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ELLA

My insides shook with his question. Thank god Xavier hadn’t violated me, but I wasn’t sure how much longer he would have waited since he was planning our wedding night.

“Are you asking if he raped me?

He nodded.

”No.”

A pinched expression twisted my husband’s face as he tugged on his handcuffed wrist. “You promise me he didn’t? No one raped you, baby?” As hard as he tried, Sebastian couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice.

“You have my word, Sebastian. He did kiss me a few times and touched my breast, but the abuse was mostly psychological. I was locked in a glass cage, and there were spiders everywhere. They were like his pets.” I slammed my eyes closed, but images of the disgusting creatures bombarded my mind, and I quickly opened them again. “He also.” I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the clean air I’d missed so much. “He killed his family, but he kept them with him at the dinner table. I sat next to stuffed, dead people.”

“Shit, that’s fucked up,” Ryan said. “I’ve seen some messed up stuff, but that’s on an entirely different level.”

“As I said, there was more psychological abuse than physical.”

“Do you know where you were held?” Ryan asked.

“It was a basement of some sort, but … even though I had my suspicions I wasn’t able to put it all together. There was a little kitchen and living room. I think there was a bedroom, but I never saw it. It was dark and musty. What was really odd were all the stuffed animals. It was like the place was staged and not real, but I can’t explain why I felt that way.”

“What kind of stuffed animals?” Sebastian asked, his voice low with a sharp edge of anger.

“Mostly clowns. Although, there was one that resembled a Chucky doll, which didn’t bother me as much as the spiders did.” An involuntary shudder racked my body. “I tried to tell you that over the phone that day, but Xavier hit me the second I started to give you clues.”

A growl worked its way up Sebastian’s throat. Maybe he would allow Death to handle Xavier and his men after all.

“Did the doll have anything in its hand?”

I didn’t miss the anxiety in Sebastian’s voice.

“A bloody knife.”

Sebastian sucked in a breath. “I never told anyone, but a Chucky doll clutching a bloody knife showed up in my bedroom a few days before my parents were murdered.”

“What?” Ryan hissed. “Like you never told Kip, Dope, or the cops? No one?”

Sebastian shook his head. “No one. I thought Mom or Dad was playing a joke on me, then I forgot about it. Losing my parents took precedence over a damn doll. Again, I figured they were messing with me. Dad was a practical joker at the time, so I just assumed … but something is telling me it wasn’t them.”

I looked at Ryan, then my husband. “Did you have stuffed clowns too?”

His shoulders slumped forward. “It was a collection from my grandpa, but all the clowns except for a few terrified me when I was little. Mom moved most of them to the basement.” He swallowed and then said, “The downstairs had a kitchen table and sink. There was an old, dirty white refrigerator that Mom kept extra food in when we ran out of space upstairs. Dad liked to go down there sometimes and watch television on an old beat-up couch. He joked it was his man cave. It literally was since most of the room was underground except for a few tiny windows at the top.”

I could feel the blood drain from my cheeks as the puzzle pieces started to fit together. “Sebastian, I think I was kept in your childhood basement.”

“Not possible since Sebastian’s home is no longer standing. Death and I went to visit after whoever called and gave us those riddles.”

I nodded. “It was Xavier. He loves riddles and fucking with people.” I leaned back against the pillow, trying to sort through the conversation.

“Bass, man, I’m starting to think that with the setup of where Ella was held and the riddles, that maybe the man that killed your parents wants your attention.”

Sebastian grabbed the side of his head, the phone jostling as he moved.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

“All these years I thought I had a brain tumor, and it made me hear someone else’s voice, but apparently it’s another part of me.” He released a sad sigh before he continued. “Death says the basement and riddles make sense, but why would someone want to draw him out now after all of these years?”

“Wait, what? You can hear him?” I gave Sebastian and then Ryan a bewildered look.

“It’s a new development since you were taken. All the stress had him changing quickly, and we had to tell Sebastian the truth,” Ryan explained.

“We definitely need to talk when you’re better,” my husband said.

From the tone of his voice, I wasn’t sure I would like what he had to say, and I wasn’t ready to deal with anything except catching the men who took me. I redirected the conversation and said, “They must have learned that I was trying to find out who killed your parents.” Guilt gnawed at me. “Death learned the truth and he was furious. They must have been tipped off or learned about my investigation somehow. Xavier said he had eyes everywhere. He knew that I loved to dance and that I’m married to Sebastian.”

Ryan scratched his chin, pondering. “Maybe you’ve been followed and didn’t know it. Did you talk to anyone about the case? Ask questions to anyone that had lived in the area or anything?”

“I tried to be discreet, but I did reach out to a few people. Unfortunately, they didn’t want to talk too much about it other than how horrible it was for the family.”

“I’ll need the names and any details that you can think of. Dope and I can look into it while you’re getting better.” Ryan patted my shoulder, his expression grim.

I’d been around Death and Sebastian long enough to be able to tell when someone was hiding something from me, and Ryan was definitely hiding something. I just had no idea what it was … yet.

The door to my room opened and Dr. Neely reappeared. “Let’s get some bloodwork done and see how you’re feeling, Ella. You also need some rest.”

“I need to take care of a few things, Ella, so I’ll be back later. Call if you need anything. Glad you're back.” Ryan gave me a warm smile.

“Me too.”

I looked at the phone still in my hand and realized Ryan was waiting for it. “I’ll talk to you in a little while. I love you.” I blew Sebastian a kiss as we said our goodbyes before I gave the cell back to Ryan. I knew Sebastian was worried about me, and I’d tried my best to let him think I was mentally unscarred. But it was a lie. I was struggling to keep it together in front of everyone when what I really wanted was to sob, scream, and hit something. With everything going on with Sebastian and Death, I was afraid to add any more emotional baggage that might tip him one way or the other. Death had to lie low for now.

“I need security outside of her room,” Ryan explained to the doctor. “I won’t leave until someone is there. No one other than you and a nurse can enter. Are we clear?” Ryan flashed his badge.

Exhausted, I gave him a smile. “Maybe I can get a little sleep before you leave.”

“If you need me to stay, I will. Bass isn’t going anywhere.” He chuckled at his joke.

“Just until I can fall asleep. I’m … I’m afraid I’ll have nightmares.”

Ryan pulled up a chair and sat next to me. “I’ll be here.”

“Cami is lucky to have you,” I mumbled through a yawn.

Ryan’s expression stuttered at the mention of Cami. His gaze darted away from mine before he looked at me again. “More on that later too.” He patted my arm, his tone subdued while the nurse drew blood from the other one. “I’m going to call Dope and Kip and give them the good news about you, but I’ll talk to them after you get some rest.”

As soon as she was finished, my eyes fluttered closed. I slipped into a fitful sleep and dreamed Xavier was hunting me.