Page 50 of Ruthless Keeper
Cain doesn’t glare at me. Doesn’t pant or fidget. He stares at me with a completely blank expression, as if we’re having a pleasant discussion about the weather.
“Attack me again and I’ll kill you,” he says calmly. “And then, I’ll give your chosen to Max. The two of them seemed to hit it off, didn’t they? It wouldn’t take much effort to make them work. He could help her heal from whatyoudid to her, and I bet it won’t be long before she’s willingly spreading her legs for him.”
“Youmotherfucker!” I roar. “Do you have any idea what you’ve—”Cain cocks the pistol when I lunge at him, cutting off my words.
“I know precisely what I’ve done,” he says harshly. “I’ve known every step of the way. Every single one of my decisions has been carefully calculated… including the decision to encourage you to claim Scarlett. Now, are you going to listen if I put away the gun, or should I blow your fucking brains out and spare all of us any more hassle?”
I work my jaw. Rage is a living force in my veins. I want to smash Cain’s head on the desk until it explodes… but I know I can’t. The Nighthawks are loyal to him, not me. We’ve already had one regime change this year, and I don’t think the masses will be amenable to another if I kill their boss.
“I’ll fucking listen.”
“Good.” Cain releases me with a shove and holsters his gun. “Take a seat and stop acting like a neanderthal. It’s time I let you in on the bigger picture.” I’m panting like an angry bull, vibrating with the urge to torture Cain to death. Instead of giving into my fantasies, I force myself to retake my seat across from him, sitting ramrod straight with my fists clenched on my lap.
I glower at Cain, imagining all the ways I can kill him. Skinning him alive, tar and feathering him, burning him slowly, amputating one of his limbs at a time until he bleeds out…
“Scarlett Sharpe is the greatest conceivable leverage we can possibly have on Eric Sharpe. With her in our custody, he’ll do anything we ask, any time we ask.”
“No, he’s going to blow this entire fucking fortress up, or send in an army to kill all of us.”
“Not if we make it clear that, should he ever make a single move against us, his sister will pay the price in pain,” Cain responds. “Did you hear how he spoke about her? I’m willing to bet she is the only person on this earth that he loves. He’s a sociopath, Greyson, and he has only one weakness—a weakness that you now own.” He folds his arms across his chest. “I’ll admit, there was a time when I would’ve much preferred we kill her and do away with any possible complications regarding her. Bury her body where she’d never be found and be done with it. But, as I’ve thought things over, I’ve realized she’s much more useful alive. Now, there are a few paths to travel—and all of them restonyou.”
“You’re asking me to do something for you?” I question disbelievingly. “After you just made it clear you’ve been playing board games with my life? Withherlife?”
“I’m not asking shit,” Cain says dismissively. “I am fuckingtellingyou how things are going to go, and if you’re smart, you’ll listen to me and follow through. I’m your boss, Greyson, not your friend.”
“Apparently, you never were.” A sharp pain in my chest alerts me to the fact that I’m not justangry, I’m somewhathurtby Cain’s bullshit. I’ve neverreallyconsidered him a friend, but I always thought of him as a strong ally. Unpredictable, but at the end of the day, reliable for certain things. Now, I’m seeing that I haveneverbeen more than a pawn on his chessboard, and that’s rewriting my understanding of our relationship.
“Scarlett can either be a hostage or an advocate,” Cain says, entirely bypassing my words. “There are two options. First, you find a way to make her fall so in love with you, she’s willing to spin up lies to tell her brother that she’s choosing to be here. That she’d rather die than leave you.” He gazes at me for several beats, letting that sink in. “Alternatively, things continue on as they have been, and I tell Eric she’s a hostage. Pampered and treated well,” he pauses to release a sarcastic chuckle, “and I’ll impress on him that her treatment can change at any moment. That her…vacationcan turn into anightmareif he turns on us. Of course, in that case, we’ll always need to be looking over our shoulder and prepared for an ill-advised attack from him, but we’ll manage.”
