Page 97 of Sinful Skulls
My head falls and I stomp over to him, burying my face in his chest. When his arms wrap around me, I can’t hold in my tears.
He places his hand on the back of my head. “When I saw that guy dragging you by the hair the day we met, I wanted to hurt him.” His voice cracks and he pauses. “Today when he had you …” He doesn’t finish his sentence. He doesn’t need to.
“I know. I’m so sorry I put you in this position.”
“You didn’t do anything, Daisy. Don’t apologize. I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through, but it’s almost over.”
I shove away from him. “Almost over?”
“We need to talk.”
He drops his arm across my shoulder and guides me into the warehouse. It’s quiet. When he starts to head toward the stairs that lead to Jesse’s studio, I begin to drag my feet, but he marches on. He doesn’t stop until we’re standing in front of Henry’s painting of me.
I knew that’s what was in that package. Henry had it framed before sending it to me.
This is humiliating. “I … I wasn’t awake.”
He doesn’t say anything.
“I think he drugged me,” I whisper, hoping he doesn’t think I willingly posed for him.
Brody steps away and grabs a mason jar from the table. I begin to back away when I see what’s inside. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
“We’re putting this to rest right now. You and me.”
He latches onto my wrist and then picks up a paintbrush. One gentle tug later and we are standing within arm’s reach of Henry’s painting. Brody stands behind me and forces the paintbrush in my hand.
It hovers over the opened jar as the copper scent begins to fill the air. I press my head against his chest. “I don’t want to do this.”
“That is the point.”
His hand wraps tightly over mine, and then he dips the paintbrush.
The first brushstroke slashes over my naked body, erasing a part of me from the canvas. We repeat the process over and over again as I watch the image of myself disappear. Sobs are wracking my entire body by the time we’re finished.
When he releases my hand, I take the end of the paintbrush and stab the handle into the canvas, ripping it from corner to corner.
My hands are bloody and shaking as I realize there is another painting behind it.
Carly’s eyes follow me as I slowly begin to fall to the ground. Brody catches me under my arms before my knees hit the floor.
“This girl was my roommate.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Brody
Iwash our hands in the sink and then dump the last of the blood down the drain. Fuck, this was a bad idea. I just wanted to show her that she wasn’t like her father or her uncle while at the same time erasing that fucking painting from her mind.
She’s not talking, but at least her sobs have subsided.
I’d take her home, but Anthony is on his way, and I really need to talk to him. He should be here soon. We called him in because Henry is the dean of a college, and someone will miss him. Anthony has international connections that will hopefully be able to help us with that problem.
When Jesse walks in to tell me he’s almost here, her brows pull together.
“Yeah, this didn’t go as planned,” I tell her, hanging my head.
She walks over to the chair Daisy is sitting in and cups her face in her hands. “Baby, let’s go upstairs.”
