Page 60 of Tainted Hearts

“So good, your cock is so good. So much better than Isaac’s would have been,” she moans.

He chuckles. “Of course. Why have a boy when you can have a man?”

I roll my eyes so hard I’m surprised they don’t get stuck in the back of my head. I record for a little bit longer, then stop, wanting to get the hell out of there. I close the door carefully and turn to leave.

“Are you going to use that against him?” I almost have a heart attack as Abby’s mom scares the crap out of me.

“What the hell?” I breathe.

She looks behind her, worrying her lower lip. She grabs my arm and pulls me toward a door. She shoves me into a room and closes the door behind her. “What are you doing?” I growl as she turns the light on. I look around to see we’re in the maid's supply closet.

“Are you going to use that against Michael?” she asks again, pointing to my phone.

“What’s it to you?” I narrow my eyes suspiciously, wondering why she’s not getting mad at me for snooping.

“If you do...” Her eyes fill with tears, confusing me more. “Can you make me a part of whatever deal you make?”

“What?” my head shoots back, brows furrowing. “I’m so confused.”

“I know why you need that. I know what he’s been doing to Isaac,” she sniffs.

“Then why the fuck haven’t you done anything about it?” I growl.

“The first time it happened, I saw him so broken and beaten that it killed me. I love that boy like he was my own. I lost it on Michael, asking how could he ever be like that toward his own son. He didn’t like me making him out to be the bad guy, said I didn’t understand. Then he...” she looks away, tears falling from her eyes.

“He did the same to you, didn’t he?” I ask in a low deadly tone.

“Yes.” She looks back at me. “I’m a coward, okay! I should have done more to protect Isaac. I did the best I could. I made sure he was always working, spending the least amount of time at home. It helped slow down the amount of beatings, but it didn’t stop. Last year, I tried again, after finding Isaac bloody and almost dead.” She lets a sob break free. “He pinned me down and told me to mind my own business, to be the good wife I was meant to be. Then he... he forced me to do my wifely duties and take it.”

“He raped you?” I ask, my body shaking from anger. I feel sick. I want to kill him. I’m fucking going to.

“Use that video against him, demand him to leave Isaac alone. But please, can you tell him to leave, not to come back? To let me go too? I’ve wanted to leave for so long, but the idea of what could happen to Isaac if I wasn’t here kept me from leaving. I knew I couldn’t stop the beatings, but what if it got bad to the point he was going to die if no one got him help? I needed to be here to help him.”

“Shhh.” I pull her into my arms as she breaks down. This is so fucked up. This house is full of so many dark and fucked up secrets.

“I didn’t want to leave her,” she sobs. “I loved Abby from the moment I found out I was pregnant with her. I went home to tell my parents, and they filled my head with so many things. I let them talk me out of being with Lucifer, to leave Abby with him and come to earth. I was young and stupid. Afraid of losing my parents. I thought Abby would be better off with her dad because I knew this world would never accept her. This island isn’t as it seems, Zed.” She looks up at me with haunted eyes. “Michael isn’t what he seems.”

I’ve seen enough of that with my own eyes.

“Why didn’t you go back? How did you end up with Michael?”

“I wanted to for so long, even tried once, but the portal guards were told to never let me down there again. I never stopped thinking about her, never stopped loving her. My sweet baby, Abigail.” She wipes her eyes. “As time went by, I threw myself into all the community groups and committees, anything to keep myself busy. That’s when I met Michael. He lost his wife a year before, and I felt so bad for him and his son. I offered to help watch the boys, then it turned into something more. For a small time, I thought I could love Michael. But my love for Lucifer never allowed it. Lucifer is my fated mate, and you can’t just wish something like that away. It sticks with you for the rest of eternity. As Isaac got older, I saw how he treated him, and I knew I could never love a monster like him.”

My head is spinning. Way too much hitting me at once. “Why would you bring Abby here if you knew what Michael was like?”

“Because when her father contacted me, I was so happy. I wanted to see my girl, my daughter, I wasn’t thinking. Michael is rarely around, I didn’t think they would cross paths. He didn’t hurt her, did he?” she asks, eyes widening with fear.

“No, he didn’t. But his son did.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, brows furrowing.

“Isaac has been tormenting her for months. It got pretty bad at one point. Never physical, but it was messed up. His friends went along with it. We didn’t find out until just recently why Isaac was such a fucking dick.”

“Don’t blame him, please. I know it was wrong of him, but Zed, what Michael did to that poor boy...” She covers her mouth, smothering another sob.

“Abby found out they were mates, and she rejected him,” I state, and she sobs harder. “But Abby is an amazing woman. She tries to see the good in everyone. She’s working to forgive him, as well as the others.”

“Everything is so messed up.” She sucks in a deep breath. “She hates me, doesn’t she?”

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