Clayton won’t like it when I refuse to divulge Petra’s whereabouts. And an angry Clayton is—
“Well, young lady. Quite the merry go round you’ve led me on, isn’t it?”
The bag is whipped off my head. The action drags my hair in front of my face. I look around, try to orient myself. Not quite the dungeon under a castle in the middle of the South China Sea, but it’s dark and dingy all right. We’re in a basement. Eight feet above, small, filthy rectangular windows reflect streetlights. Somewhere in the distance, hip hop blares from loud speakers.
The naked bulb above my head burns into my skin and blinds me, but I’m able to make out Clay, sitting on a chair six feet from me. Our gazes collide, and I see hate blazing from eyes the same color as mine.
I shrug.
He lifts an eyebrow. “That’s all I get? After hunting you for six weeks? A shrug?”
I stare back at him. He has the nerve to look disappointed.
“I see you haven’t let all that time go to waste, though? Quite the industrious little bee you’ve been. Such a shame you didn’t think to work that enthusiastically for me back at The Villa.”
I let my gaze radiate boredom. It’s the only way to get what I want, the tape off my mouth. Sure enough, he snaps his fingers impatiently. A figure appears from the circle of light. Earl, his one eye glaring hate and condescension.
“Didn’t I tell you you’d end up like this, you filthy slut?” he crows, then he rips the tape off my mouth.
The rippling trail of pain it leaves forces a gasp out of me. “No, actually, you were wrong. I’m not screaming and I’m not naked. I’m also sure as hell not dead.”
“We’ll see about that—”
“Enough, Earl.”
Earl sneers and moves out of the way.
Clayton smirks. “You were saying?”
“Go fuck yourself?”
He grimaces. “Ah, she lives. I suppose I’ve had that coming for…what? Two months? Ten years? More?”#p#分页标题#e#
“I’m never going to tell you where she is. Never!”
He nods. “I know. But I’ll find her. I’m a patient man. I’ll find her and bring her home.” He leans forward, elbows on knees. “I just want us to be a family, Lucky. Is that so bad?”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? I may be in shock but I’m not insane.”
His head tilts. “You sure about that? From the circus blowing all over the news, I say you inherited some of your mother’s mental instability.”
“She got that way because of what you did to her!”
“What? Treat her like a queen? Give her the best that money can buy only to find out she’s screwing that dimwit behind my back?”
Earl grumbles. Clayton ignores him.
“You really are delusional, aren’t you?”
He regards me steadily for a minute. “Ridge didn’t deserve what you did to him.”
Now the fear invades. So does the rage. “He tried to rape me, with your blessing.”
“Now, let’s not sling unfair accusations around. You went down there of your own free will. Like your mother, you thought you could pull the wool over my eyes when I was two steps ahead of you the whole time.”
“If you were you would’ve foreseen what happened to your lapdog.”
Fury shrouds his face. “Watch your tone. That man was a veteran, a defender of his country. He didn’t deserve to be barbecued by a second rate whore.”
My eyes widen. “My God, you loved him, didn’t you? What, he was the son you never had, while the daughter under your nose deserved to be passed around like a Sunday afternoon buffet?”
“I kept you fed and clothed—”
“While keeping me under guard twenty-four hours and whoring me off seven days a week. Yeah, I felt really loved.”
“This isn’t a father-daughter bonding session, Lucky.” He reaches into his suede jacket and pulls out a folded document. “This is a warrant for your arrest, signed by my good friend, Judge Tolley, you remember him? You gave him a birthday treat to remember last year. All I need is to act on this, and you’ll be back in Getty Falls standing trial for murder.”
Despite the quaking inside, I lift my chin. “Are you sure? I’m pretty certain the authorities will have something to say about a Sheriff three thousand miles from his sand pit randomly slapping handcuffs on a citizen.”
“You assume anyone knows I’m here. I have a private jet on standby. I could have you back home and in jail by nightfall. And while you’re awaiting your trial, I’ll continue my search for Petra.”