“Did you kill them all?” She’d whispered. I’d barely heard her, but the timbre was the same as what she’d just asked me.
“No.” I finished my glass and slammed it on the table. “I damn well would have if Red hadn’t pulled me off.”
Renee gripped my chin and pulled my face up to her scrutiny. All pretense of being anything other than my second mother fell away as she perused my black eye and bloody nose. “You’ll heal.”
“How is she?” I knew I shouldn’t care, that I should keep up the charade that I was only angry with Dylan for trying to take what was mine or for tampering with my Acquisition. Instead, the thought of him harming her churned my stomach and fueled my fury. I wanted his blood, all of it, on my hands.
“She’s been better. Her throat is swollen and bruised. Teddy is comforting her.”
A stab of jealousy punctured the careful cocoon that wrapped my heart. “The same way Lucius comforted her?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” She frowned and dropped her hand.
I stood so fast that Farns would have fallen if I hadn’t caught him. Murder roiled in my breast, emotions spilling into my heart through the cracks of jealousy etched into my armor.
“Calm down. You’ve misjudged her and your brother, for that matter.”
“What, by seeing them in bed together?” I forced myself to stay put even as I imagined Teddy on top of her.
“That’s all you saw. Maybe if you’d asked her instead of going off half-cocked, or maybe if you’d listened to your brother—”
“Lucius was telling the truth?” The ice water running through my veins grew colder. “They never—”
“No. And now you’ve punished her, nearly got her violated, and driven her away. And all the while you were courting that fork-tongued Oakman girl. How do you think she felt? You need to fix this.” She pinned me with a fierce gaze. “For all of us, but for yourself most of all.”
She took Farns’ elbow and helped him through the dining room and out the door. He walked with slow steps, his age creeping up on him like a masked assassin.
I lolled my head back and stared at the coffered ceiling. Had I misjudged her? I tried to put myself in her shoes—not something I’d ever even thought of before, much less attempted. Maybe Renee was right. But surely, Stella knew I only dated Sophia for show, a business arrangement, nothing more.
Sophia treaded a fine line as it was. Her lover Ellis stayed with us the entire time we travelled Europe, the two of them dining together and spending the night in a tangled heap as I smoked, drank, and thought of nothing except Stella.
During the day, Sophia and I made a handsome pair, and the deal had been struck. I would marry Sophia, set her up with a trust fund flush with Sovereign cash, and we would go our separate ways for the majority of the time, or at least until we were needed for events. She could live happily ever after with that ponce Ellis, and I would keep Stella.
I’d left Stella a note telling her to trust me. I didn’t dare call or write any other way. Ears were everywhere, and I had to keep Sophia—and by extension, Cal—happy by acting the perfect son-in-law. I knew my trust was broken the second I’d seen Stella in bed with Lucius. But maybe she’d trusted me after all.
I was no longer content to wait for answers. I stalked into the hall and up the stairs. Her door was closed, but I heard voices. I huddled close and listened.
“Just tell me what it is. Why do you stay? We could run away. I can take Laura. What keeps you here?”
I couldn’t hear her response. My fists tightened at the thought of her voice being taken by Dylan’s rough hands.
“Fine.” He sighed. “I just wish you would share it with me. I could help, you know?”
Another pause.
“Yes, I’ll stay the night. Let me go to my room and get out of these stuffy clothes. Renee already laid some PJs out next to you. Do you need help changing?”
After a moment, Teddy laughed. “Busted. Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I stepped aside as the door opened. Teddy closed it softly and gave me an unforgiving glare. “What do you want?”
“I want to see her.”
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest and blocked the door.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll stand out here for as long as it takes. You aren’t seeing her. You don’t get to see her after what you did.” His temper reminded me of my own.
“If I have to go through you, I will.”
“Fuck off, Sin. You leave her here beaten and broken. You take off to Europe with Sophia fucking Oakman while Stella has to heal from whatever torture you put her through. Then, you never give her a chance to explain what happened with Lucius.” His brows lowered, actual rage coloring his face. “And then you force her to sleep in the barn and wait on that cunt Sophia hand and foot.” His voice turned into a hiss. “She was almost raped because of you.”