Page 18 of But I'm Still Standing

I look to the next guy who is thrashing around as much as he can being tied up the way he is in my human sized web. I chuckle as I repeat the process and put a moth in his ear as well. I watch them in awe as they look like they are going nuts and can’t do anything about it. I think this could actually drive them mad if left long enough. Hmm. Maybe I’ll let them suffer for a bit.

The song stops and I can see them still shaking their heads around like insane people as the next song, “I’m A Believer,” by Smashmouth starts playing and something clicks. I take my earbuds out and smile at the two men having a fit in the tight ropes and decide to let them hang a while. I shove ball gags into their mouths, strapping them on to muffle the dreadful sounds they are making. I take off upstairs and hit Joe with the fake door behind the bar.

“That was fast for you!” Joe chuckles with his eyebrows raised, probably at the look on my face.

“Sorry man, but I think I know who the queen is, and my dad has some explaining to do. Pour me a drink andI’ll fill you in on my theory. MJ helped more than she could possibly imagine, so did Savvy.”

I sit at the head of the dinner table looking at my father, the great Augustine Maxwell Deveraux, wondering how in the hell I missed it all. I raise my glass of bourbon and stand to make a toast after the girls clear desert and bring out drinks for us guys to chat over cigars.

“Why don’t we go to the library, the girls don’t like us having cigars in undesignated areas of the house. It has become my favorite room in the house since Savvy was taken. Sylvia, why don’t you join us? I’m sure you would like to be caught up on the latest news of your daughter.”

She just nods and smiles at my father, “Max, will you take my drink, darling, I need to use the ladies and then I’ll be right there.” She gives my father a kiss on the cheek and heads in the opposite direction. I would love to slap the fucking grins off of their faces.

We enter the library, and all get seated before I begin. The guys know I will wait until Sylvia is here for this. How all of this goes determines if they will get to leave the library or go to the caves. Once she takes her seat, I grab the remote and turn on Savvy’s playlist, letting them hear what I’ve been listening to, apparently wrong, for the last week.

“When did you find out that my mother is still very much alive and why are you hiding the fact that she is the queen?” I ask Sylvia directly. My father stands and looks at me like I’ve grown two heads.

“Son, your mother was killed years ago. I have her ashes for Christ’s sake.” He throws his hands up at me.

“Yeah, those aren’t her ashes, are they Sylvia?” Joe asks as he gets up from his seat motioning me to hang on a second. He leaves the room and I hear him hush shouting at Jill but can’t hear or make out what he is saying. What was she doing outside the library?

Joe comes back in looking even more pissed, putting Jills signaturered cell in his back pocket. “Please continue.” He motions with his hands as he sits in the plush brown leather chair to Sylvias left.

“No, they aren’t her ashes.” She looks up at my father as tears fall from her eyes.

“So, the bitch is alive?” my father asks, grabbing Sylvia by the throat. We all stand, not knowing what to do. She is his wife, well not legally if my mother is alive, but still.

I put my hand on my dads’ arm to get him to stop for a second.

“You didn’t know? Seriously?” I ask him.

He lets go of Sylvia, letting her fall back onto the couch while Jasper and Joe make sure she stays put.

“Son, you have to believe that I thought she was dead. I had no idea she was still alive. I ordered the hit on her, and Boudreaux brought me back her ashes. I swear I had no idea.” He pleads with me, and I know he isn’t lying.

“Get your bitch to talk. I already know that Savvy’s dad made a deal with Fiona to be able to keep her, not Sylvia. They were trying to keep her away from Sylvia saying she would put her up to the highest bidder to be rid of her secret child. The only reason Savvy survived after the birth was because she was taken by Fiona and given to her dad. Sylvia never even held her. That is what he was told. He also had a man come and see him that told him to keep his mouth shut about Fiona and say that it was Sylvia instead of Fiona. He told him he would hurt Savvy if he talked. That was the night he had the heart attack. Sylvia has known all along because she gave them Lottie to train when Bash got her pregnant at fucking fifteen.” I back away, letting him deal with his wife.

“Do you know where she is?” He turns to Sylvia, and I can tell he is ready to strangle her.

“No, I swear I don’t know where she is, if I did, I would have already gotten Savvy back.” She cries out as my dad grabs her by the hair, yanking her up. Do you have what I need to make her talk?” he asks, realizing like the rest of us that she is lying. Her acting skills are good, but not good enough.

“Max, no! You can’t do this to me! I’m your covenant!” Sylvia shouts, crying harder now.

“Right this way.” Joe leads the way to the secret door in the bookcase, opening it.

“Hmm, nice, son.” My dad almost smirks at the fake door.

We all usher her down into the cave as she kicks and screams, telling us we are all going die soon enough. We toss her on the ground and Joe holds her down on her stomach for me to zip tie her wrists. Joe released his foot on her back as Jasper grabs her by her hair, picking her up off the ground and slamming her into a wooden chair.

My dad rolls up his sleeves as we tie her to the chair. He comes up to her and slaps her before grabbing her face and meeting it with his. “I loved you for as long as I can remember, and you never changed. You used the fact that you had to give up one daughter just to lose your other to make me feel sorry for you. Was it all a lie? Did you ever love me? Was this all just part of your game with Vivian? How could you give up your own daughter?” Spit hits her face as he yells at her. She just sits there, attempting to give him an evil smile as he squeezes her cheeks together. He finally releases her when she cackles loudly, mocking him.

“You are all idiots. Does your son even know he is a Saint? Do any of them know about their birth right? You and their fathers have made them weak instead of giving them their legacy. You and I both know it. Savvy will be a Saints whore soon enough if she isn’t already. Just like Charlotte was, and just like me. We all have our secrets and lies. Why don’t you start to fess up yours and I’ll think about telling you mine.” She spits out, venom laced in her voice as she laughs again. She looks fucking crazy.

“What is this Saint bullshit? Why am I just learning about this, all of us?” I finally ask the question that has been burning in my brain since I saw MJ. She is going to try and come back next week if she can. She is shopping for her wedding dress and Savvy told her about the bridal store she liked here. Apparently, Alec is all too happy for her to have the dress from the store she wants. From what she saidabout him, he doesn’t sound like a bad guy. Or so he has shown her so far.

“Yeah, we are all Saints, we kept you boys out of it, wanting a better life for you. We had a loophole and took it for you. It’s time to pay the piper now though boys and you are going to have some catching up to do. I’ll explain later. Right now, leave me with my wife to see what I can get. You boys go get some rest unless you feel like finishing whatever you had going down here with the two in your web. You can make her watch what will happen if she doesn't talk” He states flatly, eyeing Sylvia like he is going to have some fun tonight.

“I’ve got to take care of something, I’ll be back down in a few minutes.” Joe says as he walks towards the courtyard end of the caves, pulling out Jills phone.

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