I was not amused. That was a title that made men shake, that made men kill themselves so they wouldn’t have to face me when I hunted them down. It was the title that allowed me to run this town like I’d built it with my bare hands. It was the title of an executioner, an emperor.
She continued to laugh. “People actually call you that?”
I wouldn’t justify anything she said with a response. I turned around and headed to the door.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath and silenced her giggles. “The Skull King…got it.”
I kept walking to the stairs.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I’m gonna call your brother and get this shit over with.” I reached the top of the stairs and slammed the door behind me.
Liam called. “What’d Damien say?”
I sat on the leather couch with my drink beside me. It was quiet in my apartment because I didn’t have the TV on. I didn’t listen to music either. I just sat in the dark…thinking. I hadn’t called Damien like I was supposed to…and I wasn’t sure why. “He didn’t answer.”
“Why the fuck would he not answer?”
“No idea,” I said in a bored voice. “But he’ll call back soon. He knows what I’ll do to him if he ignores me.”
“Call me when he does.” He hung up.
I tossed the phone aside and closed my eyes, processing aggravation in my temples like it was a migraine. A prisoner had never gotten under my skin, let alone a person. This woman made me hate her but also pity her.
But I had to do what I had to do.
After I brought her dinner, potentially giving her a final meal, I’d call Damien and get this shit over with. I imagined he would come to his sister’s aid immediately, but Catalina made a valid point. If Damien came for his sister, he could never save Anna. So, what would he choose? His family or his lover?
What if I had to kill the woman in my basement? Could I?
If I came down to it, yes. I’d done worse things before. I’d killed women before. She would be no different.
I went to the kitchen and made dinner. I ate my meal while it was hot then brought the rest to her. It was cold and no longer fresh, but since she’d attacked me with a goddamn plunger, I don’t really care.
I opened the door and began to walk down the stairs.
Then I heard the sound of her tears.
I halted as I listened because I was so surprised by the sound. I’d only known her for a day, but she didn’t strike me as the type of person to sit in her cage and feel sorry for herself. She didn’t seem like a person capable of shedding tears because she was too headstrong, too optimistic. But I listened anyway, listened to her express her heartbreak.
She took a lot of deep breaths to stifle her tears, as if she were afraid I might hear her upstairs. Or maybe she didn’t wanna listen to herself cry. Maybe it made her feel weak. Made her pity herself.
She snapped loudly. “Look, I know it’s been a while since we talked and it’s super annoying when I only come to you when I want something…” She paused to cry for a few seconds, to get her breathing under control again. “But I don’t want something for me. I want something for my brother.”
I could head back upstairs so I wouldn’t have to listen to her pray. But I stayed.
“I know it’s his fault I’m in this situation, so instead of asking for your help, I should ask you to punish him instead of me. If he lived an honorable life, none of this would be happening. But I know he didn’t mean for these things to happen. He would never want anything bad to happen to me. My father. Anna.” She cried again and brought herself back to calm. “I know I don’t show my feelings very well, never indicate how much I actually love him, respect him. I’m always saying stupid shit that really doesn’t matter, but I really do think the world of him. He’s going to be given a choice—to save me or save her. And I want you to save her. If Damien comes for me, I don’t want that… I really don’t want that.”
She was quiet for a while as if she was finished, but the sound of her ongoing tears indicated she just needed time before she could go on. “Let me die instead of him. Let him find Anna and save her. Let them be happy together. I know my father will be devastated, so give him the strength he needs to carry on, to not suffer the way he suffers over my mom every day. I know I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, all the drinking, partying, all the guys… I can’t even count them all, so I hope you forgive me for everything. And I hope you let me go peacefully. Please protect my family. Please bless my family.” She fell quiet as she continued to cry to herself. She had nothing left to say, but the pain of her suppressed sobs showed everything that was in her heart. “Thank you, God. Amen.”