Page 77 of Bound By Obsession

“Am I? The police questioned me in relation to some recent reports. Turns out, I had an alibi for all instances,” he smiles a slimy grin that tells me he either planned ahead or had one of the men lingering nearby lie for him. Something they would no doubt do again if he decides I’m not walking out of here alive. I swallow hard, my hands resting on the table to keep them from shaking.

“Why am I here?” I cut to the chase. I don’t plan on staying longer than necessary. Fredrick’s smile widens impossibly more.

“Straight to the point. I like that. But let’s not be so hasty, hmm? We’re both men of business, and business, Wyatt, takes time.” Fredrick’s tongue rolls across his yellow, stained teeth. Being so close to a man who would hurt a young child, an innocent one like Avery no less, makes my skin crawl, but I force myself to sit and endure it. I can’t afford to lose my cool here. Not with my every move being watched by so many.

“What kind of business?” I question. Fredrick leans back and folding his hands in front of him, the picture of relaxed menace.

“We’re the same you and I, Wyatt.”

“I don’t abuse children,” I immediately shoot back. Several men nearby tense but Fredrick doesn’t even falter, waving his hand dismissively. He has no qualms with his past, the personality of a madman.

“You can deny it but I’m not wrong. Excusing the affliction we share for Avery, Catherine Hughes used us both. We were pawns in her life, an existence she never stopped running from. Do you reckon she’s watching down on this union?” He lifts his glass into the air, gesturing at the ceiling. That’s when I know he’s officially lost it, and I’m certainly not bonding with a man I loathe.

“You had a proposition for me. Let’s get on with it,” I press, eager to be out of my seat. Fredrick leans in slightly and I catch the faintest whiff of cologne. Sharp and metallic, like gunpowder mixed with aftershave.

“Strange,” Fredrick murmurs and sits back, assessing me both closely and from afar. I straighten my shoulders, not cowering as this lowlife grins. “Nature or nurture indeed.”

“Are you going to make any sense?” I can’t suppress a sigh.

“Hmmm? Oh, bad habits I’m afraid. Ten years in a prison cell will do that to you.” He tips his glass as if I’m supposed to cheers the notion that hurting Avery put him behind bars. I don’t move, yet he smiles. Always damn smiling, like he has so much to be happy about. “I was merely commenting on the fact that you didn’t know Ray, yet you’re so much like him.”

Cold dread rushes over me as if someone has tipped a bucket of ice over my head. What does Fredrick know of the Perelli’s? And Rachel. Oh god, if he approaches Rachel- “You should really try the wine, Wyatt. You’ve gone white as a sheet.” His mocking laughter travels but I make no attempt to take my glass. For all I know, it’s laced with poison.

“You knew Ray?” I ask through a clenched jaw. I notice the same moment Fredrick does that I’ve taken his bait. Hook, line and fucking sinker. His blue eyes twinkle with glee.

“Not personally. Do you know, it’s marvelous how much clarity one can gain from simply sitting back? All that chasing and tracking, exhausting honestly. It’s been much more fun watching Nixon squirm, constantly looking over his shoulder. Do you know he moves hotels every other day? Equally as exhausting to watch, but I enjoy his efforts.”

Fredrick lifts his fork to pick at a piece of pasta, popping it into his mouth and chewing carefully. Thoughtfully. I grip the edges of my seat, not leaning into the game he’s encouraging me to play. I won’t ask for more answers, and the cunning side of him can’t resist telling me anyway.

“I located Ray Perelli first, before any of this started. I knew you weren’t mine, it’s intrinsic you know. I thought tracing your origins would bring me clarity, a straight child swap perhaps. But Nixon, despite his many flaws, is too calculated for that,” Fredrick sighs.

“He didn’t tell anyone where he hid my second child, not even his wife at first. I know this because the housekeeper kindly offered up Cathy’s journal to me after I took the liberty of removing a few of her fingers. I tore out the pages which were of interest, holding onto them for twenty years until I delivered them to your frat house for Avery’s perusal. I thought it was time she learnt the truth of her origins.” He grins viciously.

