Even more silence. I realize right here that it’s deafening. It’s madness. If she doesn’t start talking, I’ll turn around and tell Aaron to kill her.
“Do you see the grief in my eyes, Karina? It’ll never go away. It’s rooted in the deepest part of me. Thrumming in every beat of my heart and in every breath I take. You and your brothers did that to my family and me. They did not deserve to die!” I whisper-hiss when what I really want to do is get in her face and scream.
Pressing off the door, I close the distance between us and crouch beside her. She shrinks back when I take hold of her cheeks and pinch, her cuffed hands flying to her chest so fast the movement causes me to grip harder.
God, I’ve no idea what I’m doing. I’m flying by the seat of my pants in testing her for a sign of guilt or innocence.
“You better listen and listen good, Karina. Your life balances in my hands. If I walk out of here and tell Aaron to kill you, he will. It’s as simple as that. The bruise you have on your face is nothing compared to what will happen to you. You will die. Is that what you want? Aaron will do the same to you as to what was done to my family.”
I let go of her with a shove so hard her head bangs into one of the iron bars, and still, she doesn’t give me a damn thing to go on.
She’s either stupid, in shock, stubborn or scared.
Or all the above.
“They will hang you by a tree and slice you wide open. That’s what you and your brothers did to my mother and sister. Or perhaps he’ll strangle you to death like my nephew. Maybe shoot you in the back multiple times like my brother-in-law. Convince me you didn’t have a thing to do with such violent deaths, and you’ll be protected. I swear on my life you’ll be safe here until Maxim is dead.”
I’ve never sworn on my life before. Seth told me one night when we were lying in bed, talking that he never swears on his or someone he loves to something he knows not to be true. It stuck with me. I’m not sure why. But I’m glad it did because if Karina is innocent, she is safe here. The Empire will stay true to my word. They’ll protect her as if she’s one of us.
I sigh, shaking my head. Tears stinging at the back of my throat, but I push them down.
“We only kill people who deserve it. Not knowing if you do will shatter the parts of me I’m putting back together. Please don’t let me send you to your death if you don’t deserve it. I can’t handle it,” I whisper.
“You expect me to believe I’ll be safe from Aaron Diamond? After you just grabbed me by the face?” She speaks finally. Her tone is strong, but there is no missing the terror, the repulsion I now see flashing brightly in her eyes.
In any other circumstance, Aaron would have never laid a hand on her. He may not feel guilty about it now. He will because I can see the hurt, the guilt of knowing what her brothers did swelling in her eyes. She doesn’t have a thing to do with the murders.
“Aaron isn’t like that. He would never, under normal circumstances, hurt a woman physically. None of the men in my family would.” I won’t defend my action. Until she opens up to me, I’m the victim in this situation neither of us wants to be in.
“Sure, he wouldn’t. He cold-clocked Jack, he took his fist to me, then kidnapped me and cuffed me to a bed. Aaron Diamond is a cold barbaric animal. If you want me to talk, you keep him away from me and tell him I demand to see Jack. God, you people make me sick.”
I understand where she’s coming from. I’d think the same if I were her. However, I won’t tolerate anyone calling Aaron names. Even if, in some ways, he’s exactly what she said he is.
“Don’t ever compare Aaron to those men again! My people aren’t like your brothers, Karina. You tell me everything you know, and you’ll see just how much my words are true. I have no idea where Jack is,” I lie. The man is probably dead by now or close to it. The thought makes me as ill as seeing how traumatized Karina actually is. When she finds out what’s happened to Jack, she’ll be so much worse.
Innocent or not, that’s not my problem. Aaron, Roan, Dray, I don’t care who, they can handle taking care of Karina from here on out.
“I meant what I said. I won’t apologize.”
“I don’t want your apology. I want to find your brother and make him pay.”
“If you want me to talk to you, then don’t you dare call Maxim or Mikhail, my brothers, ever again. They stormed into my life and made me care about them. They showed me pictures of my biological parents. Of me when I was a baby. They are nothing to me. They lived under my roof for weeks after what they did, and I never knew until one night I woke and overheard them talking.” Her lips tremble. There’s no disguising the absolute horror Karina is living in. She’s drowning in it.
“I can do that.”
“Oh, dear God, have mercy on me, please. I’m paying the price emotionally for their choices. I will never forgive myself. I’m so sorry. Ever since I found out, I’ve tried imagining what you’re going through. I can’t even begin to describe how guilty I feel for not finding out before they did what they did.” Her body slumps forward—the chain clanging against the iron rail of the bed. The weight of the guilt she
