“I think you heard me.”
Oh, fuck. This is not going to go well.
“This is unacceptable behavior. You can’t do this. I’m your mother. I demand you call your team and have them reinstate my access. I have a luncheon this afternoon and I can not have my card declining in front of those women, that would be mortifying. This would have never happened if your father was still here.”
“Oh, you mean that man who you set alight during his own damn funeral? The man who gave you over a hundred million dollars in your divorce settlement despite the prenup and who continued paying for your lavish lifestyle even after you took off?”
“That was a part of our settlement. He had a financial obligation to me. Don’t act as though he was doing me some sort of favor.”
Colton scoffs. “No, of course, he wasn’t doing you any sort of favors. It’s not as though you’ve ever worked a day in your life or did anything to deserve the piles of cash that are constantly coming your way.”
“How dare you speak to me like that. I put up with your father for twenty long years. I deserved every cent.”
“Well, that’s just the thing, Mom. Dad is gone now and I sure as hell don’t have any kind of obligation to keep funding you. So, here’s an idea, why don’t you stand on your own two feet and support yourself for a change instead of living off other people for the rest of your life? Whatever happened to all that money anyway? Surely you didn’t blow it all on extravagant trips around the world, ridiculous parties, and those male escorts you like to use so much.”
A laugh bubbles up my throat as I watch her cheeks flame a raging red. “Oh, dammmnnn, Momma Carrington. That sucks. Though, if you speak to Harrison, I’m sure he will be able to sort out some shifts for you, but beware, he’d have to clear it with the boss first.”
Her jaw clenches and her stare zones in on me, and for a moment, she looks like the most dangerous woman on earth. If looks could kill, I’d be up in flames, but as it is, she’s just a nasty bitch with a pathetic bite and there’s not a damn thing she can do to me. “This is all your fault,” she spits. “If you weren’t around to poison my son’s innocent mind, this never would have happened.”
“Trust me, lady. Your son lost all his innocence the day his mother decided not to fight for him. By the time I sunk my claws into him, he was already as bad as they come. So, unfortunately, I can’t take the credit for that work of art.”
“I, uhh …” Charlie says slowly while awkwardly backing out of the room with his bacon and egg roll in his hand. “Just remembered that I need to go and stick needles in my eyes,” he says, glancing back at me. “I’ll meet you outside in ten if you still need that lift to school.”
I nod and in a flash, he's out of here, not willing to stick around for whatever bullshit storm Laurelle is about to create. With Charlie out of the way, she’s quick to throw her glare back at her son. “I want this fixed right now, Colton or so help me …”
“You’ll do what?” he questions. “Take away my TV privileges? You haven't got a leg to stand on. You’re getting nothing from me. Try the twins. They just got their inheritance, why don't you go mooch off them for a while. Though, they’re just like you and have issues sharing so good luck getting anything out of them.”
Laurelle shrieks and with a huff, she storms out of the kitchen while swiping her hand across the counter and knocking my bacon and egg roll onto the ground, smashing the expensive china in the process.
“Wow, real mature,” I call after her as her heels clickity-clack faster than anything. We hear her string of curses through the whole house, making a scene wherever she goes and smashing a few vases in the process.
I turn back to Colton. “It baffles me why your dad didn’t keep her around longer.” Colton laughs and I walk over to him and take a bite out of his roll. “Are you alright? That couldn’t have been easy.”
“Actually,” he grumbles. “Sticking it to her was kinda fun. I might do it again.”
“Okay,” I laugh. “Well, make sure that I’m around when you do. I wouldn't want to miss another show like that. Ten out of ten for the drama. You really hit the nail on the head.”
Colton rolls his eyes and I help myself to another bite of his roll. “Though, speaking of you being a bad, bad boy before I showed up … what’s the deal with Jude? I’ve kinda been avoiding that whole section of the house.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he says. “He’s … surviving.”
“Only just?”
He nods.
“Good. But what do we do? It’s not like we can just keep him down there forever and if we let him go, we risk him telling someone.”
“I know,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low, not wanting to be overheard. “I’d hate to put this kind of pressure on you, but you're the one who was hurt. It’s your call. Whatever you want to do.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “I might be from Breakers Flats but I’m not some criminal mastermind. I don’t know what to do with this shit.”
“I’m not doing this to make my life easy. Trust me, if I could, I’d just do what needs to be done and take that pressure off your hands, but this justice is for you, and being the one who gets to decide his fate puts the power in your hands. He took something from you and now you have the opportunity to do the same to him.”
I nod, understanding where he’s coming from but really not sure how I feel about it. “Can I ask you something?”
He nods. “Of course.”
“Why put him down there in the first place?” Colton’s brows furrow and I clarify my question before he starts with the obvious answers. “Why put him in the wine cellar and not lock him away. I mean, the guys in prison have a shitload nicer living arrangements than he does.”
Colton takes a breath and steps into me before lifting me onto the counter so that we see eye to eye. “There are a few reasons,” he starts. “We have the obvious answers like for one, it was the first place that I could think of on short notice, and the fact that he was going to get his ass handed to him means that there was going to be a mess. There’s plumbing down there so I could easily clean up. Reason number two, he raped you. It’s as simple as that. He hurt you and that fucker deserves to suffer.”
“That easy, huh?”
He nods, his lips pressing into a tight line as he bares an ugly part of his soul, hoping that it’s not going to scare me away, but after everything we've been through, there’s not a lot that could pull me away from him. “That easy.”
I swallow, meeting his eyes. “Have you ever done something like this before?”
“No,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, Jade. I’m not a good guy. I’ve done a shitload of stuff that I’m not proud of but keeping a fucking rapist locked in a dungeon, yeah … this is the first. I ...” Colton lets out a heavy sigh and meets my eyes. “There’s something you need to know about Jude, something that I’m hoping might help you to understand why I went to such lengths with this.”
I watch him cautiously, feeling my anxiety beginning to spark. “What is it?” I ask, my voice a soft whisper.