and her voice is barely a whisper. “This is my boss. The man who sent me to drug you.”
The man she wants me to kill. Interesting.
But by the gleeful expression on Arthur’s face, I know there is more he can’t wait to reveal. “Go on, dear. Finish the introductions.”
She stays silent, and Arthur squeezes her arm until she lets out a soft, pained moan. Then he shoves her so hard she bodily bounces off the wall beside him. He barely spares her a glance as she regains her footing.
His cold, dead eyes are on me now. “You didn’t think I’d send just anyone to grab one of Adrian Doubeck’s revered Five, did you? This is my daughter, Priscilla.”
I flashback to the hotel room when she mentioned her boss and being the daughter of an illegitimate Capri heir. She even told me his name, which I remembered, but why couldn’t I remember the rest of it?
Arthur laughs softly. “He understands now, my darling. Let’s get the first drug round ready for our new friend.”
She spares me one last glance and precedes her father to the door.
Fuck. Too bad. She’ll have to die with the rest of them after all.
7
CILLA
I should have known I’d never be free of this place. Free of my father. Agreeing to do something so terrible to Ivan gave them leverage over me. All they have to do is lock us up together so he can take his revenge, and I’ll be a problem no one has to deal with anymore.
I stare at the wall across from my sad mattress on the floor. It’s barren, so why bother decorating when they move around so much. I mostly live out of the duffel bag at the end of the bed these days. The outfits I own are all easy to shake the wrinkles out of. My work clothes are kept in the closet so, at the very least, I can look presentable when I go there.
If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be a prostitute, but it did give me the chance to stash away some money to eventually escape. My father might still chase me down, but I might be able to get a few days of freedom before he drags me back and punishes me.
A heavy thud hits my door, and the wood slams open into the wall behind it. Nothing surprises me anymore, so I stay on my palette and stare up at the angry eyes of my father.
He kicks at the mattress. “What the hell are you doing still in bed? We have work to do.”
I swallow hard to buy myself a minute so I don’t snap out an answer and get hurt. “What kind of work? I thought I did my part.”
His scowl is answer enough. It not only called me an idiot but promised pain if I didn’t get up right now. Yet I stay huddled under my thin blanket, unable to move. I know he wants to drag me back to that cell, and I can’t face Ivan again. Not after what I’ve done to him.
“Get the hell up, girl. I don’t have time for this. What’s your problem? Are you sick?”
The drugs are still swirling through me, but that’s not what he means. It wouldn’t matter if my brains were leaking out of my ears. He’d still expect me to perform whatever menial task he has in mind. “I’m fine.”
He crouches down, putting him closer to me. His Old Spice scent is enough to make me gag, but I keep it together.