Page 28 of Twisted Violet (Lovesick Villains #4)

TWENTY-SEVE N

VIOLET

My heart slams into my stomach as the lights above me flicker on and I instantly move into action.

Rummaging for the makeshift weapon I slid under the mattress, I grasp it in my palm, tuck myself into the darkest corner of the bed, and ready myself for what’s coming.

The seconds it takes for him to unchain the flimsy metal doors feel like hours, and by the time they swing open and his frame steps into view, adrenaline is coursing through my veins and my heart is practically leaping out of my chest.

His vacant brown eyes scan the room, and when they finally land on me, my whole body trembles.

“There she is.” He croons, stepping towards me as he loosens the expensive silk tie around his neck. “My perfect girl. Did you miss me?”

He says it like we mean something to each other. Like I’m not just something he bought and broke over and over again.

I narrow my eyes as he closes the distance between us, tracking his every move .

As he draws closer, my eyes catch a tiny beam of light gleaming from the ground in front of him, and my stomach sinks.

Shit.

Its glass.

From the skylight I shattered to forge my makeshift weapon.

I thought I cleared it all, but in the darkness, I must have missed a piece.

Fuck.

Time slows down, and I watch with bated breath as his shoe hovers over the shard of glass and crunches down on it.

His ankle wobbles, and his expression drops.

The silence that fills the 10x10 shed is deafening.

He lifts his shoe and looks at the bottom before narrowing his eyes at me. “What is this?”

“I don’t know.” I breathe.

He cranes his leathery neck to look up at the ceiling.

Do it. I beg myself. Slash his throat now, before he realizes what’s happening.

I scream at my body to move.

To do something.

To do anything.

But I’m completely frozen in fear, and my muscles are painfully locked into place.

“It’s glass.” He says, clenching his jaw as he lowers his gaze to look at me.

Cogs turn in his head, and he quickly shifts his focus to the hand I’m hiding behind my back. “What do you have there?”

I swallow the lump in my throat and shake my head. “Nothing. ”

“Show it to me.” He demands through gritted teeth. “Now.”

I should refuse.

I should attack and fight like hell to get out of here.

If I were anything like my older sister, Stevie, I would.

But I’m not brave like her.

I never have been.

And angering him will only make things worse for me.

I jerk my trembling arm forward and pry my hand open, exposing the 4-inch shard of glass.

He lunges towards me in a fury, rips it from my hand and throws it hard against the floor, shattering it into a million pieces.

I stare at the fragments, too stunned to move, as he starts to pace.

“I can’t believe you thought about betraying me like this.” He says, squeezing his eyes shut as he clenches his fists. “You were going to hurt me?” He sneers. “After everything I’ve done for you?”

His rage is palpable, suffocating me as I curl in on myself to stop my body from shaking.

His hand shoots out, gripping my jaw in a bruising hold as he forces me to meet his gaze.

The scent of his pungent cologne assaults my senses as he leans in close. “You are mine.” He hisses, his words a menacing promise. “And you always will be. Now, be a good girl and lie down.”

My stomach twists at his words.

No. “I said, lie down!” He snaps, furiously unbuttoning his dress shirt to expose his bloated belly.

I choke back the bile crawling up my throat and numbly press myself flat against the filthy mattress.

After a few tense moments of fighting the tremors vibrating through my bones, the mattress dips, and he settles his weight on top of me.

I know what comes next, so I detach myself from my body and allow my mind to float off as I stare up at the broken skylight.

Into a place where his grunts are nothing more than whispers in the wind.

Into a realm where his touch can't reach me.

Into a world where my innocence isn’t gone.

My body jerks upright.

I blink hard, trying to make sense of where I am.

The ceiling is smooth. Whole. The mattress isn’t stained. The walls aren’t metal.

It’s Rome’s room.

I’m safe.

I repeat the words to myself like a prayer.

You’re safe. You’re safe. You’re safe.

Something nudges my arm.

I flinch, then freeze.

A warm snout presses gently against my wrist and I blink down to find Ollie staring up at me, his wide brown eyes filled with worry.

He lets out a soft whine and crawls closer on the bed, burying his head beneath my arm like he’s trying to shield me from whatever I saw in the dark.

