Key to Hell (Hell Night Series Book 4), page 24
“No!” Grace calls. “I’d like for you to stay, please. This’ll only take a moment.”
I pause, indecision warring through me, then nod once. “Would you like to sit down?”
“No, thank you.” She smiles kindly before moving her eyes to Aziah.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, his voice laced with concern. “Did something happen?”
“My dad’s back in the hospital. He had a stroke. I’m leaving to go be with him after I’m done here.”
Aziah frowns. “I’m sorry. Let us know if there’s anything you or your dad need.”
“I will. Thank you.” She looks down at her hands a moment before lifting her head, her expression mournful. “I’m going to stay in San Antonio indefinitely.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “There’s no need to do that, Grace. We’ve already told you, you could bring your dad here.”
Her head turns my way and her eyes briefly meet mine before looking back at Aziah. “I think it’s best if I just stay in San Antonio.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Aziah rumbles, regarding her with concern.
“Yes.”
He gives her a clipped nod. “Okay. It still stands if you or your father need anything.”
“Thank you,” she whispers. Using her thumb, she swipes beneath her eyes. “Could I have a moment alone with Rella?”
I’m momentarily stunned, and my eyes widen in shock. Why does she want to talk to me alone? Aziah’s eyes meet mine, and he looks about as confused as I do.
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, Grace.”
“No.” I hold up my hand to him. “It’s okay.”
His lips are locked together in a solid line, and I know he wants to protest, but after a moment, he turns on his heel and leaves the room. I turn and face Grace.
“I know this must be weird for you,” she asserts calmly.
That’s a bit of an understatement. If she were a simple friend to Aziah, it wouldn’t be weird. If I was just a friend, it wouldn’t be weird. But she’s his ex-lover, and I’m hoping one day to be his lover. So yeah, it’s very weird and uncomfortable.
“Emo never talked about you; I think it was too painful for him. But I still knew about you through Trouble, JW, and Judge. I never asked for the details because it wasn’t my business, but I know you and he share a very disturbing and painful past. Emo holds so much guilt over it, I was sure it would one day destroy him. I watched for years as he slowly sank further and further into the darkness until it nearly consumed him. It was agonizing for me because no matter how I tried to help him, it was never enough.”
“Grace,” I choke out, an ache forming in my chest. I don’t know this woman, except for what Remi’s told me, but I can plainly see she genuinely cares about Aziah.
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” She brushes another tear away. “Do you want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because I know he’ll have you.” I inhale sharply. “I don’t have to know you to know you’ll take care of him. I also know he’ll fight it and claim he doesn’t deserve happiness, when we both know that’s utter bullshit.”
I can’t help it, a laugh bursts out of me. She smiles, and for the first time since she arrived, it’s genuine.
“That man deserves more happiness than anyone I know, and I have no doubt you were meant to give it to him. From the moment I heard you were alive and here in Malus, a part of me was devastated because I knew our time was over. But a larger part was happy, because I knew if there was anyone who could truly help him, it was you. You’ve been his heartache and biggest regret for years, and now it’s time for you to show him he does deserve to be happy and whole and that he’s a beautiful man with a big heart. That he has something to live for.”
My hand is at my mouth with tears flowing down my cheeks. My chest aches from holding my breath.
“I’m so sorry,” I croak. I’m sorry for so many things, but I’m mostly sorry because she’s hurting too.
“Don’t be. Emo is an incredibly special man, and I’m blessed to have known him and been able to help him in any way I could, even at my own painful expense. It’s time for me to move on and hopefully find my own happiness.”
Strengthening my resolve, I walk to her and envelop her into my arms. Maybe it’s strange that I’m hugging the woman who used to be Aziah’s lover, but to be honest, I don’t care. Grace is just as special as Aziah, and I’m so grateful she was there for him when he needed her.
“Don’t let him push you away,” she whispers in my ear.
“Never,” I whisper back, my voice strong and sure.
I will never, as long as I have breath in my body, ever give up on Aziah.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
EMO
IT’S TIME
With my arms crossed over my chest, I stand at Trouble’s front window and stare out at the front yard as I wait for him. I thought about this day a lot over the last several weeks. I’ve anticipated it and dreaded it. I’ve often wondered how Rella will react. Will she be pleased? Or will it disgust and frighten her? Will she use it to help her overcome some of her demons? Or will it cause her to retreat back into her shell?
I believe this is what she needs, and I hope that I’m right.
Trouble appears beside me, hands stuffed into his pockets, facing the front yard.
“I’m going to show her today,” I tell him quietly.
The air stiffens around us, and I feel his eyes on me. “You sure that’s wise right now?”
I understand his concern. What I’m going to show her is going to be a huge shock. He knows I’d never do anything to harm or upset her, but I’m still surprised he doesn’t outright try to forbid it.
“It’s time. She has a right to know.”
He nods, but I still feel the anxious vibes coming off him. They’ll only get worse with my next statement.
“I’m going to ask her if she wants to be a part of it.”
“No,” Trouble says harshly, turning to face me. “That’s where I draw the line. She doesn’t need to be anywhere near it, Emo.”
