Authors: Nichole Matthews
“What about your sisters?”
Persephone questioned, she felt exposed and vulnerable. “Will you not inform them of my past?”
She took
a deep breath.
“No,” he replied abruptly. “That’s not my decision to make.”
He heard her
little sigh of relief.
Relief, plain and simple, showed on her face.
Persephone glanced towards the door. “What is taking so long?”
“Parker i
s furious,” Peyton said
by way of explanation
.
“And this talk has been needed for years.”
Persephone frowned, her stomach knotted and all she could do was wait.
***
“
Mayton
?” Parker
’s tone wa
s quiet and serious. He
arche
d
a
n inquisitive brow,
working at restraining his temper.
“Was she one of your victims?”
“I’ve already taken ca
re of the fool that killed her,” Granville stated as if it excused his actions.
“
Her death was
unintended.
An unfortunate accident.
”
“Do you honestly believe that makes all that you’ve done excusable?”
Parker’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re damn lucky that I’ve already promi
sed
that I wouldn’t kill you,” he
growled,
a
grimace contort
ing
his features. “You deserve to die,” he said fiercely
, his eyes dark with fury
. “A long, painful death.”
He ran his hand through his hair, exasperated.
“She’s a whore,” Granville snarled.
“I cannot believe that you are expending this much energy on a whore.”
“She
.
I
s
.
Y
our
.
N
iece,” he
ground out
. “The daughter of your
only
brother.”
“
He was a worthless human being,” Granville replied
,
bitterness edging his voice.
Before Parker
realized his i
ntentions, his hands were on Granville’s
lapels, clenching the fabric in
his fists
as he jerked him up and threw him
against the
nearest
wall.
“You are the
worthless
human being, Granville.”
Granville’s s
hocked, wide green eyes met his
as a burst of air left his lungs
.
“You are the one who is a waste of my time.”
He was in Granville’s face, nose to nose, a killing rage pumping through him. “She was an innocent until she was put under your
protection and you betrayed her,” he growled.
“
You used her for your own sick
,
twisted pleasure with no concern for her welfare or future.”
He gave no quarter.
Each of the three blows
landed impeccably, the crunch of breaking bones lending some satisfaction to Parker’s actions. E
ven more
so
, when his heavy blows, d
ragged immense grunts of pain from Granville.
He threw Persephone’s
uncle away from him
with disgust
, his fists clenching, the
need to do something, anything still
raging through him.
“You’ve no remorse for taking the lives of innocents?”
Granville
staggered back
after
being tossed aside
, dizzy
after the powerful blows. He swiped his coat sleeve across his mouth and nose to stem the blood that was flowing freely. He turned to Parker
, his face
a
blank
slate
and cold
like a snowstorm in the dead of winter
.
Parker’s
squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
“You feel nothing,
”
Parker
said in a quiet voice.
Persephone was finally in safe hands and would never have to worry again.
She would never have to come face to face with this monster or this house ever again.
“Not a damn thing,” Granville
hissed through his teeth.
He
sank into his chair, his fists clenching, his muscles trembling, from the fear and fury inside his soul
, even though he refused to acknowledge his weakness before Ashford.
Parker shot
him a look of disgust.
“I’m left with a
quandary, Granville.” His
eyes flicked
over
him
as he paced back a
nd forth in front of his chair. “O
bviously
I
cannot let you go unpunished.” He stopped in front of Granville. His hand clasped behind his back his feet shoulder width apart. “You’ve hurt, maimed, and even murdered.”
Granville wiped his hand over his face and slumped in his chair once more
.
Parker
stood, arms crossed over his broad chest, a scowl etched on his face as his eyes rested on Granville. H
e watched as the man, the coward, shivered at the merciless look in his eyes.
They both looked towards the door at the
quick knock, before
Hawksley
sauntered in
,
obvious
disdain etched deeply into his features. He lifted his right brow. “You’re one sick bastard, Granville.”
He shot Parker a pointed look.
