Page 16 of Assassin's Mark
Chapter Nine
He left me alone in the shower, as if now that he’d proven his point, he had no further use for me. I’d have believed it if I hadn’t felt his erection against the small of my back, hadn’t heard his moan of frustration mingle with my cries of release—cries I’d give anything to take back now that sanity had returned. But that was no more possible than fairy tales coming true,so I simply closed my eyes and let the water soothe me until it began to cool. Only then did I step out and dry my hypersensitive skin.
The contents of the duffel bag brought me fully out of my fog. I’d noticed the shampoo, the soap, the familiar scent registering in a vague way. Too vague against the demands of my body. The clothes, though…
They were mine. Or, at least, they looked like mine.Tags still graced each item, even the underwear, but there was no doubt about it, no denying it: Levi had been watching me, and even more, he’d been inside my house, in my private spaces.
How had he managed that?
My hands shook as I selected panties, bra, jeans, and a button-down shirt that would cover more than the tees in the bag. I’d never been so grateful for the protection of clothing inmy life, as if each piece bandaged a gaping hole inside me until the scattered pieces finally came into some semblance of a whole, however temporary. Finger combing was the best I could do for my hair without a brush, but the moisturizer I used every day sat at the bottom of the bag, a reminder of just how deep Levi had delved into my life. I shuddered as I lathered it on.
After dumping my clothesfrom last night into the tiny trash can beside the sink, I took a pair of socks with me into the bedroom. No sign of Levi. How long would he let me lick my wounds? Would he touch me again then? Did I want him to?
I knew better than to hope we’d hear something from my father this soon. He would decide which approach was most advantageous for him first. At least, I was pretty sure that was whathe would do. I wasn’t a love child any more than the marriage he’d arranged for me had anything to do with love. He and my mother, a Hollywood starlet who’d died when I was a toddler, had formed an alliance more than a marriage, according to the rumors. She’d needed the money my father possessed, and the prestige of being his wife. He had needed an heir, preferably one with my mother’s good looks.That I’d been both female and too short and curvy to be a classic beauty were major disappointments, but even then, Derrick Roslyn’s daughter had a purpose. The same purpose as his short-lived marriage: to enhance his status.
Despite the tiny part of me that prayed he cared enough to come get me, to give in to Levi so his daughter could return home, I wasn’t holding out hope for it happening.The reality of the past twenty-one years had taught me that.
My feet had barely lost their chill in the soft confines of their socks when raised voices in the living area caught my attention. Voices, plural. Someone else was here.
Dad?
I scrambled for the door. It wasn’t my father waiting in the living room, though. Amber eyes turned quickly to narrow on me as I slid to a stop just outsidethe bedroom. Late twenties, tall, powerful build, intimidating. He had to be Levi’s brother, Eli. Aside from the eyes and dark blond hair, he was practically Levi’s twin, just like in the photo.
Levi raked my body with detached coldness. “Eli, meet Abby.”
Eli let loose a string of profanity, half of which I didn’t understand. I did understand his, “What the fuck have you done, Levi?”
Levi’sexpression gave nothing away. “What I had to, Elijah.”
It was telling that Eli didn’t budge from his position near the couch—no running to my aid, no checking for injuries or evidence of being tied up. Had he seen the pictures too? A flush of heat hit my cheeks despite the knowledge that they’d been staged.
And Levi drugged you to stage them. Don’t forget that, Abby.
Eli turned away from me,stalking his brother instead. “You didn’t have to do this and we both know it. You should stop playing with that bastard and just kill him. Get it over with.”
Was he talking about Dad?
I’d thought Levi’s eyes were cold before; now the arctic chill seemed to invade my bones. I’d never seen a man so stone-cold angry.
“I’m not playing, Eli. You know that better than anyone. I want Roslyn to sufferbefore he dies.”
“You’re starting a war is what you’re doing. Having her here is just your opening salvo.”
Levi moved behind the kitchen island. I could see the bags from earlier sitting there, beside plates, on the counter. My stomach growled.
“He started the war when he set his sights on me, and you know it,” Levi said, calmly placing food on the plates. “When he missed me and hurt Remi,he guaranteed that I’d finish it.”
My father was the reason Remi was in the hospital. No wonder Levi had launched a counterattack. I could almost understand if I wasn’t the fraying rope connecting the two.
“Tell me you haven’t hurt her.”
Levi didn’t answer, turning instead to put one of the plates in the microwave. Was that a yes or no? Maybe he thought drugging a woman so she didn’t have toendure being tied up and photographed naked was mercy. Maybe holding me against my will wasn’t harm if I wasn’t in handcuffs. My father might even agree with him. So why did it feel like Levi had ripped me apart and barely left me with enough pieces to put myself back together?
Because he ripped your control away when you’d only just dared to find it.
Eli rushed his brother. “Tell me, Levi.”
Levi shrugged. “Ask her.”
