The Price (House of Sin #5) - Elisabeth Naughton Page 0,19

as I glanced around the room. Everything in it was too fancy for my taste—delicate four-poster bed, lace-edged comforter, Victorian armoire with elegant trim work, gold-framed mirror. Dainty. English. And in my current mood, a perfect target for my rage. I could do some serious damage to this room. And I wanted to. I was seconds away from unleashing my fury. The only thing that stopped me was Marco’s presence.

I banked that rage for the moment and forced myself to ask the most pressing question on my mind. “What happened?”

“In the bathroom?” When I nodded, Marco said, “You lost it, that’s what happened.

No shit, Sherlock. I frowned. “What did Fee give me?”

“A sedative. You ripped open a bunch of sutures. Unless you want to die from infection, those need to stay closed.”

Fucking fabulous.

Ironically, dying was damn tempting. But I had to keep fighting. Not for myself now but for Natalie. Yes, she was technically safe after that deal I’d made, but if I keeled over unexpectedly, I wasn’t at all convinced the Grande Cavaliere and my fucking father would hold to the agreement we’d reached.

“How the fuck did she get there?” I dropped my head and breathed deeply. “She was supposed to be at your villa. Did she follow me?”

“Merda. You don’t know, do you?” When I lifted my head and met Marco’s gaze, he said, “They came onto the property and took her, Luc. After I left for the gathering.”

“What?” My eyes grew wide. “They can’t do that.”

“No shit. But they did.”

My mind spun. And then...it all made sense. I hadn’t been the target. I’d been the distraction.

A whole new fear seized my chest, and I shot to my feet. “What did they do to her? Who touched her? Which ones...?” My throat closed. “I’ll kill every fucking one of them.”

“Breathe.” Marco was on his feet with a death grip on my shoulders before I realized it. “She’s fine. They didn’t do anything to her. No one touched her.”

I stared at him, unable to believe his words. “Then what—?”

“Physically, they didn’t harm her. But they did scare her. And they made her stay on that balcony until it was over.”

Memories came rushing back. Memories I’d clearly blocked out—a light flipping on above me, opening my eyes when I’d been chained down and that kitten had been tormenting me, looking up and seeing Natalie standing on that balcony in a white dress, staring down at what I was doing.

My stomach pitched with renewed sickness, but I couldn’t give in to the darkness just yet. I needed to know all of it. “Who?”

“Your father.”

My jaw clenched so hard, I was surprised the bone didn’t crack. That hatred swirled and snapped inside me.

“And your mother,” Marco added.

For a moment, I was sure I’d heard him wrong. But when he only met my gaze head-on and didn’t flinch, I knew he was telling the truth.

“Both of them?” I asked in a low voice, a dark loathing growing inside me, one that was stronger and more dangerous than anything I’d felt before.

“They made her stand between them. Wouldn’t let her leave. And I’m sure they got a sick sort of satisfaction listening to her beg and plead for them to stop the ritual.”

Of course they would have. Because they were monsters. Vile, evil, black-souled monsters who sucked every bit of life and light out of the innocents they encountered. And now, thanks to what I’d done, I was just like them.

I sank back to the side of the bed, braced my elbows on my knees, and dropped my head into my hands, barely even noticing the pain in my back because the agony consuming every other inch of my body was too strong—too fresh.

“She’s worried about you, man,” Marco said. “After what happened in the bathroom—”

“I don’t want to see her.”

“She’s your wife.”

“I don’t fucking care.” I glared up at him. “Don’t you dare let her in this room. I’m not kidding, Marco. You saw me in there. I could snap at any moment. I don’t want her anywhere near me.”

Marco rested his hands on his hips and leveled me with a disapproving look. “She loves you.”

“Which was the biggest mistake she ever made.” Despair rolled through me. A black, bitter despair I was never going to be able to claw my way out from under. A despair I didn’t deserve to be free of—ever. “If you and Fee want to help someone, you’ll help her get out of this fucked-up House once and