Parker wa
tched as Granville cringed at
Hawksley’s
observation. “Did you believe you were above the la
w?” Parker
asked quietly
his eyes dark shards of midnight
blue
. Satisfaction
washed through him as he saw Granville’s
pulse spike in the hollow of his throat and beads of perspiration multiply on his forehead and upper lip.
The punishment had to be done.
“I’ve got it from here, Ash,”
Hawksley
murmured, his face as grim as Parkers. “I believe you have more important matters to attend.”
He closed his eyes and nodded
.
Hawksley
was right.
Goosey
Goosey
Gander where shall I wander,
Upstairs, downstairs and in my lady’s chamber
There I met an old man who wouldn’t say his prayer’s
I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.
P
arker stood outside
the sitting room door
,
his eyes closed
,
an
d took a few moments to calm himself
. H
e shook. H
is hands
balled into fists at his sides. He was drained both physically and emotionally.
How could he make up for something like this?
How do you remove those memories from someone’s mind?
He turned the knob.
Persephone stiffened when she heard the sound of the
door
slowly opening
, turning
at the sound. She knew it was Parker, but she didn’t lift her gaze to look him fully in the eyes. She knew if she saw the d
isgust in his eyes she would cry
. And tears wouldn’t help anything. She felt l
ost.
“I will give you some privacy.” Peyton touched her arm before he bowed, st
ruggling to suppress his smile.
Parker gave him a speaking look.
Peyton tou
ched his arm as he passed. “We will speak
later.”
Parker nodded
,
his brow furrowed; his eyes following his brother until he left the room
.
“Why are you here
?”
She looked up and closed her eyes in frustration
and fear
.
He waited until he heard the door latch
,
then
he prowled towards her
. “You left,” he offered as an excuse in a flat voice halting a mere two feet away. “You wounded me
with your
heartless
disregard for my feelings
.”
Hurt filled his eyes.
She froze
, her eyes filled with sadness and shame
.
“That was not my intention,” she said, gulping back a sob, feeling like a child being reprimanded by her father.
“What was your intention, to play me like a fool?” he
demanded
his voice gruff,
his lips stretched tight. “
Was it your intention t
o take advanta
ge of my hospitality and then run
away
in the dark of night wit
hout so much as a by your leave
?”
Sh
e forced herself not to flinch
a
t
his anger
.
“No,” her reply a mere whisper
,
she fought to still the trembling of her lips.
“Bullshit.”
She gasped.
“I will not mince words with you.”
Haunting shadows flashed in his gaze
, then
in two long strides
he
was in front of
her
. “What if something had happened to you?” His throat work
ed convulsively as he swallowed. “What if we had not arrived in time?”
He touched her cheek, his heart soften
ing at the sight of her tears.
Impatience flashed across her face.
“My uncle would have done nothing more to ha
rm me,
”
she argued
, albeit a little weakly, as if she didn’t
quite
believe her own words
.
He shot her a quelling look.
“These men
have killed before, Persephone, and for
far
less.
” He gripped her u
pper arms, jerking her close,
his head lowered, his nose ne
arly touching hers; anger flowed
from him like waves of heat. “What makes you think that they would
not
have killed
you
?
” he growled.
“You
’ve made them appear
fools.”
He pinned her with a baffled expression.
She huffed impatiently, and worked at pushing him aside
, he released her reluctantly
,
freeing her arms from his
firm
grip.
If his intention was to frighten her, then he was doing an excellent job.
“
I know b
e
cause I hold
something of
great
value that belongs to him.”
She eyed him steadily.
He regarded her for a moment
, at the challenge and determination in her eyes
.
“Are you speaking of the signet?”
he asked incredulously.
Persephone
remained silent, but
nodded
, flushing
under his scrutiny
, her hands curling into her skirts
.
“The one that you have so flagrantly flashed in front of his face?” he pointed out. “The one that he could have easily ripped from your body after you were dead?”
She paled.
“All Granville need
do
is
brand you a thief,” Parker
pointed ou
t
simply
. “He is a peer of the realm
, one of the highest rank
. Essentially
he is
be
yond touch to those that matter,
”
he reminded.
“Y
ou are but a
mere
woman. A woman who absconded in the night with something
of
his
that holds
great
significance
.”