My arms instinctively tightened across my stomach.
“Demanded that I return you.”
“That motherfucker…” I shook my head, wishing I had stabbed my knife directly into his chest when I had the chance. I was free of that cult, but I was never free of him. It was an emotional imprisonment, psychological warfare.
“He made some threats, but my answer didn’t change.” His eyes came back to me.
“What kind of threats?”
He never answered. “I made my own in return—thought that solved the problem.”
“Benton.”
He held my stare.
“Answer me.”
Stoic like a Roman statue, he held his silence.
“Oh god…Claire.”
“I told him if he came anywhere near either of you, we would burn that cult to the ground.”
I stepped back, my ragged breathing turning more labored. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me—”
“Because I can handle it—”
“Obviously not!” My hands cupped my face and plunged my view into darkness because this reality was too much. My feet would feel that cold ground once again. Those wings wouldn’t make me fly. They grounded me with their weight. The pill would hit my tongue, and I would ascend…into madness.
“Constance.” His hands grabbed my wrists and pulled them down. “You need to calm down.”
I pushed his hands away. “No.”
He grabbed my wrists again, this time immobilizing me. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”
I tried to fight his hold, but it was no use. It was like a metal chain wrapped around both wrists. “Just give me back… I’m not worth it.”
He looked down at me, his eyes injured.
“Don’t feel bad about it. It’s the right—”
“No.”
“Claire—”
“You’re both my girls, Constance.”
I looked away, his words a bullet to the heart. “I took care of Claire because I wanted to. You don’t owe me anything, Benton. I would do it again even if you’d shut that door in my face and never opened it again…”
His hands loosened on mine now that I was too heartbroken to fight. “And I would protect you…even if you hadn’t saved my daughter.”
Like the room was freezing, I crossed my arms over my body, hands latching on to my skin like cold, metal bars. That sentence was the single most profound thing he’d ever said to me, but my current turmoil made it impossible to appreciate.
He watched me for a while, a foot of separation between us. “He’s just trying to get inside your head—”
“Well, he did.”
“Don’t let him—”
“You don’t understand, okay?” My arms tightened over my chest, and I stepped away. “I had to entertain a madman, and when he offered me that pill or paper, I had no other choice but to take it. I don’t know what’s worse…being so high that I could drown in two feet of water or what happens afterward.”
His eyes followed me as I paced.
I moved to the partially closed window, looking at the apartments across the street, wondering if he was in one of the windows staring at me right that very moment. “I should just go back—”
“No.”
“He’s not going to stop—”
“I will make him stop.”
I turned back to him. “Then kill him.”
His eyes faltered for just a moment, a brief look of hesitation. “You know I can’t.”
“Then kill Bartholomew.”
“He’s the reason both of you are here in the first place.”
I gave a sigh as I dragged my hands down my face. “Then can I kill him?”
His eyes narrowed.
“There’s no rule against that, right?”
He continued to stare.
“I’ll go back with poison. Then I’ll switch the papers when he’s not looking—”
“No.”
“Benton—”
“Daddy, are you coming?”
Benton gave an annoyed sigh, the first time he’d shown anything but affection for his daughter. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, sweetheart.” His eyes stayed on me, his mind still present in the conversation instead of dropping everything for her like always. “I will handle this.”
“He was in the house—”
“When no one was home. That means he’s watching us, so he’s had every opportunity to take you and hasn’t. Remember that.”
“He was in my room.” I threw my arms up. “I sleep in here—”
“Then sleep with me.”
I felt his stern gaze on my face, felt it pierce every inch of my flesh. With every passing second, it became more difficult to remain upset, not when this man chased away my fear with just his words and intense stare.
“I’m not handing you over. And you aren’t doing it voluntarily either. I will handle this.”
My arms crossed over my chest again.
He stepped closer to me. “Alright?”
I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. When he was this close, he towered over me, towered over my heart. I gave a nod.
His powerful arms encircled my body and cradled me close, his chin moving to the top of my head, his warmth like a furnace. I was diminished by his size, belittled by his strength. It felt like a cocoon, but a cocoon of steel. “I want him dead too… You have no idea how much.”