Page 22 of Revenge

Staring at the countryside through the window, I knew I was in England. I’d never been to this house but I could tell from the landscape, the colour of the grass and that bleak British sky.

Being back in London wasn’t so bad but as what? As Kai’s captive? I had no way of knowing what he was going to do. And why was he keeping my mother so close? There had to be a reason, Kai always had one.

I glanced around the room. It was decorated in pale blues and gold. The flooring was polished oak and clearly expensive; not the cheap laminate shit that Anton had in his apartment.

Spying the bathroom, I went to pull the door open and peeked inside. The suite was white and it was spotlessly clean with various toiletries dotted across the shelving. Girly stuff which suggested the bathroom belonged to a woman. If Kai had put me up in one of his tart’s rooms, I think I’d be sick.

As I was staring aimlessly into the bathroom, there was a knock on the bedroom door and I walked warily over to it.

Pulling it ajar, I stuck my head through the crack and was faced with the chest of the man I saw earlier, Cillian. I craned my neck. He appeared much taller up close with a threatening vibe naturally radiating from his wide shoulders. He was dressed impeccably; enforcer indeed, aka contract killer.

“Yes?” I said with a definite narky tone which made him smile.

“You lookexactlylike your pictures.”

My eyes narrowed, “You’ve seen my picture?”

“Yes. Your mother talks about you all the time,” he said, his voice deep and thick. The resentment I’d seen earlier appeared to have gone.

“And you are?” I said rudely, needing to know hisfullname.

“Cillian Connors.”

Cillian Connors; I’d heard him called by just his surname before. He was a hitman who worked for the Kinlans;fucking great.

“I can see by your expression that you’ve heard of me, but don’t believe everything they say.”

“Sorry, but I firmly believe that there’s no smoke without fire,” I muttered, and he nodded.”

“Very wise.” There was a beat of silence before he added, “I imagine you're wondering what your mother is doing here.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I grunted, “Not at all. She explained it. You divorce husbands, not children—apparently.”

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to catch up properly tomorrow,” Connors said. Did I imagine a flicker of sympathy? Probably.

I rolled my eyes, “What do you want?”

His eyes crinkled at the sides as his smile became much wider. “Kai wants you to dress for dinner. It’s at six sharp, in the dining room on the ground floor.”

I glanced down at my tatty clothes. “In what, may I ask?”

Cillian nodded towards the wardrobes behind me on the opposite side of the room to the windows. “You should have everything you need. I would suggest you don’t shower just yet. Dr Farmer only recently changed your dressing,” he said, motioning towards the bandage wrapped around my side. Farmer. That bloody butcher.

“Fine.” I then closed the door in his face. The noise of his laughter echoed as he walked away. So, I amused him; like I was a fucking clown or something. Bastard.

Shaking off those useless thoughts, I walked into the bathroom and carefully lifted off my tank top so I didn’t pull my side. I then tugged off my jeans and shed my underwear.

I gave myself a strip wash and then wrapped a towel around my body before seeing what the wardrobe contained.

There were drawers in there with underwear, all my sizes and new with the tags on. I suddenly felt like Alice going down the rabbit hole, it was so surreal.

The wardrobe contained loads of dresses and the shelving to the side was stocked with jeans, coloured tops, and T-shirts.

Kai had ordered me to dress for dinner and so in true Ava style, I did the opposite.

I pulled out a matching underwear set in plain white cotton and tugged on tight skinny jeans and a pink tee, carefully sliding the material over my bandage.

Shoving my feet into black ballet flats, I peered at my reflection in the mirror. My mother was right, I looked pale and drawn and borderline scrawny. I blamed my lack of colour on Kai for drugging me.

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