Page 28 of Black Hearts
He didn’t say anything for a while, and his face gave nothing away. Markus stared at me like he was sizing me up in a new light, seeing me in a way he’d never seen me before. Not sure if that was a good thing, or if I should be insulted he didn’t think much of me before.
Finally, he said, “All right. Let’s get my father out of this house.”
Chapter Five – Markus
Getting my father to leave the estate would be a delicate matter. If we angered him too much, he would retaliate, and I did not want to lose anyone to him. I currently stood just outside my office, knowing my father was inside. He’d had workers in the house yesterday and the day before, working to fix the destruction and mess I’d created after losing it on Juliet.
All Juliet had wanted was to be happy, to have the right to make her own decisions when it came to who she was with. As much as I didn’t want to share, I also didn’t want to become her new jailor. I did not want to become the same kind of man Fred was, doing anything to keep her to myself.
I… I regretted pitting Lincoln onto her. I was not a man who felt guilt, but I felt guilty over that particular action of mine.
After Theo had told me his plan, after he’d persuaded me to see the light, so to speak, he’d told me more details about Juliet and the others. How Jaxon had asked Rave to stick around and keep watch over Fred, how he’d seen Fred flee the house in a rush—the only reason why Jaxon and the others had been so quick on the scene.
Jaxon had saved Juliet’s life. I’d remember that.
I didn’t know if there was anything I could say to my father to get him to leave. I knew if I based anything on what I felt for Juliet, he’d laugh in my face. Women were expendable to him, much like everything else. He probably didn’t advertise that fact to his current wives or girlfriends, but just because he kept it to himself didn’t mean it wasn’t true. He’d cast off everyone and everything without hesitation, as long as it kept the coffers of this family full.
I must’ve stood there a while, because footsteps came down the hall—small, light, certain footsteps that could only belong to one person in this house, although I’d hesitate to call her a person since she was just a child.
I turned my head, watching as Tori bounced to my side, stopping when she stood next to me, her head held high, her nose upturned. Her black hair was down today, pin-straight, and she still wore her school uniform—a pleated skirt with a matching dark shirt. She’d taken off her loafers, her legs wearing high socks.
“What are you doing?” Tori asked. “Is Grandpa in there?”
“I believe so.” It was all I could say. I’d kept to myself these past few days. I wouldn’t say that I’d shut down, but… I suppose there were no other words for it. And telling Tori about everything that was going on didn’t seem like something I wanted to do. The child had practically rushed to take Juliet under her wing, as ridiculous as it was, so if I had to guess, Tori was just as ticked off at my father as I was.
She puffed herself up. “I’m going in.” She started to walk in, reaching her hand out for the doorknob, but I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, gave her a stern look, to which she merely rolled her eyes, as if I was being the most exhausting person ever.
“You can’t just go in and say whatever you want to him,” I told her quietly, glaring at the girl, even though she had proven time and time again that she was unaffected by me and anything I might say to her. She had proven to be like her mother in that respect, but even Stella could listen to my orders on occasion. Tori, on the other hand? She was as wild as a child could be, doing whatever she wanted, saying whatever she wanted without caring.
And yet, even so, she was different than Bennet. I trusted this ten-year-old more than I trusted Bennet—though I supposed he’d done a good job with Will and Jaxon. Not enough to cement himself back into this family and what we did, but I would take it into consideration.
Tori was quick to shrug my hand off, matching my glare with one of her own. “Don’t tell me what to do,” she said, sounding like she was pouting, a typical child response to being told what to do. Children always thought they knew best, even though they didn’t have the years necessary on this earth to back it up.
“Tori, I mean it. My father isn’t as nice as I am.”
“You’re not funny when you’re trying to be sarcastic.”
“I’m not trying to be sarcastic. I mean it.”
Tori huffed. She’d never met her grandfather before, although she’d seen pictures of him. They’d never spoken, because children were another part of this house that were my duty to oversee, make sure they were raised properly into future killers. Tori was bold and defiant, and yet this house had encouraged the darkness in her. She could talk about murder like other ten-year-olds talked about candy on Halloween.
“I don’t care,” she said, and then, before I could stop her again, she barged into the room without knocking. Before the door swung shut completely, I let out a grumble and went in after her. Might as well make sure my father didn’t snap and hurt her.
Stella would go ballistic, and that wasn’t something I wanted. For the past few years, she’d been under control—mostly.
My father sat at my desk, looking at a new tablet. The keyboard was attached, but it didn’t look like he was typing anything out. His dark eyes glanced up at Tori the moment she walked in, and then they fixated on me behind her.
He frowned at Tori. “You should know by now to knock if you ever want to come into this office.” Knocking was a pet peeve of his; something that had rubbed off on me. One of many things I’d inherited from him, just like his sparkling personality.
Okay, yes. Tori was right. I wasn’t funny when I tried to use sarcasm. The others were much better at it than me; I’d leave it to them.
“I don’t care about your rules,” Tori stated, sounding as if she was proud to declare such a thing. Her hands rested on her hips, and she leveled a glare at my father, as if that glare could physically bend him to her will.
My father rested both arms on the desk, leaning slightly forward. He did not look amused. “You should. My rules keep this family going. If it weren’t for my rules, child, your parents would be either in jail or executed by the state, and you’d be nothing but wasted potential. Is that what you want?”
Tori frowned at him, though her expression once again came off more like a pout. “I don’t care. I don’t like you. No one in this house likes you.”
At that, I had to smirk, though when my father glanced at me, the smirk was instantly replaced by a scowl.
