Page 84 of Tainted Love
“The knife,” he grunts. “Help Madeline. She can go for help.”
I shake my head, too scared if I let go of him, he’ll bleed out.
“Duchess, baby, I’m going to be okay. It’s just a scratch, but you need to untie Madeline. She can help you take care of these two before they wake up. Can you do that for me?”
I glance over at the terrified blonde who started this whole mess six years ago. She’s staring at us wide-eyed with mascara-stained tears running down her cheeks. Letting out a deep breath, I pick up the knife and walk over to her. I cut her hands free, before helping her remove the gag.
“Th-thank you,” she whispers.
“Don’t thank us,” I retort. “When the police get here, the entire story is going to come out.”
Madeline nods and brushes fresh tears from her cheeks. She helps me to move Jas and Benny, then we find some rope in the miner’s cottage and tie them up.
I go back to Elias and find he’s even paler than before, and now sweat pools on his forehead.
“Can you stand?” I ask, trying to help him to his feet.
He lets out a pained moan, and I stop.
“Here,” Madeline says, using the knife to cut away Nick’s shirt. I hold it against the wound, wondering how on earth I’m going to carry him out of here. “I can go for help. Mum and Dad’s house is only fifteen minutes away.”
Studying her carefully, I’m still unsure if we can trust her and I can’t help but ask, “Why did you do it?”
She licks her dry, cracked lips, and her gaze darts between Elias and me. “I was never enough for my parents, and I was jealous of the other kids.”
“So, you murdered one of them?” I can’t keep the incredulity out of my voice.
“Not to mention the sexual assault,” Elias adds, his voice weak.
Madeline drops her head. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry. I know it doesn’t make up for everything I did, but that night was the biggest regret of my life. After Sam took his own life, I couldn’t eat or sleep. I begged my parents to let me go live with my grandparents, and they agreed. I only moved back here three weeks ago.”
“How did Jas and Benny know you were back?” Elias murmurs, and I don’t like how pale he’s become.
“I ran into Benny with a little girl two weeks ago in the city. Though I was with Mum, and he was polite enough, I was still wary of him. Last night, I received a hand delivered note. A photo of Jas with the same little girl, and I was sosurprised to see Jas alive, I didn’t see Benny coming until it was too late.”
Elias groans in pain.
“I’ll go get help,” Madeline says.
My concern for him is the only thing that has me nodding, because I don’t trust her. I narrow my eyes and snarl, “If you don’t get us help, I swear to god, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and you will regret every moment of your miserable existence.”
She takes off in the opposite direction from where we came, pushing her way through overgrown branches as I sit on the ground and pull Elias’s head into my lap.
I brush his curls off his face and stare down at him in contemplation. In just over a month, this man has wormed his way into my heart with his filthy words, his cocky persona, and his ruthless way of getting what he wants.
His eyes crack open. “Hey, Duchess. I want you to know I didn’t know Jas was your sister.”
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I can’t bring myself to look over at the girl in question. “I know.”
“How are you feeling?”
“How am I feeling?” I ask him in amazement. “You’rethe one who got stabbed and you’re asking howI’mfeeling?”
“You’ve just found out your mother abandoned another child. That’s got to be a shock.”
“The only thing I’m worried about right now is getting you medical attention.”
“I’ll be fine,” he murmurs, his eyes fluttering closed. “Just a scratch.”
