X's glass of water and drank. “Anyway, he scared the hell out of me. He was looking at me like he wanted to have me for lunch. But then my friend calls out, because he's wondering where I am with the key. The man said my name and then just kind of disappeared, right as my friend came up the lawn.” Billy shook his head. “Thing is, I don't know how he got over the wall. My dad put one all around the back of the grounds last year because he's been getting terrorist threats or something. It's, like, twelve feet tall. And the house was all locked up in front with the security system on.”
Mr. X looked down at Billy's hands. They were gripped tightly together.
“I… ah, I'm kinda scared, sensei.”
“You should be.”
Riddle looked vaguely nauseated at having his fears confirmed.
“So, Billy. I want to know. You ever kill something?”
Riddle frowned at the abrupt change of subject. “What are you talking about?”
“You know. A bird. Squirrel. Maybe a cat or a dog?”
“No, sensei.”
“No?” Mr. X leveled his eyes on Billy's. “I got no time for liars, son.”
Billy cleared his throat. “Yeah. Maybe. When I was younger.”
“How'd that make you feel?”
A flush crept up Billy's neck. His hands came apart. “Nada. I didn't feel anything.”
“Come on, Billy. You've got to trust me.”
Billy's eyes flashed. “Okay. Maybe I liked it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Riddle drew out the word.
“Good.” Mr. X lifted his hand and caught the waitress's eye. She took her time coming over. “We'll talk about that man later. First, I want you to tell me about your father.”
“My dad?”
“You ready to order now?” the waitress said in a snotty tone.
“What do you want, Billy? It's on me.”
Riddle recited half the menu.
When the waitress left, Mr. X prompted him. “Your dad?”
Billy shrugged. “I don't see him a lot. But he's… you know… whatever. A dad. I mean, who cares what he's like?”
“Listen, Billy.” Mr. X leaned forward. “I know you ran away from home three times before you turned twelve. I know your father sent you to prep school the minute your mom was in the ground. And I know when you got yourself kicked out of Northfield Mount Hermon, he packed you off to Groton, and when you were tossed out of there, he put you in a military academy. It sounds to me like he's been trying to get rid of you for the last decade.”
“He's busy.”
“And you've been a lot to handle, haven't you?”
“Maybe.”
“So would I be right in assuming that you and Daddy Dearest don't have some kind of Leave It to Beaver thing going?” Mr. X waited. “Tell me the truth.”
“I hate him,” Riddle blurted.
“Why?”
Billy crossed his arms over his chest again. His eyes went cold.
“Why do you hate him, son?”
“Because he breathes.”
Black Dagger Brotherhood 1 - Dark Lover
Chapter Thirty-four
Beth stared off into a vast white distance. She was in some kind of dreamscape, with hazy edges that suggested there was no end to what was before her.
A lone figure, lit from behind, approached out of the vapor. She sensed that it was male, whatever it was, and she didn't feel threatened. She felt as if she knew him.
“Father?” she whispered, not sure whether she meant her own or God Himself.
The man was still quite far away, but his hand lifted in greeting, as if he'd heard her.
She stepped forward, but her mouth was suddenly flooded with a taste she didn't recognize. She put her fingertips to her lips. When she looked down at them, she saw red.
The figure dropped his hand. As if he knew what the stain meant.
Beth slammed back into her body. It was like being catapulted and landing on gravel. Everything hurt.
She cried out. As her mouth opened, she got a rush of that taste. She swallowed reflexively.
Something miraculous happened. Like a balloon reinflating, her skin filled with life. Her senses came alive.
She blindly grabbed onto something hard. Latched on to the source of the taste.
Wrath felt Beth jerk like she'd been electrocuted. And then she started to drink at his neck with great, urgent pulls of her mouth. Her arms tightened around his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh.
His roar was one of triumph as he eased back on the bed, lying down so the blood flow would be better. He kept his head to one side, exposing his neck to her, and she crawled up onto his chest, her hair spilling all over him. The wet sound of her sucking, the