Page 36 of Reckoning

“Where is Meyer?”

Joshua shifted uncomfortably.

“He had to leave on an unexpected business trip. He won’t be back until the weekend.”

He was lying, and I knew it. I dropped my hands to my lap, slapping them against the comforter. “He ran away.”

Joshua shrugged. “If that’s how you want to interpret it.”

I forced myself to look at him, gritting my teeth. “And what am I supposed to do?”

He stood, buttoning his jacket, and gestured at the clothes folded on top of the dresser. “First, get dressed. Second, eat breakfast. We’ll go from there.”

“We?”

He was walking out of the room. “Two minutes.”

I wasted at least thirty seconds thinking through what he said, then dragged myself out of bed and over to the pile of clothes set out for me. I felt like a toddler, dressing every day in an outfit someone else chose from me. I didn’t even know where the clothes came from. The only thing I put away and picked out myself was my makeshift pajamas, which Joshua must have dressed me in while I was knocked out.

I was just pulling the shirt over my head when the door opened, and I heard soft footfalls approach me. I turned around, nearly chest to chest with Joshua as he came up behind me and took my arm, steering me out of the room.

“Wait,” I insisted, digging in my heels, but he didn’t slow. I found my feet stuttering across the floor as I stumbled behind him. “What is happening? Why are you dragging me around?”

He responded without looking back. “Meyer is gone this week. You get free rein—more or less—while he’s not here to care for you.”

“Care for me?”

Joshua ignored me as we entered the breakfast room, depositing me in a chair. “I will be supervising you for the time being.” He pointed at the plate in front of me. “Eat.”

“And if I don’t?”

He sat down across from me, crossing his legs.

“I’ve been instructed to make sure you eat. If you won’t feed yourself, I’ll feed you.”

Now that I was fully awake, I felt the anger from last night that had never actually dissipated rising back to the surface. I picked up the fork in front of me, then slammed it back down. Joshua looked up from his phone, a grin on his face as if he was amused.

“This isn’t funny to me.”

He had the good grace to look humbled. “Of course not.” He turned to face me, setting down the phone and leaning on his elbows. “You must be very upset.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” The morning sun filtered through the windows, warming my skin. I shifted deeper into the shade of the room. “I was literally torn away from my mother yesterday. My hands—” I held them out before me, trembling, though I noticed my cuts had been cleaned, and there was some sort of ointment on my battered cuticles. “I’m never going to let this go.”

“Isn’t that attitude what got you here in the first place?”

“Excuse me?” I glared at him. “Conrad Schaf got me here. I am not responsible for any of this.”

“Of course.” He held up his hands, placating. “I just mean, grudges are what got this business started. I know you feel like you have every right to seek retribution for what you’re going through. But at some point, someone has to end this.”

“And you think it should be me?”

“I think it could be.”

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my breathing. I wanted to throw myself across the table and throttle him. The beating I would surely get if I tried it would probably be worth it if I could get in even one hit. Since Meyer wasn’t here for me to take out my aggression on, he was next best thing.

I hid my unsteady hands in my lap. “This family is focused on destroying mine. I’m really not interested in burying the hatchet.”

He sighed deeply. “Meyer and Conrad don’t share the same grudge.”

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