Page 73 of Hidden Heir

She looks uncertain as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Still…”

“Please.” My thumb runs over her knuckles. “You did amazing. And you’re a pretty good shot being able to get the both of us.”

She lets out a soft, humorless laugh before a shudder runs through her body. “What’s going to happen to him?”

“Paul?”

She looks up at me. Fear hides in her eyes like a shadow, lingering just out of sight. My thoughts reluctantly turn to that monster. Countless nights I’ve lain awake dreaming about what I want to do to him. Selina and my father saved his life, but only so he can face punishment. Having him die from that gunshot would have been letting him off far too easily.

“I’m going to kill him,” I say. “I don’t know how yet but he will suffer. For everything he did to you and for everything he did to me. I’ve contemplated copying what he did to us. Thought about skinning him alive. Thought about setting him on fire. Honestly, I’m still undecided but he will die. He will never hurt you again.”

To my surprise, Brooke doesn’t look too alarmed at that prospect. Instead, she shifts on the bed until she’s facing me fully, her lips twitching. “Can you teach me?”

“Teach you what?” My brow lifts.

“He terrorized me first,” she murmurs. “Destroyed my business. Murdered Hannah. Killed my asshole brother. I want you to teach me how to make him suffer.”

I can’t decide if I should be worried or proud.

“And then,” Brooke says as she lifts her chin defiantly. “Iwant to kill him.”

32

BROOKE

Two weeks later, I’m standing with my arms crossed on the upper deck of a yacht in the middle of the ocean. Deep blue water stretches in every direction, reflecting the gorgeous blue sky above. Birds fly back and forth, weaving between the gorgeous white fluffy clouds that drift lazily. A warm breeze brushes arms.

I’m healing.

Slowly.

Part of me is certain some things will never heal, like the loss of sensation in my fingers and the twinge I feel in my wrist every time I pick up something heavy. My physiotherapist told me that will fade over time, but I don’t want it to. It serves as a good reminder.

Water laps at the hull of the yacht as we sit anchored above the infinite depths of the ocean. Our exact location is unknown; Leon insisted it was better that way. The less I know, the better.

I don’t care about the location, there’s only one thing I’m focused on.

On the deck below me, flanked by two guards holding assault rifles, kneels Paul Conti—the demon who turned my quiet lifeinto a dark corner of hell. I see him every time I close my eyes. A restful night of sleep escapes me unless I take sleeping pills beforehand.

I want him to suffer.

The yacht rocks back and forth against the waves and Paul glances up, briefly meeting my eyes. I stare down coldly. I feel nothing for this human being. He looks so small now. Pathetic. His face is covered in bruises, his clothes hanging in rags about his body. He wheezes slightly each time he breathes in. Paul was kept in captivity while Leon and I were in the hospital. He was under Selina’s watchful eye and she was instructed to treat him appropriately.

But it’s not enough.

He destroyed so much of my life. I want to be the last thing he ever sees.

“Brooke?” Movement behind me sends a shiver up my spine. Leon approaches slowly. He has been walking with a cane ever since he got the cast off of his leg. His busted knee is taking time to heal but with physical therapy he’s getting stronger every day.

“Hey.”

“Are you sure you still want to do this?”

I look down at Paul and nod. “I need to.”

“There’s no going back once it’s done.”

“I know but I need to do this. I have so much anger inside me and I need to let it out. I need to make sure I have a hand in this. It will help me to know that he can never hurt me again. It’s all well and good for you to promise that you will protect me but…” I pause and sigh softly, rubbing my hands up and down my arm. “I need to do this to protect myself.”

---