Page 29 of The Demon

“Fucking pervert.” I growl and once again his hand lands on my ass, causing me to cry out, “OK! I’ll tell you.”

CHAPTER20

ELIZA

There is silence as I sob into the silk sheets and realize all the fight has gone out of me. Malik has beaten me down mentally and physically and so I may as well tell him, because either way, I’m a dead woman walking.

He’s beaten me. I can’t resist him anymore. He’s reached the end of his patience and now I must confess everything merely to stay alive. Despite the desire he shows me, he is not a patient man and expects answers. He wants information and my time has run out.

He spins me around, so I am lying on my back, still tethered like a dead carcass, and feeling as if I am one. I have no emotion left. No fight in me at all, and as he sits beside me with a blank expression, I sigh heavily.

“The day Massimo left with Winter, I realized something was wrong due to the tension in the air, and the fact Massimo appeared in a contemplative mood. He was a man of many sides, and he came to the nursery early that day and I found him standing by Frankie’s crib watching him sleep. He looked up before I could leave and I could tell the madness in his eyes was different, almost gleeful as he reached for Frankie. My heart twisted because Massimo’s interest in Frankie was not a paternal one and I hated watching him stroke him like a pet dog and whisper as if I wasn’t there.”

I shiver with revulsion as I recite what I heard that day.‘Today you will be mine, Frankie, my darling. I will rid our lives of everyone who seeks to keep us apart. We will be together, and nothing will ever come between us again.’

I shiver with revulsion as I remember the crazed expression in his eye as he bent his head and kissed the poor child full on the mouth. Tears slide from my eyes as I whisper, “I wanted to run and snatch the baby away. I have never known fear like it because it was obvious what his intentions were.”

I glance at Malik, who is staring ahead of him with a dark murderous look in his eye and I sob, “I didn’t know what to do. Massimo was too strong, too powerful, and I had nothing to use against him.”

Malik says nothing to make me feel any better and I gulp, “Massimo placed him in his crib and turned to me. He told me that when he returned, he was moving Frankie to sleep with him. I nodded and prayed to God for help, and as soon as he left, I raced across and pulled Frankie from his crib. He started to cry, and I did everything possible to silence him. I fed him a bottle, sang to him; I needed him to sleep so I could think.”

The memory is too raw for me not to break down and yet Malik watches me with an expression of cold, hard, fury, waiting for me to finish my sorry tale.

“Ten minutes after they left, the servant found me. He told me he’d arranged a cab, and I must leave with Frankie. He said he had a new passport in my name, Delores Brown and one for Frankie, who if anyone asked, was my son, Benjamin. If I cooperated I would be taken to an address where help would find me.”

“WhereIfound you.” Malik sounds thoughtful and I nod. “Yes, it was just my luck you showed up before the help I was promised.”

“And Frankie?”

“He stayed in the cab.”

“You left him?” Malik appears angry, and I nod miserably. “The servant told me that from the minute I left my father’s house, I was tracked.”

“Who by?” Malik says quickly and I shrug.

“I asked him that, and he just smiled. He told me that for some time my father had been a problem and things were about to get real. Apparently, I was followed when I reached Los Angeles and when I was in danger, they came into the club and rescued me. It turns out the man who stopped the owner from raping me told him Massimo Delauren was expecting me and wouldn’t be happy if I was late. I was to be his son’s nanny, and he wouldn’t appreciate being kept waiting.”

“That would explain the fear in the club owner’s eyes.” Malik says with a frown, and I nod.

“I found myself in a black car heading to Massimo’s mansion and when I arrived, I met with him and I’m not lying, he scared the shit out of me.”

“How?” Malik seems angry and I sigh.

“I saw the madness inside him. He was so creepy and the way he looked at me told me he wasn’t all there mentally. His servants never spoke and moved around silently, and it was only much later I learned they had no tongues. Apparently, he cut them out so they couldn’t betray him.”

“Fuck.” Malik’s cool detachment is deserting him as he stares with distaste flickering in his eyes and says gruffly, “Except for the man who helped you escape.”

I nod. “I only saw him twice. The first time was when I arrived and he told me he’d arranged the whole thing. That they were helping me for a very good reason.”

“Which was?” Malik suddenly looks more than interested, and I nod. “To look out for Frankie. Keep him safe, loved and well cared for. Make his life a happy one and protect him above everything. In return, they would arrange a new identity for me and help when needed. I was to be hidden from my father and would never have to return.”

“And you believed him.” Malik’s lip curls and I say defensively. “I had no reason not to. He told me that his real boss was the man Massimo feared the most. He knew I had been placed there to be hidden from my father and he was to pay my wages into an offshore account as a mark of respect for the man he feared. Demonstrate his loyalty and he would be rewarded.”

“Who is this man Massimo feared? I want a name.”

Malik’s eyes flash as he appears to doubt my story and I say defiantly, “I asked him that same question and was told I must never breathe a word of what I know because this man protects his identity for a very good reason. If I told anyone, he couldn’t ensure my protection and I would be a target for everyone searching for me due to the price my father placed on my head.”

I sigh heavily. “My father also has many enemies, and it was probable that whoever found me would use me against him. If itwasan enemy of his, I could expect a long and painful death. I had no reason to doubt him and I wished I’d never asked his name.”

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