“Such a pessimist.” He wrapped his palm around her throat and pressed her to the wall. “I’m not like Owen, Nina. You know that. It’s not about money or upbringing. It’s all about the core of who I am. I’vekilledand when you’ve watched the life drain from another person’s eyes, itchangesyou. Even if the person fucking deserves it.” He added softly, “You know all about that...don’t you, sweetheart?”
“Yes.”
“When you were picked up from the warehouse as a girl - along with seven other children under the age of nine - you were covered in the blood of two dead men.”
“They weren’tmen,” she hissed.
“You used a landline to call for help, locking yourself and all the other victims in an office.”
“The others were trying to break down the door when the cops showed up.” Through gritted teeth, she said, “I had one of the dead guy’s guns. I would have murdered them all.”
“You knew how to use a gun.”
“I pay close attention to things I need to learn.”
“You slit their throats and staged a revolution.”
“Easy prey. They’d wanted me formonthsbut I was reserved for men who paid fortunes for access to me. I seduced them in the security office. Told them no one would ever know.” She smiled. “The first one didn’t understand what was happening when I dragged a sharpened piece of metal across his throat. The second was so stunned, he didn’t even put his hand up to stop me when I turned on him.”
“You got the other kids…”
“Took the keys and unlocked their cages. We crept along the wall to the office and locked ourselves in. It was the person bringing the slop they fed us who realized we were gone. By then, I’d already called the cops.”
“You saved all of them.”
“There were dozens of others I didn’t and I thinksavingis the wrong word. None of them were fit to testify at trial. The three who made it to adulthood are even worse off than me - drug-addicted, in prison, and in a mental hospital. The others killed themselves deliberately or through high-risk activities before they were sixteen.”
“How strong you are, Nina.”
“Strength? That’s what you think it is? I’m an animal who runs on basic instinct, pure survival mechanisms.”
“Why did you have a knife in your hand?”
She stared at him for a long moment and exhaled roughly. “There was only one woman convicted. During her last parole hearing, she was able to convince a judge that she was forced into what she did by men who threatened to kill her.”
“Is that true?”
Nina laughed. “She was the goddamn mastermind. She’s the one who recruited the rest. For a long time, I thought she was my mother. Then I realized that even if she was, I’d spill her guts on the ground if given the chance.”
“She’s out of prison?”
“Oh yes. Her long-time lover is sicker than she is. I’m sure he has her in some lovely penthouse somewhere and I have no doubt they haven’t forgotten me.”
“You’re staying on the estate.”
“No, I’m not.”
“If you think I’m leaving you unprotected, you are out of your goddamn mind.”
Deciding how much to tell him wasn’t easy for a woman who never shared her secrets. She’d already told him too much.
“I’m moving back to Texas. I don’t want Rowan to know. I cannot - will not - stay on their property.” He pulled her away from the wall and bumped her against it softly. “I know. I’m infuriating.”
“You’ll travel back with me.”
“I’ll do what Iwant.”
“I know...and you’llwantto travel back with me.” He smiled. “I think you need a nice, hard fuck to convince you.”