Page 118 of Injustice and Absolution

Josie props herself up on the barstool Drew fucked me over last night, and Ethan looms menacingly behind Drew’s chair.

“I was just telling Delilah,” Drew takes his seat again. “About the decisions we’ve helped her make these past couple months.”

I lower my gaze, unable to look at any of them. Unwilling to let them see me like this.

“In order for my plan to work, I needed you close to me at all times. I talked you into moving out, but stubbornly, you wanted to try to make it on your own. I understood, but that really would have hindered my timetable.”

My head snaps back to his when I pick up on where this is heading.

“I also needed you to quit your job, but I knew convincing you of that wasn’t going to be easy. So I had to resort to drastic measures.”

Ethan chooses that moment to crack his neck, the sound ricocheting around the room. When my attention snaps to him, I see the same sinister gleam I remember seeing the night of my attack.

And that’s when it clicks.

Why something about him has always felt … off.

Why he’s always made me feel uneasy.

Ice settles in my veins, chilling my entire body to its core. Teeth clattering, my eyes shoot from Drew to Ethan to Josie on a loop. Each of them proudly wearing their own fucked-up version of an evil smile on their face.

“I never thought you’d make it past an introduction with Ethan. Thought for sure you’d place him immediately, and we’d have to take our plan in a different direction. Perhaps you blocked his recognizable form from your memory. He’s been waiting patiently to finish what he started that night at Mathieu.”

Frozen in shock, I don’t move a muscle as Drew leans in and whispers, “Remain on your best behavior, pretty girl, or I’ll give him the green light.”

As he scoots back, memories of the attack at Mathieu flash in my mind, unbidden. When my eyes meet Ethan’s again, the unmistakable hunger I saw in them that night is back.

Mocking me.

Terrorizing me.

Wrenching a new level of agony from me I never knew existed.

“It was a brilliant plan, if I do say so. It killed three birds with one stone. It got you to move in with me. It pushed you to quit your job. And it made me the hero in your story. Perfection.”

Pulling my legs up onto the sofa, I wrap my arms around them.

“I can’t listen to any more.Please stop,” I mutter my plea into my knees.

Drew’s tongue clicks. “Can’t do that. I’m afraid we have a little more information to impart on you first.”

I keep my head down, doing my best to tune him out, but as he continues laying out his diabolical plan, I realize my situation is about to go from bad to worse.

“In the past several years, I’ve revitalized this place from the run-down club it used to be. But there’s only so much I can do in-house to grow my business. To expand my wealth and status. I took my ideas to Josie and Ethan, and they agreed with the direction I wanted to take the club. Once we dealt with the previous owner, there was nothing else standing in our way. Except finding the perfect girl.”

I swallow, knowing I’m not ready to hear more.

“For the past month, I’ve been advertising your services online. I’m not surprised that the response has been incredible so far.”

Bile once again rises in my throat as I consider his statement.

Advertising my services?

Suddenly, I remember overhearing part of his conversation with Keith this morning. About something he’d uploaded.

My heart plummets into the pits of my stomach as the realization hits me.

“How long have you been recording me?” I can barely whisper, my voice overtaken by anguish.

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