Page 121 of Vicious Sentiments

Dillon is tied up, bound by rope at the ankles, knees, and wrists and handcuffed to the bottom of the island. He has tight duct tape wrapped around his mouth. He tries to yell through the tape but it’s just a convoluted muffle that sounds like it’s coming from a throat that has been screaming for hours, ragged and raw.

I clamor to grab the towel, all my private bits on display, even though his eyes are strictly on my face and pleading.

“Dillon…” I wrap the towel over my body and crawl towards him. He tries to yell again, his cheeks pudgy over the sides of the tape, face red and blotchy. His eyes are bloodshot and his wrists are raw, I presume from trying to get free.

“What…What happened?” I kneel next to him and try ripping at the tape. I can’t get my fingers between it and his skin and it won’t budge. I desperately try to find the end, a flap, something I can use to unravel it.

“I’m trying,” I say as he wriggles, still trying to say something but his throat is too hoarse.

“Stop.”

My hands freeze behind Dillon’s head and I turn quickly.

“Cape! I don’t know why he’s… I just found him…”

“Stop.” Cape’s jaw is set and it takes me a minute to comprehend what he’s saying.

“Stop?” I let my hands fall, and Dillon tries to scream again. “But…” I glance between the two of them. My wet hair is a mess around my shoulders and my towel is barely holding up. I’m on my knees and I shift to my side, catching Dillon’s eyes. “But someone…”

“I stuck him in here till everything is cleared up.”

“What? Why?” I stand, trying to put some distance between me and Dillon. The look in his eyes making my stomach knot.

Julian suddenly appears behind Cape. “Are you okay? I couldn’t get rid of Alec. Fuck, I thought something—” His eyes finally land on Dillon. “Why is Dillon tied up?”

Cape huffs and steps around me. He squats in front of Dillon and easily, but roughly, rips the tape. He turns and puts his hands up as Dillon takes a ragged breath.

“I’m going to fucking ruin this whole family,” Dillon seethes. “You’reall fucking insane. Is my sister okay?! I should be at the hospital!” He yanks at the cuffs and they rattle. “You fucked upagainand this time it’s my sister who has to pay for it?” he snarls and shimmies till his feet are against the island. He pushes and pulls at the cuffs. They cut into his skin, but he doesn’t stop, like a wolf trying to eat off its own arm. His rant doesn’t stop either.

“I’m going to the police and if they don’t believe me, I’m going to the FBI. Margo would have let the business go when Luca died if it wasn’t for you two. When are you guys going to get it through your thick fucking skulls that what you’re doing is dangerous? My parents! Your fiance!” he spits in Cape’s direction. “Now my sister? And if you think your precious little teenager is going to survive, you’re just flat out stupid. And Margo lets you two get away with it,get away with murder,and I’m not going to let you drag her down with you. Just wait till I fucking get out of here!”

I gape at Dillon in a stupor and from my peripheral Cape raises his brows at me like,you see what I’m dealing with here?And I do see. Dillon has completely lost his mind, granted he’s entitled to, considering he’s probably mad with worry about Marney and has been cuffed and gagged in a closet.

Dillon’s eyes are wild, and I would compare them to the eyes of a mental patient who wants out of his little barred room. One who would set fire to the building if he ever did get out. Which doesn’t bode well for the situation.

“You didn’t think to reason with him before you stashed him in a closet?” Julian says and steps past us. “He probably just wants to be with his sister…”

“Fuck you!” Dillon snarls when Julian squats near him.

“Yeah, how’s that working out for you?” Cape drawls and leans against the door frame.

Julian rolls his eyes and turns back to Dillon. “Buddy, I want tountie you. I can take you to the hospital. They have Marney in the ICU. She hit her head pretty badly but is going to be okay.”

I gulp at his lie. The doctor didn’t saydefinitively.

“But you have to stop with this whole idea of sinking the ship because Capewillleave you here to rot.”

Dillon laughs, a full hearty laugh that turns my blood cold. “When Margo finds me she’ll untie me. She’s not going to let you—”

“Oh, and she’s going to let you put her sons in jail? I don’t think so,” Cape says. “Why are you so sure she’s going to side with you anyways, huh?” Cape pushes off the wall and prowls towards him. He towers over Dillon like a predator that has pinned its prey.

“Because she loves me,” Dillon’s voice has turned to ice and he enunciates each word.

“More than her flesh and blood?” Cape asks, not realizing what Dillon actually means. My mouth goes dry and I suck in my lips. Does he really think Margo loves him more than a son?

“Don’t say that.” Julian frowns at his brother. “That’s fucked up. He’s our brother, blood or not.”

“Did you not just hear what he said?”

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