“I don’t like surprises. Having two police officers show up at my door is definitely a shitty surprise.”
Arms crossed in front of him, Rand lowers his gaze. “My apologies, Sir.”
“Did you have any awareness of her addiction?”
“Based on the information of our contacts, I was aware she had a history of drug abuse, but her tests have since been clean.”
“Guess it was a bad night, then. Relapse, maybe.”
The warm buzz of alcohol begins to dull my frustration from before, and I switch my mind to something else, no less concerning, but more worthy of my attention. “I appreciate the information on Isa. It appears she had a run-in this evening while in town.”
“She’s okay, I hope.”
“Yes. According to Makaio, she’s a little shaken. If I find out it has anything to do with the bastards who attacked her before, I’ll have their dicks severed and sent in a gift-wrapped box to their parents.”
The nervous shift of his feet tells me Rand believes every word of my threat. “Is that wise, Master? Given the attention Ms. Anders has brought our way?”
“I don’t give a fuck whether it’s wise, or not.”
The elevator dings again, and this time, it opens up to Makaio and Isa, who looks a bit disheveled and pale.
“That will be all, gentlemen, please excuse us.”
Both Rand and Makaio quickly exit the office, disappearing behind the closing elevator door, while Isa stands in the center of the room, her gaze downward.
In the silence between us, I scan over her, making sure not a single bruise mars her skin, the sight of which will trip my slowly budding temper. “Exciting night, as I understand.”
The way her eyes shift, glassed over with tears, makes me wonder if Makaio left out something important.
“What happened?”
Instead of answering, she shakes her head, and the quiver of her lip raises the hairs on my neck. One thing I’ve learned about Isa in the last few weeks: she doesn’t cry easily.
“They hurt you.” I can hardly say the words past the clenching of my teeth, my body wound up to throw a fist through something, depending on her answer.
When she shakes her head, I exhale the rage on a shaky breath, mentally willing my muscles to ease up.
“Makaio arrived before anything happened,” she finally says. “Your gift. It’s a tracking device.”
“It is.”
“Why?”
“The answer is fairly obvious, I think.”
“Why do you feel the need to keep track of me?”
Time for another drink.
I lean forward and pour the decanter into the awaiting glass. “Why do we put GPS on our phones. Our pets? Anything we don’t want to get lost?”
The indignant expression on her face is a sure bet she doesn’t like that answer. “Is that what I am? An object? A pet you don’t want to run away?”
“I didn’t embed it in you, Isa. It’s a fucking bracelet.”
“That you insisted I never take off.”
If this night gets any worse, I might be inclined to buy a lottery ticket. Pushing up from the chair, I round the desk toward her. “You’re angry. Shaken. You need to rest.”
The second I reach out for her, she recoils, throwing her arm back like my fingertips are hot metal. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”
I lurch toward her, but she scampers back. Catching her arm, I yank her into me, holding her against me, as she squirms and pushes at my chest in a slightly humorous, yet failed, attempt to get away.
“Why did you run off?”
Another shove to my chest fails to break my grasp. “Why did you instruct Makaio to bring me back here? Are the weekends no longer my free time?”
“Not when one of my former employees was found dead in a motel room.”
She stills at that, her eyes blazing with accusation as she stares up at me. “Did you kill her? Nell?” There isn’t even a hint of apology this time, unlike when she asked about my son, which tells me she’s really pissed off at me about the bracelet.
“No. I didn’t. It seems the rumors are true this time. She overdosed.”
“And what about Franco? Did you kill him?”
I study her eyes, searching for explanation into why she suddenly has all these questions for me. What happened when she left the manor? Why did she run off? “No.”
“No? You’re lying to me, then?”
Tricky, this one. “No. I didn’t kill him. Technically. Makaio did.” Since the fight seems to be out of her at the moment, I loosen my grip, but don’t yet release her. “He threatened to kill your mother and your aunt. Was I supposed to stand by and do nothing?”
“You could’ve given me the money. Struck a deal with me.” She shoves at me again, this time with her teeth clenched and bared like a cornered little wolverine. “Instead, you’re a murderer!”
“Now you’re a saint? You didn’t seem troubled to know he was out of your life when the threat was still alive in your head.”
“I would never have asked you to kill on my behalf.”
“Well, too fucking bad. Because that’s what I do when someone threatens what’s mine.” Squeezing both of her arms, I give her a shake that’s rougher than I intend, but hell if this girl hasn’t wound me up all night with her antics. “I didn’t ask for this, Isa. I kept my distance. I warned you to stay away from me. But you didn’t. And now? You’re going to find out just how protective I am over the things that belong to me.”
“Belong to you? I never belonged to you. We made that clear in the beginning, remember?”
“No. I made it clear that I couldn’t pursue a relationship with you. That doesn’t mean I won’t kill a bastard for laying his hands on you.”
She flinches and twists her arms, trying to wriggle out of my grasp. “I don’t need your protection!”
And I don’t need to remind her of what happened tonight, proving she does. Not because I don’t think she can take care of herself, but because she doesn’t have a clue what she’s up against, if Friedrich and the others find out about her.
Still frowning, she stops trying to break free. “I don’t know who the hell is lying and who is telling the truth anymore.”
“So, why don’t you start paying attention to the facts.”
Again, her eyes are like laser beams ready to split me down the center. “That you keep women as sex slaves? That everyone who works for you is terrified of you? That you have the power to silence what threatens you without repercussions? Which facts should I pay attention to, Lucian?”
I back her toward the couch, and with a small shove, she falls over the arm of the chair onto the cushions, where I cage her beneath me. I’m about a second away from muzzling this girl with my lips. “Nell overdosed on drugs. What more do you want me to say? What is it that you want?”
Lips peeled back, she looks like she would tear right through me if she could. “I want out of here. Nothing to do with this place. Nothing to do with murderers. Or slavers. Or you!”
My patience finally explodes. I grip tight to her jaw, breathing hard through my nose to keep the rising fury in check. “I’m not a murderer. And no woman has been kept here against her will.” Eyes falling to her lips, I want more than anything to kiss her right now, but I’m certain she’d steal the opportunity to bite my fucking lip right off my face.