"I never wanted you to get close to Violet Cabot," he muttered after a long pause. "I knew... I knew you'd go down the exact same path I did with Brynne."
"What do you mean?"
"You'd fall in love, Devlin," he ground out, rubbing the bridge of his nose and groaning from the pain. I must've broken his nose. Fucking good. "You'd fall in love, like I did, and it would destroy you."
"Nonsense," I muttered, and our eyes met.
"Nonsense?" my father repeated. "Is it really, Devlin? Can you honestly tell me you don't have feelings for the Cabot girl? No feelings. None at all?"
I glared at him, my heart speeding up frantically. I couldn't bring myself to answer him, to tell him the truth. So I stayed stubbornly quiet, and my father didn't prod further.
"I can help you find her," he finally said from the ground. "Let me help you."
My pride and my fears battled in my mind as I regarded my father's broken figure on the floor. My need for Violet had driven me to do this - to hurt my own Dad, the man who raised me, my fucking blood. Now, he was offering me a helping hand - an alliance.
"Temporary," I spoke up. "Only temporary. Until I get Violet back."
"Of course." My father put out the cigarette and tossed it on the floor. "How much do you need?"
Since the beginning, everything had been about money. And as I uttered the magic number, I felt shame burning my cheeks. "I promised somebody - who I thought was you - a hundred million for her safe return."
My father furrowed his brows, saying, "You don't have that kind of money, Devlin."
"No, I don't," I said. "I'm liquidating my share in the company to get it."
"No need to do that." He waved his hand nonchalantly, as if the astronomically high amount meant nothing to him. "I'll cover it. You don't have to liquidate anything."
I struggled with my reply. The two little words I should have said - thank you - were right on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't bring myself to say them. But my father didn't push me. Instead, he picked himself up from the ground, giving me an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
And just like that, the tension that had been between us for decades crumbled away. At that moment, we were just a father and son, and nothing else mattered.
"Thank you." The words left my lips effortlessly this time, filling the room with unexpected warmth.
"Of course. What else are fathers for?" My father lay a hand on my shoulder and gave me a confident smile. "Now come on. Let's get this bastard."TwelveVioletMy room at Sloane Manor was comfortable, and I would have even said it was nice, if I wasn’t there to sell my soul to a new Master. Connor Peterson. My sister’s husband. Submissive boy to Winter Sloane. A man who wanted to hurt me and ravage my body--if he could even last that long. But he wasn’t the only one who was going to own me. He was going to get what he wanted, but behind him, Winter was really pulling the strings. She was going to be the one who really owned me, because Connor did everything she said, no matter how vile or disgusting it seemed.
I pulled the blanket tight around my body and tried to focus on what was important. I had to escape--I had to find a way to get free. I didn’t know how long it would take me, but that mission would always be on the forefront of my thoughts. If Winter was responsible for what happened to my father, then I would find proof before I left--that would make my torment bearable. Hope. It had kept going for so long. I just needed a little more.
If this blows up in my face, I have to believe Devlin will honor that agreement. I know he cares about me now. I didn’t the day I left, but if he was willing to sell off his empire to get me back, then I was foolish not to trust him--the devil was the only one who was looking out for my best interests.
It was still hard to bring balance to my love for the boy I was fascinated with as a child and the devil that Devlin became, but they were one in the same. He wanted my submission, but the things he did to me had a purpose--they made me stronger. Maybe that was what it was always about. I had to stop being a spoiled little rich girl and be a woman strong enough to stand on my own two feet. Devlin transformed me through pain, passion and humiliation, but without that--I would have cracked and signed Connor’s contract the instant I felt the ropes burn my wrists.