Page 95 of The Devil's Pawn

“Dead.”

“Your father killed them?”

“No. I killed them.” I study her for signs she’s scared or appalled, but her expression doesn’t change. She’s still looking at me as though I’m a good man—someone worth sticking around for.

“Dad gave me the choice. Annabel was my twin. Killing the men who ripped away her innocence and strangled her was my responsibility. I undertook it with pride.” I take a deep breath. It’s time she knows the full extent of what I’m capable of. “I’ve killed many men since then, and I’ll kill many more.” I look straight into her eyes. “Does that bother you?”

Imogen’s reaction is subtle but unmistakable. Her shoulders tense, and a muscle in her jaw twitches as she processes what I said. “If it did, would you change?”

“No.” I’ll never stop avenging Annabel. “I kill men who deserve it, those who rape, beat, and violate women and children. Men who don’t deserve the luxury of a prison cell, where parole is too often granted. Men who’ll never change, who can’t be rehabilitated.”

“How do you know that? What if you kill someone who doesn’t deserve it? An innocent man.”

“I have a small team of detectives on the payroll. They’re thorough and proficient. It doesn’t matter how long it takes us to uncover the evidence, but my code, if you like, is that I don’t move on anyone if their guilt isn’t certain.”

“How do you kill them?”

I make a fist of each of my hands. “With these.”

She nods. “That’s why you had cuts and bruises that day. The day I fixed you up.”

“Yes.”

“And you do it for those you lost.” Her voice is so soft I have to strain to pick up what she said.

“Yes. For Annabel, and for my mother—an innocent victim to the violence my sister suffered. She never left a note, but we figured she just couldn’t live with the pain, knowing the terror and agony her daughter went through.”

She shakes her head. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago, but its effects still cause ripples today. Hence my weekly visits to a therapist.” I caress her cheek with the back of my hand. “Now you understand why I track your phone and why you must take it with you when you leave the house, even if you’re still on the estate.”

The phone is only a backup now, and while I’ve told her a lot, I’m not prepared to tell her about the tracker in her arm, nor the contraceptive I had my doctor inject her with. She wouldn’t understand, and I’m unwilling to defend myposition. It is what it is, and I am what I am. There’s no changing me or my stance on these issues, therefore an inevitable argument is pointless.

And even when I eventually find a way to make her leave me, I’ll still be able to protect her for the rest of her life. That, to me, is worth it.

“I understand now, and I’m sorry I fought you on it.”

I should feel guilty, but I don’t. I look after what’s mine, and if I have to break a few of society’s rules of normal behavior to do it, I will.

With zero regrets.

Chapter Thirty-Two

IMOGEN

A few days after our heart-to-heart, Alexander bursts into my rooms and announces he’s taking me on a date.

I give him an incredulous look. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m your wife. You don’t date your wife.”

Encircling my waist, he pulls me flush to his body. “How could I forget that? Oh, and while we’re gone, I’m having the staff move your things into my apartment.”

A thrill rushes through me. We’ve grown so close, I’d hoped he’d offer, and now he has. But I can’t help teasing him. “And if I don’t want to move in with you?”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Your persuasion technique needs a little work.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my persuasion technique. You’re moving in. Done. No further persuasion needed.”

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