Page 46 of Creepy
Dillon about turned red.“I’m a goddamn King to these men,” he bellowed before softening his voice.“Do you know what that means, Sissy?”
Startled by his outburst, I shook my head.
“Kings can fall.I couldn’t let it slide.You’ve got to believe it was all for show.I never meant for it to go so far.”
“Well, I had broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and probably a concussion already before your lackey locked me in with a dozen hungry zombies.But if you’d talked to Troy, you’d have known that.What did you think would happen?”
Dillon hung his head momentarily.“I didn’t...I didn’t know Rowan would find you and bring you.Not so soon.”He crossed the room to sit on the bed at my feet.Dillon looked me right in the eye.His eyes echoed his words.“He’s not right in the head.Believe me, I never planned to let them go through with it.”
“Kyle said you ordered it.”
“I did.I ordered my men to bring you to me but on Monday night.To put you in the arena if you didn’t give yourself up by Monday.Not last night.Anyway, I thought you’d come to me first.Use the goddamn radio I gave you.”
Not knowing if I believed him, I ignored his excuses.Noticing he’d shaved his face, I recalled telling him I liked him better that way just the other night, after our passionate time in the tub.Like he could tell I was softening, he reached out and touched my leg ever so softly.I zipped it away from his reach and hardened my feelings.
“Never believes me,” he mumbled more to himself.
“I read your letter,” I admitted.
Dillon’s eyes whooshed away from me to stare out the window.“None of that matters now.”
“So, why give it to me at all?Why didn’t you explain at the time?”
“At the time, I flew back from Florida to explain that I wasn’t having an affair.That woman they photographed me with, we were not lovers, but no one knew we were related.Catrina Perez is my half-sister.Yes, she’s Cuban.My father wasn’t the only one unfaithful.My mother had her own affairs.But none of that matters.You know what happened next.You sent your brother and his asshole friend to kick my ass.They almost put me in the hospital.”
“What?”I asked, confused before it clicked.Joey had just told the story to his friends at the diner.He and Wade went to kick Dillon’s ass when we broke up.But I never realized when that had happened in the grand scheme of things.I never put two and two together.“I didn’t know Joey beat on you before I talked to you.”
“Like I said.None of it matters now.”
I repeated, “I had no idea that Joey did that.Not at the time.And I certainly didn’t send them.It’s not like he told me they were gonna.Though, he’s bragged about it a lot since.I figured it wasn’t until after you and I talked, and...”
“You broke off our engagement.”
“Only because I thought you’d left me for some actress.I didn’t know...anything.I never got your letter.”
Dillon’s gaze fell on me again.“I’d assumed you were tired of all the negative press.”
I had been tired of it, but I didn’t tell him that and that I’d have never left him over it.“I don’t know why Papa kept the letter from me.Do you?”
“Don’t blame your Papa.I’m sure he didn’t want you to get hurt by that mess, same as me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?Why give me the letter now?”
“I didn’t find it myself until after my father’s funeral.By then, it was too late.”
“But why now?Because I might move on?”
“Yes, Sissy.I wanted you to finally know that I didn’t leave you.”
It was hard, but I ignored his honest words.He did just try to have me killed.Regardless, I’d play on his sympathies to take care of more pressing matters.“Well, my brother’s back now.I don’t have anyone else in the whole universe but him.You know what Joey means to me.Would be nice if we weren’t in this current mess, and I could visit with him.”
He said nothing but turned more forlorn by the second.My plan to invoke his pity was working.I went on, “Instead of visiting, we spent yesterday worried about rescuing Troy.He’s having a baby, ya know, not Troy, Joey.The girl he brought with him from Indiana is pregnant with his child.”
Dillon raked his hands through his hair, both of them, a clear sign he was distraught.“About Joey...”he began.
Shivers ran over me as an impending doom filled the air.“What about Joey?”
“Your brother and his friends came looking for you last night.”
