Page 46 of Sadist

Or her words.

Don’t touch me.

It was the first time she had said those words to me and actually meant them, though it clearly wasn’t me she was seeingin that moment. Disgust and hatred had been laced in every word she spat.

Is he gone?

My ears started to ring, my stomach going cold as clues began slotting together.

The small comments.

Whatever it is that my father stood to lose was of greater value than my life was to him…

Her reaction every time I mentioned his name…

No. Fuck no.

Sliding slowly off the bed, I followed her into the kitchen, watching her intently. She was standing by the counter, her hands gripping the edge of it as she stared at the empty glass in front of her.

“It was William, wasn’t it?” I asked, forcing my words to sound calm.

“I just don’t like the dark, Theo. That’s all.”

“Don’t lie to me,” I said. “I can see straight through it.”

“Then leave it alone so I don’t have to lie,” she retorted.

I leaned against the counter, crowding her space until she looked at me with haunted eyes. “It was hush money, wasn’t it?”

Her face told me everything. Agony. Shame. Terror. It was all there in plain view.How had I not seen this?

“What is your father paying you to keep silent about, Octavia?” I asked, lethal rage overtaking every part of my mind. I fisted my hands, refusing to give in to the rage and risk scaring her. “What did he do to you?”

She raised her chin, glaring at me in defiance.

“Let it go, Theo.”

“Absolutely the fuck not,” I snapped. “I need to figure out what thefuckto do with you. I can’t make the right decision if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.”

“What happened has nothing to do withthis,” she retorted, gesturing between us.

“It has everything to do withthis! You were the only leverage we had against your father, and I need to know if returning you to his protection would put you in more danger than you are already in.”

“I was never fucking leverage!” she yelled, losing her temper. “I let youthinkI was to keep myself alive, Theo. I don’t know what he has on you, but he has been two steps ahead the entirefuckingtime. And this time, I wasn’t fast enough to be a step ahead ofhim!”

“What does that mean?” I cried.

“You want the truth? It was never a choice between me and whatever he stands to lose, Theo, because he wants me dead!” She was furious, her neck and cheeks blushing red from anger as she yelled at me. “I should have known the second he made me come back to the UK, but I was out of funds and took the easy option for once.” She barked out a mirthless laugh. “The first time I ever actually needed that money and look what happened.” She gestured around the room. “Fucking ironic, isn’t it?”

I refused to let her see that her words stung. It was irrational of me to hope this might be something else. She was my hostage—no matter how I now felt about her—that wasn’t going to change.

“I’m going to need you to tell me everything, Octavia,” I said quietly. “You’re asking for a hell of a lot of trust, letting you go. I’m asking for a little in return.”

She was breathing heavily again, though she was now looking at me strangely. And for once, I couldn’t read her.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re just going to let me go?” she asked quietly. “Just like that. Now you know—” she cut herself off.

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