I grind my molars together and lock eyes with him. “That’s not your choice to make. It should be up to her. She’s a part of this, whether either of us likes it or not.”
His sigh is shaky as he runs his hands through his hair. Lifting his arm over his head, he rests his forearm on the window frame, his head dropping and his eyes closing. This shit isn’t easy on either of us.
“I didn’t want this for her,” he says grimly, his voice low. “When she came here, I wanted to protect her from everything. I wanted the past to stay in the past so hopefully she could move on from it.”
I grip his shoulder and give it a hard squeeze. “I didn’t want any of this for her either, but none of us had a choice. This might be what she needs to jump that last hurdle. Whether she wants to be a part of it or not is her choice to make.”
“Fuck,” he hisses, pushing off from the window frame. His green eyes level me with a look that would make just about any other man shrink away. “I want to be there. This shit affects me too. You’ll be too absorbed with what you’ll be doing, so if it goes sour for her, I want to be there.”
I jerk my chin up in an affirmative. I had already planned for him to be there. He’s a part of this too.
“You watch her, Emo, and you watch her closely. Pull her out of there if it’s too much for her.”
“You know I will.”
He nods, stuffing his hands back into his pockets and rocking on his heels.
Rella comes into the room a few minutes later. Trouble walks over to her, cups her cheek, and kisses her forehead. He says something to her I can’t hear before walking out of the room. Her eyes follow him, then turn toward me, worry lines forming between them.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Everything’s fine.” I walk over and grab her hand. “There’s something important I need to show you.”
“Umm… okay. What is it?”
“We have to go to my house.”
Her lips curve up. “Is it another surprise tattoo?”
“No. What I’m going to show you, you aren’t going to enjoy.”
Her brows knit together. “Okay, now you’re worrying me.”
I squeeze her hand tighter. “Everything will be okay, but it’s something you need to see.”
After blowing out a long breath, she nods.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, I’m standing in front of the basement door in my house. Rella’s beside me, holding my hand. I’ve had to consciously make the effort to not crush her fingers.
Since she came to Malus, I don’t go to the basement as much as I used to—only when it’s absolutely necessary. It used to be my favorite thing to do when I needed to release some of the anger burning inside me, but lately, that anger hasn’t been as strong. And that’s because of Rella. She calms me.
I pull the key from my pocket and unlock the door. This door isn’t the only one the key unlocks. It’s not the one that carries evil behind it and sends a blind rage through me every time I think of it.
I take the first step before I’m tugged to a stop.
“Wait.” I turn and face a distraught Rella. “I-I can’t go down there.” She shakes her head emphatically, tears clinging to her bottom lashes. “I can’t hurt you again,” she croaks out.
I close the distance between us, cupping her cheek until her eyes are on me. I lean down and place a soft kiss against her lips.
“I will never, ever make you do that again.” Remembering the devastated look on her face after I forced her to hit me with that belt will haunt me for the rest of my life. “I am so sorry I asked that of you. It fucking kills me that I hurt you that way. I never should have put that on you.”
She sniffs and blinks, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. I brush it away with my thumb.
“Then why are we going down there?”
“What I need to show you is down there. But I swear, it has nothing to do with a belt.”
After a moment, she nods. I press another kiss against her lips before grabbing her hand and leading her downstairs.
My nerves are shot as we reach the bottom and turn right. This house was built with an extra-large basement, extending the full length and width of the upper floors.
We slowly approach one of the back walls where the light doesn’t quiet reach. The key burns in my hand. I feel nervous energy radiating off Rella, so I squeeze her hand tighter. I don’t look at her though. My eyes are snared by the door just ahead of us.
I send up a prayer to a God I’m not sure exists that I’m doing the right thing by bringing Rella here.
I turn so I’m facing her with my back to the door.
“I need you to remember that no matter what, you’re safe. That what’s behind this door cannot hurt you.”
With the light so dim in this section of the basement, I can’t make out her full face, especially with the only light behind her, but I see enough to know she’s worried. I hate the look, but there’s nothing I can do to make it go away right now.
I turn back and insert the key into the doorknob. There’s a soft snick as the lock disengages. With a twist of my wrist, I push open the metal door, momentarily blocking Rella’s view of the room and what’s inside. Or rather, who’s inside.
My insides churn, and it feels like my heart might pound out of my chest. I fucking hate knowing she’s going to be in his presence again, but I still step aside.
The lighting in here isn’t much better than outside this room. It’s dark and drab and musty. It takes Rella a moment as she looks around the nearly empty space before her eyes land on the cot over in the corner and the man lying on it.
He’s nowhere near as big and intimidating as he used to be. He’s down to wrinkly skin and brittle bones. His eyes are sunken in his skull, and his cheekbones are popping out of his face, making him look like a decaying corpse. Every inch of his skin is filled with scars, lacerations, and bruises. When I need an outlet for my rage, this is where I come. He looks even worse than normal from lack of food and water. Since Rella came to Malus and I’ve been staying at Trouble’s house, my brothers have been coming and giving him just enough nutrients to keep him alive.
