Page 44 of Carnival
I don’t remember my birth parents at all. I was too young to remember them or the accident they were in, yet hearing how terrible they’ve acted hurts me. I’m ashamed that those were the people who brought me into this world, and although it’s not my fault any of it happened, the guilt is there. No wonder no one wanted to take me in — they saw me as Satan’s spawn.
I swallow a knot that formed in my throat and try to regain my composure, not wanting Hudson to see me falter. I clear my throat and straighten up in my seat, the leather slightly squeaking beneath me.
“So…was it truly a drunken driver who killed them?”
“That’s what the official reports say. It’s not difficult for an organization of that size and power to send an innocent man to prison, so I highly doubt a mere car accident killed them. Or, someone else drove the truck, purposefully colliding with your parents.’’
“Can we find the man in prison and talk to him?”
Hudson shakes his head. “He died a few years back in prison. A fight broke out, and he was one of the casualties.’’
“So, no one alive can tell us what happened that night. That’s just fantastic,’’ I groan, leaning back.
“Now, Rosalie…’’
I wince as I hear my full name slip from his lips, and I look back at him, the stern and serious expression on his face. He finishes the glass of whiskey, pours another one, and stares me down, waiting for a crack.
“Yes?”
“You’re going to tell me everything, and I do mean everything that happened at the carnival. Two years ago and now. You have two minutes. Go.’’
I take a deep breath, realizing there’s no way out of this. I carefully tell him the story of Aria taking me to see the carnival for the first time, and instead of telling him how James absolutely rearranged my insides, I make up the PG-13 version of the events. He’s a smart man; he’ll figure it out, and I doubt the details of my sex life are important for this scenario.
Once I told him everything that happened two years ago, I continued with the tale of what went down now. Of course, I repeated at least twenty times that James didn’t hurt me, nordid anything I didn’t want to. He didn’t interrupt me while I was speaking, only nodded a few times, silently telling me he was listening.
I conclude the story with how Arlo knocked James out when he found me, and after that it’s silent. It’s been silent for the past ten minutes, with Hudson carefully absorbing the information and trying his best not to snap. I can tell which parts of the story irritated him beyond belief, and I’m not sure whether or not to be relieved that he chose not to comment on them.
“And… at what point did you think any of this was a good idea, Rose?” He asks, tone exasperated. The man is tired of my bullshit, and I don’t blame him.
“At no point,’’ I clarify. “I knew from the get-go that this was a terrible idea.’’
He blinks. “And you went through it?”
I nod.
“Fucking hell,’’ he groans, slumping into his chair. “So… let me get this straight. James Maddox was, at some point, your foster brother, and he knows what happened and why you have a memory gap, and he refuses to tell you. And he is also a part of the criminal organization that killed your parents, and he personally killed a lot of people as well.’’
“That’s pretty much it.’’
“You being personally involved is… terrible. I don’t know whether those from the organization sent him for you since you have a previous connection to him or if it was a coincidence. And I don’t believe in those.’’
“Is... is he alive?” I whisper.
“For now,’’ he responds, and a flutter of hope spreads in my chest. “But you are aware of how I operate. I will need to question him thoroughly before I even think of letting him roam freely. If his organization has caught a sniff of him being held hostage by the De Santis’, it’s a shit show waiting to happen.’’
“But… you won’t kill him?”
“Not without a reason, no.’’
I release a deep sigh of relief, some of the tension leaving my body.
“Make no mistake, Rose, the safety of my wife, children, and our legacy is the most important thing to me. If he compromises any of those… then…’’
I swallow, looking away as he leaves the words to hang in the air. He doesn’t need to finish his sentence; I already know what it means. If James is deemed a threat, he’ll be disposed of soon, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
However, I already got attached.
All I can do is pray that James leaves that basement alive.
