“Why?” he demanded, voice cracking.
“You really need to ask that question?” She sniffed. “That doesn’t surprise me. You never really saw any wrong in the things you did over the years. So many women you cheated on me with,” she mused, circling him. “Cheating was one thing, and I made you pay for it every time. But impregnating another woman? Giving her something that you refused to give me? I don’t want any more children, you said. Three is enough, you said.”
His nostrils flared. “It wasn’t planned.”
“Oh, I know.”
“I agreed to try for more. We tried.”
“And then I found out you’d had a vasectomy,” she spat, venom in every syllable. “You knew there was no chance of us having more children unless you had the operation reversed, which you didn’t. You let me think that the problem was me. And let’s not forget the other lies you told. ‘I love you more than life itself’ is probably my favorite. But you told me there would be no more cheating if I came back to you. You promised me. You lied.”
“Leticia—”
“All those years I stuck by you. Forgave you again and again. But did you ever declare me your mate? No. No, you wouldn’t share your precious power, would you? The only reason I stayed with you is that I thought you one day would. You owed me that.”
“And then you would’ve gotten rid of me,” he accused. “You’d have ruled the lair alone.”
“Only until Spencer became old enough to take over. I’d say that time has come.” She looked down her nose at him. “My son will be better at ruling than you ever were.”
The steel-like weight around Devon fluttered against her skin, and then it loosened ever so slightly. Not enough for her to move or send out any tendrils of power, but enough that a cautious hope flickered to life in her belly. She didn’t let that show on her face; just continued to watch the spectacle before her play out.
Finni inhaled deeply. “Leticia, please listen to me.”
“You have nothing to say I want to hear,” Leticia clipped. “I promised myself I’d never go through what my mother went through; never fall for a man who didn’t love and value and respect me. But you’re no better than my father, are you? A cheating, lying bastard. Pamela was right in what she said about you. She had herself a lucky escape, in my opinion. Didn’t save her from a shitty life, though, did it?”
“What does that mean?” The question burst out of Devon.
Leticia turned to face her. “Ah, so Pamela never told you. You weren’t the unlikely product of a one-night stand between strangers, Devon. He and your bitch of a mother had known each other for a long time. They used to date when they were teenagers. But she wouldn’t commit to him; said there was too much potential for sin in him. She was certain he’d hurt her over and over.”
Devon could only stare at the other woman, utterly stunned.
“You hear that?” Leticia snarled. “She gave. Him. Up. She could have had him, but she let him go. I found him. I gave him the children he wanted. I was his advisor and more as he worked his way to the position of Prime. She had no right to have a for-old-time’s-sake fuck with him—a man who had a family. He belonged to me. But she fucked him, and then she had you.”
“Leticia, please listen to me,” Finn beseeched. “I hurt you. Took you for granted. Cheated on you. But that cheating ended after you came back to me, I swear I—”
“You were planning to leave me, weren’t you?” It was a quiet accusation, and it made Finn stiffen. Leticia fingered the button of his shirt. “I found out about the little slut you keep in that condo in New York. It was bad enough you were up to your old tricks again. But then I realized you weren’t just having an affair with her. It was more. Hmm, I wonder if she knows about all the other sluts you keep housed all over the US.”
Leticia went nose to nose with him. “If you think I’ve put up with years of your bullshit, years of humiliation and betrayal and pain, only for you to leave me … Well you’re very much mistaken. I paid my dues with you. I had hoped that Knox or Jolene would kill you for me but, alas, that did not happen, so I’ll take care of the matter myself.” She lifted her chin. “I say it’s time to clean house. All those sluts you have secretly tucked away for when you’re on business trips will all be meeting untimely deaths. Some already have. And, of course, your illegitimate child will do the same.”
Ignoring Finn’s appeals for her to listen to him, Leticia crossed to Devon and tilted her head. “To your credit, you never asked him for anything. Never tried to impose yourself on us. I might have left you alone if the attempt to poison Pamela had worked—after all, I know what it’s like to be the child of an adulterer. But she survived the poisoning, and I can’t reach her now. The only way I can make Pamela suffer is by taking away the one thing she loves; the one thing she holds onto her sanity for.”
“Jolene won’t tell her I’m dead,” said Devon. “Pamela will never know.”
“But she’ll start to notice that you haven’t visited. She’ll either believe you’re dead or that you’ve abandoned her—either one of those things will send her over the edge. As such, I have no choice but to get rid of you.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Leticia. You wouldn’t have let me live,” Devon accused. “Like you said, you’re cleaning house.”
Leticia only smiled.
A knock came at the door.
“Help!” Finn bellowed toward the door. “We need help in here!”
Leticia rolled her eyes. “The walls are demon-hearing proof, idiot.”
The magickal weight confining Devon fluttered once more against her skin, and she felt it loosen a little more. Devon subtly tried to move her toes, and her heart slammed in her chest when she managed to wriggle them just a bit. Yeah, the magick’s hold was wearing off. Not enough to release any of the power demanding freedom, sadly, which meant it was probably still blocking Tanner from sensing that she was in danger.
No sooner had Jo opened the door a crack than Eric barged inside.
Finn’s gaze went soft with relief when he spotted his sentinel. “Eric!”
“You haven’t done it yet?” he barked at Leticia.
She gave the sentinel a haughty sniff. “I’m not going to rush something I’ve waited so long for.”
“Thorne’s hound will be back at some point,” said Eric, nostrils flaring. “If you want to make them suffer, you’d best get it done.”
“Eric,” began Finn. “What are doing?”
“He’s been on my side for quite some time, darling,” Leticia told Finn, stroking her hand down Eric’s chest. “He kept an eye on you for me. He was even good enough to broker deals for me using conduits. Yes, I know you had no idea he possessed that nifty ability to speak through others. There are lots of things you don’t know about me and Eric.”
“Tanner will know you were here,” said Devon. “He’ll pick up your scent.” And then hunt the bitch down and gut her open. The thought was so cheerful it almost made her smile.