One more piece of pasta goes into his mouth, not a shadow of regret for maiming an innocent woman. If the odds weren’t stacked against me, I’d launch across the table and stab him with his own fork. Maybe that’s what it means to be Ray’s son. Except for now, I’m forced to sit and endure this rambling monologue, coming to the realization that Fredrick is years ahead of us,having overseen the entire picture while we’ve scrambled for snippets.

I need to bring this to an end, just being in close proximity to him is toying with my boundaries. I don’t want to be a man filled with hatred, harnessing rage to hurt those around me and keep them at a distance. But I’d hurt Fredrick Walters without a second thought and not care about the mark on my soul for it.

“What do you want from me?” I clench my jaw, feeling the tick beat there. Fredrick’s eyes lift and widen, as if he’d forgotten I was there. All of his focus was directed at his pasta.

“Now that is a smart question,” he exhales loudly. “Like I said, truly exhausting keeping tabs on you all. I made some worthy connections during my incarceration, but they have their own thirsts too. I can only keep a handle on them for so long before something slips through the cracks,” Fredrick gives a few of his men a pointed look. It darkens his eyes, pressing on until the smile slowly vanishes from his face.

“Take Cathy’s tragic demise for example. I’d asked for a small scare, is all. When I received the news that she’d died-” Fredrick lifts his glass by the top. He glares at it, the wine inside offending him. I watch his knuckles turn white, his arm beginning to tremble until the glass shatters, thick shards spearing his palm. He doesn’t even flinch.

“Let’s just say, the culprit paid in kind. Cathy was all I wanted. She’s all I ever wanted.” It’s like watching a thriller movie, the scene before me unfolding and leaving me as merely a viewer. Without the crazed smile, Fredrick’s entire face has changed. I don’t know what’s more unsettling, his far-off daze or his sneer and twitching eye.

A waitress appears out of the back, a young girl in a simple uniform who’s stick thin with purple circles around her eyes. I can’t tell if they’re from lack of sleep or being punched. My stomach flips as she approaches, quietly attending to Fredrick’shand like it’s the norm. Picking out large, bloodied shards, she pats his hand with a cloth and tucks it back into her front pocket. I trace her footsteps, see the deadened look in her eyes and have to physically pin myself to my seat. She’s not my problem, not who I’m here to save.

“Look,” I straighten my shoulders in my jacket. “I don’t give a shit about any of that. I don’t care for your explanations, you’ll always be a piece of shit in my eyes, but you’ve asked me here for a reason. Tell me or I’m gone.” The smile spreads across Fredrick’s face and I’ve made my choice. It is decidedly more horrifying. Fredrick flicks his injured hand out, spraying blood across his pasta.

“But that’s exactly what I’ve been saying! The men keeping tabs for me are becoming restless, I can’t hold them back much longer. If I don’t pull them back soon, they’ll take what they want and believe me when I say,” Fredrick chases the eye of one of his goons watching our interaction from a few tables away, and leans closer to whisper. “We’re not the only ones who see Avery’s appeal.”

My eyes harden. “If anyone of you touches a single hair on her head-”

“So it’s time I ended this,” Fredrick talks over me. “I’m going to call off this whole charade, leave you all alone. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” One of my brows dips while I try to anticipate his angle.

“You’re stopping? It’s over, just like that?” I ask, not believing it for a single second.

“Well,” Fredrick grins wide, putting all of Garrett’s smiles to shame. The malicious intent pouring from that tight pull of his lips will haunt me for a while to come. “Not empty handed, of course. I’ve come too far to walk away with nothing to show for it.” My foot taps with impatience as he stalls, pushing me to theedge of my curiosity before continuing. Setting his eyes squarely on mine, Fredrick leers across the table.

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