Beside me, Rella sucks in a sharp breath, her frightful eyes darting to me.
“Oh my God,” she whispers hoarsely. “Is th-that—”
“Well, well, well. Is that really little miss Daisy?” my father wheezes from his cot, ending his sentence with a hacking cough.
I ignore his taunt because it looks like she’s going to either throw up or pass out any minute. I’m standing in front of her in the next instant, gripping her upper arms in case she faints. Her face is so fucking pale it scares me.
“Hey, hey,” I call, trying to gain her attention. After a moment, her head slowly lifts, and her wide green eyes meet mine. “He can’t get to you. I swear to you, Rella, my father may be alive, but he will never touch you.”
“I don’t understand.” She shakes her head, disbelief widening her eyes. “How?”
“I’ll give you all the details. For now, I just needed you to see him. To know he’ll never be a threat to you again.”
“Hey, boy,” my father’s frail voice rattles. “Why don’t you bring our Daisy a little closer so I can see what kind of woman she grew up to be.”
Red fills my vision and anger lights my blood on fire. I spin on my heel and stalk over to him. Gripping him by his throat, I easily pick up his weak body and slam it against the wall. His head hits the concrete so hard his eyes roll back in his head, and he releases a guttural groan.
I bare my teeth and get in his face. “If you were smart, old man, you’d keep your fuckin’ mouth shut.”
I apply more pressure to his windpipe and enjoy the way his face turns red and how his eyes look like they’re going to pop out of their sockets. I’m tempted to just squeeze until I feel his bones breaking under my hand, but that’s too easy for him. He deserves a death much more painful than that. And Rella deserves to deliver her own retribution if she chooses to.
I sling him away from me, and he lands back on the bed, the chain around his ankle rattling on the floor. He stays silent after that, and I don’t know if I knocked him out or if he’s playing it smart. Either way works for me.
Wiping the hate-filled expression from my face, I turn back to Rella and find her huddled up against the wall, her fearful gaze still locked on the unmoving figure on the cot.
I walk over and stand in front so she can’t see him anymore. I cup her cheek and lift her face.
“Are you okay?”
Her mouth opens and closes several times before she mumbles, “Yes.” Her eyes dart around the room. “How long has he been here?”
I grab her shoulders and turn her to the door. “Let’s go back upstairs, and I’ll tell you everything.”
She moves and acts like a zombie as we leave the room and go up the stairs. I’m sure she has hundreds of questions flying around in her head.
I leave her in the living room on the couch just long enough to grab a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet in the kitchen. Sitting beside her, I uncap it and hand it to her. She immediately takes it and tips it to her lips. I grab the bottle when she begins coughing.
“Slow and easy,” I murmur.
She wipes her mouth with the back of her shaking hand. I grab it and lace my fingers through hers. Her skin feels cold and clammy.
“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” she asks, her voice raw from either the whiskey or the shock of finding my father alive and in my basement.
“Because I wanted to make sure you were ready. You’re the strongest woman I know, Rella, but even the strongest would have a hard time coming face-to-face with the man responsible for half of your childhood nightmares.”
“Who knows he’s here? Does Trouble?”
“He knows,” I reply darkly. It took effort to hold Trouble back from killing my father when we first found him. There was no fucking way I was going to allow him take away that particular kill. Trouble deserves a piece of revenge, but I deserve the glory of finishing him off. “So do Judge and JW. They’re the only ones.”
“So, Mae doesn’t know?”
“No.”
My brothers and I unanimously decided to keep this away from Mae. She already struggles enough with the shit we do. We didn’t want to add more unnecessary stress. We’ll tell her after Deacon is dead.
She wraps one arm around her stomach and hunches over, looking at me with bleary eyes. “How long has he been here?”
“Eleven years. Since we came back.” Her entire body jerks upright. “We found him a couple of weeks before we came here.”
It was actually the day Ellie, Judge’s woman, was attacked. JW had gotten a call from one of his academy buddies that Deacon had been found. Guilt gnaws at me because it was through my urging that we made our move immediately, which resulted in Judge breaking things off with Ellie because he didn’t want her to be part of our sinister plans for the adults who escaped Sweet Haven. Later that night, after he ruthlessly pushed her out of his apartment and life, three guys pulled her into an alley and beat her so badly she almost died.
“The night of the raid”—I go on to explain—“my father escaped the authorities, but only because I let him. After Hell Night, we went to his hunting lodge, where he…” I clench my teeth. “…raped me again. I knew what was coming that night, so I took a syringe with a sedative from Dr. Manor’s office earlier that day. While my father was distracted raping me, I injected him with the sedative. There was a hidden hole underneath the carpet in the living room my father used to hide stuff he didn’t want the Council to know about. Once he was out, I threw his body in the hole.”
“But why? Why not let the authorities have him?”
“Because I wanted him to get away. I wanted him free for me to find later. Prison wasn’t where he needed to be, because I wouldn’t have been able to reach him. I could have had him killed, but that wasn’t good enough. I wanted to do it myself, and I needed the time to do it as slowly as I wanted. He needed to suffer.”
