Page 28 of Mine, Forever

“Feeling better?”

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at the door.

Had I gone too far?

Was my fiery minx gone?

Maria worriedly looked at her and then at me. She was anxious, and I had no idea what had rattled her so much. She was the unshakable, the main reason I kept her on as the matron of Serenity. She’d never failed me, but her fear had me worried.

I pushed the door open, letting Ebony outside. She didn’t try to run, just waited by the Lincoln with York sitting in the front seat reading a paper.

Maria cleared her throat, and I turned to her. “Be careful, Mr. Black. That woman is the devil. Watch your back.”

Confused, I looked over at the orderlies who were standing well back from the door. They appeared a little anxious as well. I didn’t recognize any of them.

“Where are Tex and Ray?”

“That’s what I am saying, Mr. Black. Shekilledthem.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She seemed a little confused by my question. “I called your office. Someone said they would tell you. When you didn’t call back, I assumed you wanted me to cover it up.”

I don’t remember any note like that coming across my desk, which meant I had someone not looking after me in my organization. That shit needed to immediately be weeded out.

“How did she do it?”

“Strangulation and broken neck. She has a strong kick.”

I was impressed. Perhaps Ebony’s stay in Serenity had done exactly what I’d originally wanted.

She was broken.

The Ebony I put in here twelve months ago would never have harmed anyone, and definitely never kill someone.

“Did she show remorse?”

Maria grabbed a tablet from the desk behind me and clicked on the screen a few times before handing it to me.

I was watching CCTV footage of Ebony’s room. Orderlies were trying to restrain her, but she kept outsmarting them. As I watched her kick one orderly, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle before he fell to the ground. She seemed to look down at the body for a moment, before she launched at the other orderly, wrapping the buckle of her straitjacket around his neck and pulling backward with as much force as she could. I surmised they had been trying to get the straitjacket tied on her when she launched at them. As the second orderly fell, she started to maniacally laugh. As she looked up to the camera, flipping the bird, I could almost feel a chill as her black eyes showed absolutely no remorse.

“She only got worse after that.”

I handed the tablet back to her. This was definitely something I had wanted to know. My broken princess was ready for me. This stint at Serenity had done more than I had ever expected. “Who took the call from my office?”

“Somebody named Duncan.”

The one who hadn’t liked my obsession with Ebony. I almost felt regret over killing him already. This insubordination would have been perfect for putting the fear in the boys.

“I want a copy of that footage. Don’t worry. She won’t hurt me.”

Maria didn’t seem convinced, but nodded sending the footage off to my email account as I left the building. I had wondered if Ebony would run, but she was patiently sitting in the back seat waiting for me.

There was something I needed to do. Something my gut was telling me to do. If Duncan knew I was getting soft, then the others would know too. To be honest, I even think York doubted my decision-making skills lately. I’d taken her for long enough. If there was one thing that would prove to me what kind of person she was now, it would be returning her to her family. That was something Giordy would never expect, and something I knew would give me the answers I needed.

I told York to take us to Giordy’s restaurant, watching her the entire time. She didn’t flinch nor look at me. What was going on in that crazed little mind of hers? I texted Giordy to let him know I was bringing her back, which didn’t elicit a response. He must have been running scared at the prospect of me returning his little niece after the past twelve months of threats and mind games.

“I guess she told you.”

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