Cain swipes at a stream of blood running from his nose. Casts me a brief, angry look, then composes himself. Folds his hands on the desk and leans forward. “There won’t be three trials for you and Scarlett, Greyson. There will only be one. Either you manage to get her to fall so deeply for you, she’ll die before leaving you… or I’ll be forced into asituation where I may have to cut off her body parts and send them to her brother if he acts up.”
I stand from my chair so quickly it tips over, falling to the floor with a resounding crack. I point an accusing finger at Cain,tremblingwith the force of my rage and knowing that he has me in a perfect fucking checkmate. He’s put me in an impossible position with a ticking clock that could lead to Scarlett being hurt on my watch…again. Something I swore to her would never happen.
“You won’t see it coming,” I whisper furiously. “It could be years,decadesdown the line, Cain. But I’ll get you back. I will get you back in a way that will destroy what’s left of your charred fucking soul.” I might start by putting out a hit on the woman he’s stalking… the same woman who, I presume, is the old flame from his past. His obsession with her is plain. She might be the only person in the world who means something to him.
And I’ll fucking take her from him, the same way he’s threatening to takeeverythingfrom me. If Scarlett gets hurt because of this, if I fail to protect her from him, it will kill pieces ofmysoul. I will most happily return that favor to Cain. I’ll punish him for putting me in this position.
“I don’t have a soul,” Cain says flatly. “Maybe I did once… but it’s been corrupted beyond repair. That’s my greatest strength, Greyson. I have no weaknesses. I have no fears. I’m nothumanin the ways you are. I’m a fucking machine, and I am thelastperson you want to piss off.” He jerks his chin. “Get thefuckout of my office. I don’t want to see you again until I’ve called you. If you fail in your trial, Scarlett will pay the price.”
Chapter Nineteen
Scarlett
The pain slams into me all at once. There’s no slow descent into the agony—one moment, the drugs the doc gave me are working like a charm, and my arm only throbs with discomfort. A single heartbeat later, the pain becomesinsurmountable. Absolutely intolerable. It feels like somebody’s holding a torch to my arm, burning a path through my skin, blood vessels, veins, and evenbones.
With tears burning in my eyes, I manage to force myself out of the bed, even though my entire body aches and I’m limping a bit. I burst out of the bedroom, panting, my hand hovering over the bandage covering my opposite arm. I hear Lucifer let out a meow from somewhere in the apartment—a moment later, he appears in the hallway. He trots up to me and stands on his hindlegs, bracing his front paws on my leg and releasing an almost mournfulmeow.
I don’t have the bandwidth to pet him or give him attention. The pain is eating me up alive, and while I’m not normally an advocate for pain meds or sedatives, I feel like I’ll die if I don’t get them.
I let out a low groan as another wave of sheer agony makes my vision briefly go black, and then start stumbling down the hallway, desperately searching for an exit. I need to get to the medical wing and beg forsomethingto help abate the pain.
I hear a vaguely familiar beep before the front door opens and closes. The first tear rolls down my cheek, and Luci releases a particularly loud yowl… almost as if he’s trying to bring attention to me. I know it’s Monster who entered; I doubt anyone else has access to get into the apartment… save for Cain. But Monster assured me that he’d changed the apartment codes and upgraded the biometrics scanner to ensure that Cain’s arrival wouldn’t be a repeat occurrence.
I sag against the wall as I hear footsteps treading closer to me. Luci releases a louder, more urgent meow.
“Scarlett, what happened?” Monster’s voice is edged with faint panic, and he rushes forward. “Fuck, did someone come? What—”
“The burn,” I wheeze, shaking my head. “I… I can’t…” I release a low groan of agony, tears spilling freely from my eyes. I’ve felt a lot of pain in my life, but even gettingstabbedwasn’t anything like this. It seems like I’m destined to constantly get introduced to a new world of pain at this horrific fortress.
