She wanted to hurt Sterling; I could see it in her eyes. “He has a knife,” she finally said after staring him down.
“Mads, it’s going to be okay,” Micah assured me. Hearing him say my name gave me a burst of strength, not the reassurance itself.
Sterling let out a manic chuckle at Micah’s attempt to calm me, shoving me into the rickety wooden chair. “Be a doll and tie her up,” he ordered Kenna, sliding the blade up to my throat as he waited for her to secure the ties on my arms.
Micah cursed under his breath, the muscles in his neck pulsing.
“Sorry,” Kenna muttered, her brown eyes brimming with remorse and ire. It wasn’t me she wanted to tie to this chair. Her fingers fumbled with the knots, shaking.
When she finished the last knot, Sterling was quick to growl, “Now back the fuck up.”
She did so slowly until she was in front of Fynn, who promptly secured Kenna at his side. I exhaled, assured she was safe with the Elite.
“How did you find out about Sadie?” Sterling snarled, leaning down on the back of the chair in a show of dominance. He believed he had the upper hand, and maybe he did. I had no real idea what the Elite planned. This entire place could be rigged with explosives for all I knew.
But I found Sterling’s question strange. Then again, this entire situation was fucking unusual. He hadn’t asked where Sadie was but how they’d learned about his sister, as if she was this dark family secret.
Why wasn’t he pissed off that the Elite had tricked him? Obviously Sadie wasn’t at the warehouse.
Something was wrong here, more than just me having a knife jabbed into my throat.
“Why don’t you put down the weapon so we can talk?” Brock suggested, keeping his hands in front of him where Sterling could see them and his tone smooth, cool.
“How about you fuck off? You think I came here to save my sister?” Sterling snorted. “I told you not to underestimate me.”
Fynn’s brows drew together like he was figuring out a puzzle, his arm still protectively in front of Kenna, not trusting her. “If you knew we didn’t have your sister, why come at all?” he asked.
Sterling’s voice increased in anger. “Because your friend took something from me, and I want him to pay.” The knife against my throat trembled, making me very fucking uncomfortable. He lifted the weapon from my throat and pressed it to the side of my cheek. His face moved alongside mine. “Do you think he would love you if I mutilated your pretty face?”
“You touch her and you won’t walk out of here alive,” Micah growled, his glacial eyes steady on Sterling. Contempt oozed from his pores. He wanted to get his hands on the psycho.
“See, all he cares about is how pretty you look on his arm,” Sterling taunted, talking crazy nonsense again, but at least he was talking and not attacking anyone.
“You lied,” I rasped, my voice tart as my eyes narrowed sidelong at him.
He flashed his teeth, and I wanted to knock them out. “Hardly the first lie I’ve told. You should be used to being deceived, seeing as that’s all your boyfriend has ever done.”
Micah’s jaw worked, fighting back the fury sparking in his eyes. “What the fuck do you know about my relationship? Who are you to judge?”
Sterling dipped his face closer to mine, our cheeks brushing so I could feel the prickly stubble. “I know she isn’t the first girl you’ve lied to or used.”
I jerked away, careful not to make the move too immense. “And?” I prompted, showing Sterling that his words didn’t affect me. Nothing he said was news to me, so if he wanted to shock me, he was failing miserably. It was going to take a lot more to shake my perception of Micah.
Crouching down beside me, he let the blade rest between my breasts, too close to my heart, his other hand gripping my chin. “He got a girl pregnant. Did you know that?”
Okay, I had not expected him to say that. He managed to surprise me after all.
Micah’s expression contorted. His fists clamped together at his sides. “What fucking absurdity are you spewing? You really are a pathological liar. You even believe your own lies.”
“This is your lie, not mine.” Sterling tilted his head to the side. “Or don’t you remember? There have been so many girls, I guess it would be hard to recall everyone who claimed you knocked her up.”
This was a long overdue conversation, and no one wanted to stop the reasoning behind Sterling’s madness from being unveiled. Brock, Fynn, and Grayson were quiet but alert. Not a part of their bodies wasn’t poised for action. When the opportunity came, they would take Sterling down.
Micah stepped forward, making sure the prick’s gaze remained focused on him. “I might have slept around, but I always used protection. My dick never went unwrapped.”
“Condoms break,” Sterling snarled, releasing my chin.
Micah was losing his patience. “I’m telling you, I’m careful. Not to mention, no girl has ever claimed to be pregnant with my kid.”