My face softens.

“Hey, Ollie Ollie Oxen Free.” My voice is raw. “What are you doing in Rome’s room?”

I run my fingers through his golden fur, grateful for the anchor, for the steady weight of something real.

He’s soft, solid, and warm.

My heart finally begins to settle, each beat thudding slower beneath my ribs. I press a kiss to the top of his head and close my eyes for a second longer, letting his warmth chase the nightmare back into its corner.

But then I hear them. Voices. Low, urgent, and real.

My eyes snap open and I see Ollie’s ears perk up.

I glance at the clock - 1:46 a.m. Way too late for a casual conversation.

I slip out of bed, careful not to jostle Ollie too much, but he hops down behind me anyway, keeping his body glued to mine like he knows I need him.

The voices grow clearer as we step into the hallway. Still muffled, still low, but sharper now, like whoever’s talking is angry, but doesn’t want to be overheard.

Something’s wrong.

Ollie nudges my leg again, almost like he can sense the shift too.

We move together toward the sounds and stop just before the doorway to the office. The door isn’t fully shut; it’s cracked enough so that the sounds slip through.

I hear Rome first. His voice is low and inflectionless. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“And you don’t think you are?” A feminine voice snaps back.

Recognition clicks and my body goes still.

It’s my sister.

What the hell is she doing here, and why didn’t either of them wake me?

“Violet is a grown woman. She’s capable of making her own decisions.”

“Rome,” Stevie says, her tone sharp and unamused. “You can’t be serious right now. She isn’t in the right mental state; she hasn’t been since you met her.”

I curl my fingers into fists, squeezing so hard it feels like my bones might splinter.

A beat of silence.

Then Dallas speaks, voice rough, like he’s been woken up but doesn’t want to sound careless. “We’re not taking advantage of her. If anything, we’ve been trying to keep our distance. V is... fragile. We all know that.”

Fragile.

Like I’m a porcelain doll seconds from falling off the shelf and shattering.

Niko’s voice cuts through next. Clipped. Defensive. “She’s been through a lot. That’s not something we take lightly.”

“We’re just trying to look out for her.” Rome adds.

Stevie sighs. “She needs protection. Not whatever this is,” she snaps. “And if you can’t give her that without complicating it, then maybe she shouldn’t be here.”

The silence that follows is suffocating.

I can feel it swelling behind the door.

Rome’s voice comes again, quiet, tired. “We get that you’re concerned, but Violet is her own person with her own feelings. You can’t expect us to just avoid her.”

My throat loosens a little.

My sister is intense, but at least he’s trying to stand up for me.

“You’re being paid to keep her safe. Not to get attached.”

I stop breathing.

The word stabs into my chest like a blade, and twists.

Paid.

The ground splinters underneath me and I’m suddenly on that frozen lake again.

Only now there’s no chance of getting to shore.

The cracks are spreading fast, and all I can do is wait for the icy water to pull me under.

They’re being paid.

I thought I was here because they cared, because they wanted to protect me, because maybe, just maybe, I mattered to them.

But no .

I’m a job.

A fucking paycheck.

An obligation passed from one hand to another.

My chest caves in, collapsing under the weight of the words.

Stevie keeps talking, but I don’t wait to hear the rest.

I turn and walk away, fast, my bare feet silent against the hardwood. Ollie scrambles to keep up, but I don’t slow down until I make it to my room.

I shut the door behind me, and sink onto the bed, grabbing the bracelet on my wrist like it might tether me to something solid. But the string just digs into my skin. Tight. Meaningless. Just another lie.

My throat tightens, but I don’t cry.

I just sit there and let it sink in.

Everything they ever did.

Every smile, every touch, every soft moment, all of it was paid for.

None of it was real.

They were here because Stevie paid them, because it was their job.

I just made it harder. I made them think I needed more, and they gave it to me because they had no other choice .

I stare at the floor, wishing it would just open up and swallow me whole.

This is my fault. I ruined everything.

I squeeze my eyes shut and for a second, it feels like I’m back in the nightmare.

Only this time, it’s one I can’t wake up from.