But all I could do was be there for her as she faded before my eyes. Every pulse of her heart spewed more hot crimson down her front, slowly pushing her into a deep, dark sleep.
The room remained silent. No one coughed or laughed or spoke.
And that final moment, when the last pitiful beat of her heart sent her from living to dead, a spark, a tingle, an all-knowing sixth sense radiated out like a chime.
Her soul escaped.
She was free.
Closing my eyes, I found I didn’t have to fight tears or nausea. I was numb. Numb and cold and terribly, terribly angry.
You’ll suffer for your sins. You’ll watch as they’re torn from you like you’ve torn them from others.
Rage twisted my insides until I housed a nest of poisonous snakes. “I’ll kill you myself,” I hissed. “I’ll avenge that poor girl and rip out your blackened hearts.”
Rubix laughed as Cobra let go of the girl’s hair, tossing her to the side as if she were trash. Her body was graceful even in death, languishing on the tiles like a heartbroken ballerina after an ill-fated tryst.
“You’re not strong enough to kill me, pretty princess. And neither is anyone else. You’re a walking corpse, just like my son. And it’s time to send him a message he will never forget.”
His hand disappeared down my front, groping me brutally in front of his men.
I gasped.
I fought the urge to vomit.
My lips pursed with revulsion.
But I didn’t give him the satisfaction of crying out. My body was just a tool. It was my soul … my mind … that was the true part of who I was. As long as I remained untouchable inside, he couldn’t hurt me the way he wanted.
His fingers wrenched my nipples.
The pain was hot and consuming but I’d had worse.
Anyone could see I was a survivor of pain by the scars adorning my body.
I’m invincible to them.
Because I’d survived far worse than they ever had.
A laugh bubbled in my belly. I swallowed it down. I might be strong enough to endure whatever came next, but I wasn’t stupid enough to antagonize them by proving I was impenetrable.
“What’s the matter, Cleo? Is my son such a bad lover he’s turned you frigid?”
I couldn’t breathe without inhaling blood. I couldn’t lick my lips without tasting murder.
I stayed silent.
Rubix grunted under his breath as his hand trailed possessively down my stomach. Kicking my ankle with his boot, he forced my legs to spread as his hand cupped my core.
I stiffened—I couldn’t help it.
No matter how removed I was, it was still a direct violation of somewhere only my lover was permitted to touch.
“Ah, so you are alive, after all.” Rubix’s fingers probed further, indenting my nightshirt.
I breathed harder though my nose, doing my utmost to hide my rapidly building repugnance.
His tongue lashed around my earlobe, sucking it into his horribly wet mouth.
I’m not here.
I’m far away from this.
My mind—for once—obeyed me. It skipped backward through time, trading this monstrosity of a Club for the one where I’d grown up happy and carefree. Dagger Rose was once a joyous place—a sanctuary full of love and laughter.
I’d fallen in love here.
I’d been groomed for my destiny here.
My father knew he couldn’t give the Club to me. I was a girl. But I was also his only child. Royalty within the ranks was governed by blood rather than dictated by votes. Therefore, the man I chose as mine would’ve been the next president.
Arthur would’ve been president.
My heart bled dry. Was I the reason why Rubix had done what he did? Was jealousy of his son’s future ranking enough to push him to such dreadful things?
My limbs turned to stone. The reason was so superficial—so vain. How could anyone possibly be envious of their own family?
“You got what you wanted, didn’t you, Rubix?” I said coldly.
The men around the table froze, straining to hear what I had to say.
Rubix’s fingers stopped in their appalling exploration. “What are you bullshitting about now?”
“You couldn’t stand to think your son was more man than you. More deserving to rule in my father’s stead. You had to murder my family and pin it on him to remove him from the picture.” My blood thickened until my brain swam with an overdose of oxygen, preparing to flee or fight. “What I don’t understand is why did you try to kill me? What was the point in dispatching me when I would’ve only made your claim more concrete by taking me for your own?”
Rubix glanced at the men before bending to whisper in my ear. His hands flattened on my belly, curving my ass into his crotch. “You’re very perceptive, little princess. A pity, really.” He paused. “I did want you for myself. I left you in that burning house only long enough to scare you. I was going to save you, turn your gratefulness into love and your putrid hate for my murdering son into adoration for me. I had it all planned out. Yet you didn’t wait for me to save you.”