I said, “And, yes,” I tried the door, but it didn’t move, “it locks from the inside.” I paused a beat. “Why would a door lock from the inside? What kinds of things might happen inside a room where the door has to be locked that way? Where the occupants couldn’t leave?”
My foot moved forward. My eyes were trained on him, and I kept my hands at my sides—for now. “Why do I get the feeling that other nightmares have happened in this room? Maybe this is the house I should’ve burned down?” I lifted an eyebrow at him.
He didn’t react. The fear was gone, instead replaced with resignation.
“What’s wrong, Sebastian? You’ve had a lot to say every time I’ve seen you. Why are you quiet now?”
“This is my grandfather’s home.” His tone was almost timid.
“Yeah?” I held up my hands. “So what?” My jaw clenched. “What does that mean? Tell me. Why should I be scared that this is your grandfather’s house?”
The fear came back. It flashed across his face. His mouth fell open, and his shoulders hunched down.
A brave front appeared. His shoulders lifted back up. His mouth closed again, and his eyes narrowed. “Do you know who you’re messing with? Do you really have any idea who I am, what I can do to you?”
“Why haven’t you?” I shot back.
I moved forward, stopping by Sam’s head, where she seemed to be sleeping on the couch. She looked peaceful, but her fingers were tucked into her palms. Even in her sleep, they were curled inward. I knew that if I unraveled them, blood would come from the palm of her hands. Her nails were digging into them. I skimmed over her, making sure the rest of her looked fine, and it did.
I saw a little droplet of blood. It pooled on the underside of her palm.
He made her bleed. He would’ve done worse. I’d been keeping the rage contained, but a little bit slipped out there.
“She’s unharmed.” His voice shook, and he coughed, clearing his throat. He tried to sound strong as he added, “As you can see, I was checking on her.”
“Really?”
“She had too much to drink. That’s all.”
“You’re lying out of your fucking teeth.” My eyes narrowed. “I heard everything, Sebastian.”
He slammed into the wall behind him, upending one of the paintings. It fell onto his shoulders, rolled to the side, and crashed onto the floor. Sebastian’s gaze was glued to mine. He never reacted. I didn’t think he realized what he had just done.
“You’re weak, Sebastian,” I murmured lightly, casually glancing around the room.
He was scared, and he was backed into a corner. A wounded animal that couldn’t break free always lashed out. He was going to try. It was inevitable, and I knew it was coming sooner than later, but I was ready. Hell, I was going to use it to my advantage.
“You weren’t weak while hiding behind your fraternity buds. You aren’t weak when you’re trying to hide behind your connections.”
“Screw you.”
I paused. There it was. Some heat came back into him. He wasn’t such a wounded animal. There was some fight still left in him. That was good. I had more time.
“Screw me?” A soft laugh slipped out. “That’s what you were going to do to Sam.”
He seemed to shrink again.
“Weren’t you?”
“I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
Ah.
A baseball bat was mounted on a wall, underneath a professional ball player’s painting. It was signed, too.
I crossed the room for it and said, “Stop lying, Sebastian. There’s no reason for it anymore. I know everything.”
His eyes darted to where I was going. “What are you doing?”
I lifted the glass box that the bat was in and grinned at him. “No worries. I won’t throw the box at you.”
His eyes fell to the bat, and he scooted over until he was in the farthest corner of the room. Samantha was between us, and he looked at her. I pulled off the back of the glass box and grabbed the bat.
Pulling it out, I pointed it at him. “You’ll stay back from her.”
I didn’t want to scare him too much. If I did, all this would be over. He’d lunge for her, and I wouldn’t hear what I wanted to hear.
“I can’t let you hurt her. This is between you and me.” I kept my tone calm, casual even, and it worked.
He held my gaze, weighing my words.
His shoulders relaxed. The fear was leaving him.
Enough was enough. “Like I said before, I was trying to be smarter this year. No burning houses. No cars put on fire. No brawls. Nothing like that.” I tapped the side of my head. “Act smarter. Think smarter. Be smarter. Those were the basic rules I tried following when I came back.”
My gaze fell back to Samantha. She seemed more vulnerable than ever, lying there, where he could’ve done anything he pleased.
If I hadn’t been here…
I couldn’t finish that thought. I’d murder him here and now. I drew in a breath, trying to keep the rage at bay. This asshole…
I shook my head. “Logan and Sam have been trying to protect me this whole time. They knew all eyes were on me. They did anything they could, but this wasn’t their battle.”
It was mine.
I locked eyes with him again. “You went after me, not them. They were collateral damages.”
“They were weapons against you.”