"Are you fucking serious?" She glares right back at me.
"Delaney, NOW!" I yell in her face.
I've had enough of her bullshit. I just need to get the drugs away from her and get the fuck out of here before I obliterate her. She's half a second away from a body bag. If she doesn't cooperate soon she'll meet the monster I keep hidden from her.
She flinches but doesn't delay. She reaches into the pocket of her hoodie and pulls out a package of foil and a baggie of pills. I should've figured she was on pills, too.
"Is this it?" I demand as I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me.
The fear in her eyes reflects the honesty of her words. "Yes, that's it."
"Good girl." I shove it in my pocket and nudge the trash can toward her. "Clean up this shit hole before your kids get home. No one deserves to live like this." I walk out of the kitchen and make my way to the front door.
"What happened to your face?" she asks as I place my hand on the doorknob.
I completely forgot about the bruises and possible cuts on my face from the beating I let Rowe give me. Maybe I pushed him because I knew I deserved it. Maybe it was because I knew he wasn't afraid of doing it. Who knows?
"Our son happened," I admit.
Delaney gapes before shaking her head, a stiff laugh leaving her lips. "Yeah, right. He practically worships the ground you walk on."
Maybe that was true before, but it's not that way anymore. Like everything else in my life, I screwed that up. Just like I trashed the same thing with Aria. She used to look at me with stars in her eyes, like I could do no wrong.
Not anymore. There are still flashes, but they're momentary and fleeting.
"He's not exactly happy with me right now. Let's leave it at that." I throw open the door and step outside, jogging to my car.
One more stop before heading back to Aria.
* * *
I pullup to the moderate-sized cottage twenty acres from mine through the woods, completely secluded from the outside world.
It's the perfect location to keep tabs on my hostage. She knows I watch her, and I make sure she doesn't leave, but I leave her alone for the most part. She's smart enough to know if she leaves, I'll find her and bring her back or just kill her.
She's my other Monday visit.
I grab the brown paper bag from the passenger seat as I exit my car and walk over to the front door.
The door swings open and I'm greeted by the familiar red hair peppered with silver strands and caramel brown eyes.
"Malakai," she grumbles my name like she thought someone else was here.
"Afternoon, Lillian." I hand the bag to her and step inside before closing the door behind me. She stares down at the bag before groaning.
"The same damn blueberry muffins? Seriously, Kai?"
"What? They're your favorite."
"When I was a teenager. I'm a grown ass woman now, and the same muffins you bring me every Monday gets old after eighteen years."
I walk into the kitchen and Lillian follows close behind me, tossing the bag on the counter.
"Kai, just let me out of here, okay? I just want to see my daughter. She's almost an adult. I've missed out on so much of her life already. Please," she begs as I pull one of the muffins out of the bag and take a small bite, leaning against the counter.
"Almost? She is an adult. Her birthday is in a few weeks. She looks almost identical to you." It's true. The resemblance is almost unnerving. I have the utmost disdain for Lillian, and yet a side of myself I thought was dead can't bear the thought of Aria being hurt by someone other than me.
I'm quite the sadist and love being the cause of her misery. It's so damn sweet. I can practically taste it.
