Rett offered me his hand. “Come, we need to sign the marriage certificate.”
I didn’t budge. “Jezebel is alive?”
He nodded. “I never said otherwise.”
I shot to my feet. “So you lied by omission?”
“Miss Guidry told you. She speaks of Jezebel in the present tense.” He reached for my hand.
I pulled it away. “She speaks of your mother in present tense too.”
Rett continued to offer his hand.
Refusing to reach for it, I held the banister and stared back up to his gaze. “Tell me who took me.”
“I have their names if you want to see them. Their identities are irrelevant, Emma. I won’t allow them or anyone else to harm you. They’re dead.”
Just like Greyson and now Ross.
The finality of his statement cooled my skin. “Who hired them?”
“Emma.” Rett took another step closer, his presence dwarfing me as his timbre slowed. “Come with me, now.”
Applying pressure to my teeth, I stared at the man before me.
Had Rett told me the truth?
Was he truly the devil?
The earlier noise from all the commotion was gone; a new blistering silence rang in its place as Rett’s nearly black eyes narrowed. “Now, Emma. You agreed to this deal with me.”
I had, and yet as my grip tightened on the top of the banister, I was unable to move forward.
The doorway to the room right off the foyer caught my attention. The tall doors were opened. The room within glowed with golden light from a large chandelier above. The furnishings were like something out of a museum or a palace. Standing guard were more of Rett’s men. Ian was within, speaking with Judge McBride. Miss Guidry was also there, her head shaking as she added to their conversation.
As my presence lingered, it was as if I were one of her ghosts, present, but unable to affect the world around me.
Rett’s voice lowered, piercing the fog of illusion. “Emma.”
My chin snapped toward him, yet my lips didn’t move.
His earlier emotion was gone. In its place was Rett’s usual demeanor, one of superiority and power. It was as if the world was once again in his control. For a moment that dominance had been in jeopardy but no longer. His firm lips curled in victory as his arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me toward the room with the others.
With Rett’s warm breath near my ear, to others his attention might have appeared gentlemanly. However, as goose bumps coated my skin, I heard what others couldn’t: the underlying growl and warning.
“Remember my rule.”
My feet began to move in unison as we neared the room.
“You promised, angel. Judge McBride is waiting with our marriage certificate, and you will sign.”