Page 22 of Back In the Shadows

He lowered his hand, and I realized he must have been trying to wake me up.

“Ella cannot die. The boss said, Ella cannot die. Not yet. But he gifted you to me to take care of. I did not. I did not,” Xavier chanted softly.

“You tried to kill me.” If my body wasn’t so weak, I would have punched him in his ugly face. “Your breath stinks.” Clearly, I’d lost my mind from lack of oxygen.

“I’ll get a mint. Stay put.” Xavier laughed as he hopped out of the kitchen chair and hurried to the sink.

Panic surged through me as I struggled against the restraints, my arms bound tightly behind my back and my ankles fastened to the chair legs. My head throbbed with a sharp pain, making it difficult to think clearly. “I-I didn’t mean to be rude,” I stammered, desperation creeping into my voice. “Maybe I suffered some brain damage.” I didn’t think I had, but I was definitely foggy headed. Hopefully it would lift soon.

Xavier returned and popped a mint into his mouth, the little white disk slipping through his yellowed teeth. “Open.”

I parted my lips, and he slipped one of the refreshing candies between them.

“It will help your throat too.” He nodded and smiled as if he’d done the nicest thing for me. Maybe to him, he had.

“Who’s your boss? Does he know I have kids waiting for me at home?” My voice sounded thin and exhausted from lack of food and sleep.

“In due time, my sweet Ella.” He lifted his hand and gently stroked my cheek with his rough knuckles. “Everything will make sense.”

“But he doesn’t want me dead?”

“Nope. You’re mine. He gave you to me to have and hold and …” An evil grin slid across his face.

“I’m married, Xavier. Plus, I’m a human being, not a possession.” I kept my tone even and as soothing as possible. I didn’t want to trigger him into another episode where he might actually kill me next time.

He shook his head, disagreeing with me. “You’re mine. Can’t you accept that you’ll never leave? We’re bound by fate.”

It took every cell in my body to not cringe. It would be easier to welcome death than live the rest of my life with this monster.

“What are your plans for me? I mean your boss doesn’t want to kill me, but …” My eyes darted to his family that was still sitting at the table. I suspected he rarely moved them. “Or will I join your parents and sister?”

Deep frown lines etched into his forehead. “You betrayed me by trying to tell Sebastian where you were. You had to be punished.”

I swallowed my anxiety and thought through what I should say, choosing my words carefully.

“Is that what happened to you?” I tilted my head toward the stuffed, dead people next to me. “Were you disciplined a lot?” One thing working in law had taught me was that many criminals had an abusive background, or their brain wasn’t wired like a lot of people’s. That wasn’t the case every time, but more often than I realized once I landed the job at the law firm. Plus, I was married to a criminal, so I had a bit more insight than most. I wished resources were more widely available to study the brain and help people. I suspected it would cut down on a lot of crime, and people could lead happy lives. Maybe someday.

“Father and Mother …” He ran a hand over his wild hair. “They punished me for being different.”

“I’m so sorry. That wasn’t right. Tell me what happened. What did they do to you?” If my wrists weren’t tied behind my back, I would have reached out and held one of his to appear more interested when I didn’t give a shit about anything except getting out of here. It was clear to me I had to establish trust and make sure I didn’t end up in the same situation as his parents.

A sharp hiss left him as he smacked himself on the forehead. “Locked me up for days without any light. It drove me mad.”

My heart sank to my toes. How could anyone treat their child that way? Tears pricked my eyes as my thoughts returned to Alaric and Verity. I could never do anything like that to either of them, even if they took after Death with his craving to kill.

“It’s one thing to be different, but it pushed me over the edge, Ella. I was fed through a slot in the door as if I were a criminal. I was alone for weeks, pissing in a bucket and sharing my food scraps with the rats, so they wouldn’t bite me.” A heart-breaking wail escaped him. “I had plenty of time to plan exactly what I would do to my family.” He nodded enthusiastically. “I had to be free. Free of their torture and brutality.”

“What about your sister? She doesn’t look like she was more than fifteen when she … died.” I didn’t want to say when he killedthem, even though that was apparently what had happened. Someone did, but there was a little nudge in my gut that had me questioning if he was fucking with my head or if he really murdered these people. People lied when they were backed into a corner, and if I posed any kind of threat to Xavier, he would try to scare me. So far it was working.

“She never helped. Instead, they treated her like a princess with new clothes and birthday parties. Amber knew they kept me in that dark room, but not once did she ever try to help me get out.”

“Do you think she was too scared? If she was younger, maybe she was terrified of being punished too.”

Xavier shot out of his chair, sending it flying backward. “Are you sticking up for her? Taking her side?” The screech of his voice sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.

“No. Not at all. I was just attempting to understand better. Get to know you a little. I mean after all, we’re going to spend a lot of time together, right?” I forced a fake smile onto my face, trying to suppress the anger and fear that were boiling inside me. Regardless of his past, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted by his actions, trapping me in this creepy basement filled with spiders and disturbing clown dolls. It was no different from the torture he endured from his parents.

His shoulders relaxed as he slithered back into his seat. “Yes. Eternity, Ella.” He fisted his hair and pulled it so hard I was surprised he hadn’t yanked a handful out.

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