Out of nowhere, she bangs on the cage. “It’s your own fault for becoming a murderer. Not mine.”

“Oh, yeah? Last I checked, I wasn’t the only murderer in this house.”

“Don’t you dare blame it all on me again.”

I narrow my eyes, grabbing the bars tight as I look her deep in the eyes. “You know it’s the fucking truth. You’re a killer just as I am. You might not look it, but you’re certainly rotten in the core.” I point at my chest for emphasis. “Just like a bad apple.”

“Why did they have to be killed? Why?”

“Who? Your lovers?” I say, laughing a bit. “As if you didn’t want them dead,” I growl. “Don’t. Lie. To. Me.”

“Was it all for the money?”

“Phillip’s kill was, although you probably won’t believe me,” I say, as I start pacing around the room, wondering what I’m going to do next now that I have her. The possibilities are infinite; my creativity, however, is not.

“What about Arthur?”

“He was in the way. He was out of luck.”

I sit down on a chair in the corner and look at her fall apart. I love this conversation. It brings her closer to insanity with each sentence I speak.

She swallows. “It’s so easy for you, isn’t it?”

“To you it is, as well, except I don’t lie to myself. You do,” I say.

She makes a face, and I can tell that she’s biting on her cheeks to stop herself from calling me names. Good. She’s starting to learn what happens when she pisses me off.

“Arthur was innocent. He didn’t have to get involved in this.”

“You involved him the moment you kissed him. It was disgusting.” Her eyes widen, so I add, “Yeah, I saw all of that … thing you did.” I circle my finger in the air. “In his house.”

“You’ve been spying on us,” she says.

“You were going to tell the police about me. Of course, I was spying on you,” I say, entwining my fingers.

She sits back and raises an eyebrow. “Or how about this … you were jealous of him, so that’s why you decided to take revenge now.”

My eyes narrow, and I grind my teeth in frustration. How dare she suggest such a thing? Fucking narcissistic bitch.

“I know it’s the truth,” she muses.

“Shut up!” I yell, jolting up from my seat.

“Mad, Nix?”

I cock my head, rage flowing through my veins. “What did you call me?”

“Nix … Suiting nickname, don’t you think?”

I run to her, growling, causing her to cower in a corner as I jerk on the bars. “That name is not for you.”

“Oh, then who is it for?” she muses, smiling so wickedly that I want to go in there and fuck those lips until she can no longer smile.

“People I can trust,” I sneer. “And you’re not one of them.”

“Says the guy who hurts people who are innocent.”

“You’re no saint either, missy,” I hiss.

“I’m not the one involving Arthur or Paige,” she says, leaning forward and grabbing the cage to taunt me.

“Arthur involved himself.”

“Just because I live with him doesn’t mean he’s part of this shit.”

“Arthur threatened my property, so I had to get rid of him.”

“Property?” she chides.

I reach in and grab her by the throat. “You. Are. Mine.”

“Just because you’re keeping me in a cage doesn’t make me yours,” she says, coughing.

“I own you now. I can do whatever I want,” I hiss, letting go of her.

“To belong to someone means loving them,” she says.

I lean in further, smirking. “You once loved me. I can make you do it again.”

“You wish …” she says, shaking her head. “I never loved you to begin with.”

The snarl on her face makes me want to cut her throat. I smack the bars to scare her. “I don’t believe you.”

“Believe what you want.”

Fuck her. She’s trying to get under my skin, but I won’t let her.

I get up and pace around, concentrating on the fact that I hate her to death, instead of the fact that she’s trying to taunt me to end her suffering sooner.

“As if I could ever love a monster like you now,” she mutters.

The more she speaks, the deeper she cuts into my skin.

Fuck!

I pick up a chair and throw it at the wall, making her crawl back into a corner.

“Do you want me angry? Because I’ll fucking give you anger you’ve never seen before.”

“Go ahead,” she sneers. “It’s not like I’m going to stay here forever. Might as well end it quickly.”

“As if I’ll allow that,” I spit. “But I’ll fucking tear you to pieces and keep your heart pumping with my own bloody hands if I have to.”

“So much rage … wow,” she muses. “No wonder it’s come down to this.”

“You have yourself to thank for this,” I say, pointing at her.

“And what about Arthur? Who does he have to thank?”

“Himself,” I growl.

“Excuse me?” she says, frowning.

“You heard me,” I say, the left side of my lip curving up into a devious smile. “You think he’s innocent? He’s as innocent as you are. That’s right.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, grabbing the bars again.

“What? You think he’s a good man?” I put my finger on my temple. “Think again, Princess. I can see the bruises on your face and your arms.”

She covers the spots with her hands, a flush appearing on her cheeks. “Just because we fight sometimes doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.”

I make a face. “Are you kidding me? How blind have you become?” I take a step toward her. “You think he’s sweet? Or are you just ignoring all the bad things in your life?”

“What bad things? Yes, I know he’s controlling, but he cares about me,” she says.

“No, he doesn’t fucking care about you! No one does! See, and this is the thing, you don’t see it.”

Tears well up in her eyes, but I continue anyway. She has to hear this. It’s time to break the façade she’s put up for herself and make her face the truth. “You wanna be fake? You’ll get fake. Fake friends, fake boyfriends, and a fake life. Arthur was just as fake as you are.”

“How would you know?” she asks, wincing as if I’m lying. Or she just doesn’t want to hear the truth.

“He isn’t a good guy, Princess. He wasn’t just there to comfort you. He was there to steal your heart, so you’d give him part of your inheritance.”

“No …” She shakes her head. “I don’t believe it.”

“It’s the fucking truth. I know you don’t trust me, but lying is the last thing on this earth I’ll ever do. Especially when it comes to you because I want to make you see the truth in your own lies.” I take out my phone and scroll through my messages. “Prepare for the blow, Princess.”

“For what blow? You want me to believe that Arthur was just after my money?”

“It’s the only reason he wanted to be close to you. After his brother, Phillip, died, there was nothing in his way.”

She continues to shake her head, trembling from top to bottom as I hold out my phone for her to look at. The message is clear. There’s a bounty on her head, sent directly from one of my employers.

“I’m a hired killer. Guess who asked to get you killed?”

“No … it can’t be,” she says, her face darkening by the second.

“Yes, sweet cheeks. That request came from Arthur. He didn’t just want your money. He wanted you dead.”

CHAPTER 14

VANESSA

My mind and my heart feel like they’re exploding. My lip quivers and a yowling sound emanates from my mouth, a sound so vile that it’s unfamiliar to me, and it makes me want to lash out at Phoenix.

“This is the truth, Princess. The cold, hard truth.”

“How … How could he?” I mumble, still in shock from what I’m seeing.

A text on Phoenix’s cell phone clearly shows a new assignment from someone who hires him. Someone who wants me dead. And that someone is named Arthur Starr.

“Because of the money, Vanessa. It’s all around you. Can’t you smell it? This place reeks of blood money. You know what it can do to people. Look at you. You’re a prime example.”

I sniff, pushing away the impending tears. “I am not like that.”