“What happened?”
“I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I found Simone dead. The basement was old. She had managed to reach a can of paint thinner and had drunk half the bottle. She didn’t trust him, either. She killed herself so he would keep me alive.” Tears she couldn’t hold back fell from her eyes.
Ice pulled her closer.
“Winston didn’t care. He watched her die. He was outside digging her grave next to Avril’s when the police stormed the house.”
“God, baby. Did you tell Simone’s mother her message?”
“Yes, but she wouldn’t listen. She blames me because Simone was with me. I had promised to make sure she was safe when I asked if she could come to the States with us. She said I should have been the one to die, and she was right. It was my fault. I begged my parents to go out that day without them. My father wanted us to wait until my mother was feeling better, but I was so spoiled I wouldn’t listen.”
“Grace, you were young and on vacation; of course you didn’t want to stay in a hotel room with your parents. I’m sure Avril and Simone were both anxious to go, too.”
“They were, but I had promised their parents. I should have taken that responsibility more seriously,” she argued.
“You did. Just because Simone died before you could get yourself killed doesn’t take away from the fact that you were going to sacrifice your own life. Simone’s mother had no right to place that guilt trip on you. There was only one person responsible for those girls’ deaths, and that was Leon Winston. Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you talk with a French accent? I thought that, with your mother being French, you would have one, even if your father was an American.”
“Because the girl who was kidnapped wasn’t the one who came out of that house. Reporters hounded us for the story. The only way to stay sane was to change my name and make me unrecognizable to the public. I took speech lessons, colored my hair, and gained fifteen pounds. I haven’t even been back home to Paris because I don’t want the paparazzi to know I returned.”
“It’s over now. They’ve moved on to new stories to cover.”
“It’s old news to everyone but me. I sometimes think I still hear him walking across the floor upstairs or coming down the steps.” She shuddered against Ice.
“Baby, he can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I know that, Ice. Even if he gets found sane in the future, he can be tried for murder. I know he’ll never get out.”
“He’ll never be found sane; he’s a vegetable,” Ice told her in satisfaction.
“How do you know?”
When Ice didn’t answer, she tried to pull away.
“Don’t you dare feel sorry for that crazy motherfucker. He wasn’t crazy; he was evil and wanted something he couldn’t have, so he stole it. He might not have raped and tortured you physically, but he did mentally torture you. I wasn’t going to let him spend the next forty years thinking he got away with it. I made sure he knew before his neck was broke exactly why. Now he has to breathe through a fucking machine and piss through a tube. At any time, someone could come in and turn that machine off like that.” Ice snapped his fingers. “He’s going to live with that fear for the rest of his sorry life.”
Grace could only listen to Ice’s confession, expecting to experience horror at his actions. However, the only emotion she felt was overwhelming relief that she never had to feel afraid of Winton again. Right or wrong, Avril and Simone had both been given justice.
Ice waited guardedly for her reaction and was relieved when she leaned forward, kissing his lips, her tongue parting his mouth.
Grace didn’t want to think about the past anymore. She wanted to be thankful she was still alive, lying in this bed next to Ice. She rubbed her breasts against his broad chest, experiencing the sensation of her nipples tightening. Ice’s hand smoothed over her ass before sliding under her panties. He used his leg to widen the space between her thighs, letting him find her clit. She was already aroused, wanting him inside her. When he thrust a finger deep inside, stroking her walls, it only teased her when she wanted his cock.
“Ice, I want you inside me.”
“Baby, I’m always going to give you what you need.” Ice jerked her pajama bottoms and panties off, leaving her bottom half-bare. He then unbuttoned her top, sliding it off and exposing her breasts. The cool air tightened her nipples even further. Ice took one in his mouth, grasping the tip of another between his two fingers and slightly twisting it until she arched underneath him.
Ice took a second to put on a condom before pulling her leg over him until she was sitting on top of him. She had been in this position with him before yet had always felt self-conscious and awkward.