Page 16 of The Tower (Billionaire Brothers Grimm #1)

“Withdrawal?”

“When did you last take your meds?”

“This is day three. I didn’t take them the morning of the photo shoot.”

“Then it’s already started.”

I nod slowly. The headache I’ve been trying to ignore suddenly makes sense. So does the slight tremor in my hands, and the way the light seems just a bit too bright.

I look at Grimm, searching his face for … what? Reassurance? Sincerity? I don’t know, but something in his steady gaze anchors me.

“Okay,” I say. “Do what you need to do.”

Dr. Chen nods, and as she goes to get her medical bag from beside the sofa, I look at Grimm. “Why do you even care about what my father was doing to me?”

A shadow passes over his face, but his expression remains carefully controlled.

“Have you forgotten our pact? I help you get healthy. I protect you. And in exchange, you help me destroy Victor Reed.” He pauses, his eyes hard and hot on mine.

“And, of course, that’s not the full sum of our arrangement. ”

I swallow, looking at the floor to avoid looking at him as the memory of last night once again floods back. Sex. Control. Obedience. Ownership. Surrender.

Everything.

A transaction, plain and simple.

Thankfully, I don’t have time to dwell on that, as Dr. Chen returns to draw vial after vial. I sit with my arm extended and fight a shudder as I watch the vials fill. Not blood anymore. Poison. Poured into my veins by my father.

“My lab is expediting the tests,” Dr. Chen says, “so I’ll have preliminary results in a day or so.” She flashes a supportive smile as she tucks away the last vial. “We should have enough to confirm our suspicions and begin building a case.”

“A case?” I look to Grimm as Dr. Chen pulls out a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff to continue her exam.

“Unauthorized pharmaceutical use,” Grimm says. “Illegal experimentation, psychological manipulation. Basic assault. Possibly more, depending on what we find.”

“Against my father,” I say as the magnitude of what we’re doing—what I’ve agreed to—washes over me. This isn’t just about avoiding an unwanted marriage or gaining my independence. This is about exposing my father’s crimes, destroying him completely.

I feel suddenly cold as fear whips through me.

I can’t do this. I have to step back. Tell Grimm I didn’t understand that my literal blood would be spilled because of our agreement.

Tell him I don’t want to be part of the shitshow that’s going to play out in the media any more than I want the target that my father will surely paint on my back.

Except I do want it. Even if it does make me a target. When has my father not had me in the crosshairs?

The truth is, I want it so desperately I can taste it. I want to bring down my father. I want him to pay for what he’s done to me and my mother. I want that black heart of his ripped out with all the world watching.

I know my reasons for wanting all of that, but I still don’t know Grimm’s.

“What?” he asks, but I just shake my head, as if I’m sitting there thinking about nothing but sunshine and puppies while Dr. Chen finishes taking my vitals.

“That’s it,” she says, giving my hand a quick squeeze. “If you need me, Liam has my contact information. Rest. Stay hydrated. And if you need it, I can prescribe something to take the edge off.”

I shake my head. “No more drugs.”

She offers one last smile. “You’re strong, Sasha. You’ll get through this just fine.” Then she leaves, and I’m alone with Grimm, and I don’t feel strong at all. Pawns aren’t strong. And that’s what I am. A pawn in a chess game that Grimm is determined to win.

“Why are you doing this? Why do you care what my father’s done to me?”

“Maybe I’m just chivalrous.”

“Yeah, well, the King Arthur society called. They said that your everything bargain is pretty much the opposite of chivalry.”

“Really? I’ll make a note of it.”

“It can’t just be about sex,” I continue, looking down to hide the way I’ve smiled at his retort. “I have a feeling you have a lot of options there.”

He chuckles, but there’s something off about the sound.

“And why go to so much trouble to use me against my father? There must be a billion other ways for you to bring him down that don’t involve stealing a girl away and then helping her detox.”

A long moment passes before Grimm says, “We all have our reasons,” which tells me absolutely nothing.

A shadow passes over his face, but it’s gone so quickly I might have imagined it. Then he looks up, his blue eyes hard on mine. “I’m not helping you out of the goodness of my heart, Princess. You know that. This is a transaction.”

The cold calculation in his voice should repel me. Instead, it sends a strange thrill through me—the honesty of it, the absence of pretense, is so different from my father’s elegant manipulations that I have to fight not to smile. “I haven’t forgotten.”

He studies me with an expression I can’t quite read. “You should rest,” he says, all business now.

I almost argue that it’s not even noon, but there’s no denying the wall of exhaustion bearing down on me.

He walks me to the bedroom door, his hand hovering near the small of my back but never quite touching. The distance feels deliberate. Controlled. As if he’s setting boundaries for himself.

I step into the bedroom, aware of his presence behind me, solid and imposing. Will he follow me in? Is this the moment when he claims the first installment of his price? My heart races at the thought, a mixture of fear and something else I’m not ready to name.

But he remains in the doorway, his expression giving nothing away. “I’ll check on you in a few hours,” he says, and then he’s gone, closing the door with a soft click that sounds oddly final.

I sink onto the bed, disappointment and relief warring within me.

Everything .

The word is determined to linger in my mind, and I try to push it away. Try not to imagine his touch.

I remind myself that this is Liam Grimm. Manipulative. Cruel. A man who isn’t helping me out of the goodness of his heart. On the contrary, I’ve traded my father’s control for Grimm’s. I’m nothing more than a pawn in his plan to destroy my father.

And I’ve played enough chess to know that pawns always get the raw end of the deal.