A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four - Isabella Starling Page 0,36

point of caring. He takes care of me, and I let him. Firm, strong hands smooth my hair. A dark but soothing whisper tells me to rest, and he holds me as I drift to the first real sleep in a week.

14

Dexter

Pandora is slowly coming back. As hard as life has been these past few weeks, my toy is doing her best to please me by returning to her former state. But we've made no progress on the search for Lily Anna and Reign, and with every day that passes without good news, I see my toy give up a little more.

I've done everything in my power to make things better. To keep her busy. But she's a mother now, a mother without a baby, without a purpose. I can tell she's suffering and what hurts most is knowing I can't do anything to change that.

That day, the doorbell rings through the Manor. Pandora looks up from her book in the bed we share.

"Who's that?"

"No idea," I mutter, picking myself up from the bed. I button my shirt and I tell her I'll be back.

I go downstairs where Anders has already let in our visitor. My expression darkens when my eyes meet Emilian Oakes'.

"What are you doing here?" I bark at him. "We don't meet here. We meet in your office downtown. This is my home and you aren't welcome here."

We've met every other day to discuss the fruitless search for Lily Anna, but it was always in Oakes' office in Eden Falls.

"I came to talk to you," Emilian mutters. "Discuss some matters at hand. It couldn't wait. And don't be so ungrateful, Booth. I'm doing this for your benefit. Can we go to your office?"

I glare at him. I don't like the sight of him in my house, but I can't exactly kick him out either. After all, he's the one funding the search for Lily Anna and Reign.

"Fine, let's go." I lead the way up the stairs and into the office. Oakes takes a seat in front of my desk and I take the chair behind it, glaring at him. "Please tell me you have some good news about Lily Anna. Have you found her? Have you found Reign? Have you made any fucking progress at all?"

"No." He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, probably expecting me to lose it again. But I stay calm, though my nails dig into the palms of my hands with anger. That fucking bitch is still on the loose. "I came here to speak to you about something else, actually."

"More bad news?"

"No." He keeps shifting his position, which tells me he's nervous. Fucking good. "I... I wanted to tell you I'm giving you a dowry. If you still intend to marry Pandora, that is."

Pandora and I haven't discussed our plans at all, but Oakes doesn't need to know that. So I just stare him right in the eye and smirk as I say, "How mighty generous of you. Now that you've taken everything from me, you're going to give me some bullshit excuse for a wedding present?"

"I'm giving you your company back, Dexter," Oakes hisses, rendering me speechless. "And the house, and some other assets."

I do my best to keep my cool, watching the man with narrowed eyes. "I'm assuming there's a price I'll have to pay for all this."

He laughs. "Consider it a gift from me."

"Getting a guilty conscience now that you're getting older?"

"Maybe I've mistreated you a few times..." He shrugs.

"And you think giving me shit will make up for all the crap you did?" I grunt. I still remember the hits of the whip against my tender skin. Those are scars I'll bear for a lifetime, and they aren't just physical. "It'll take a lot more than that to fix your mistakes, old man."

"I know." For once, Oakes actually manages to look remorseful. "That's why I'm doing something else, to hopefully ease Pandora back into Eden Falls."

"And what might that be?"

The man's hands form fists and I stare at him as he struggles with his answer.

"I'm giving you Minnie," he finally mutters, every word seemingly harder to get out than the last. He rushes to finish the speech before I even get the chance to reply. "Not forever. Just for a while, until Pandora feels better."

"Isn't that nice," I mutter sarcastically. "Well, she'll be better off with us than she ever could be with you. When is she arriving?"

"Kelley will drive her over tonight." Oakes watches me with a scornful