Page 34 of Saviour
“I don’t believe you,” he replies and I whip my eyes to him so fast I almost get whiplash. “You fiddle with your hair when you’re nervous. You’re always fiddling with your braid.”
I refuse to be profiled by this man who has no idea.
“How dare you? How dare you make assumptions about me or call me a liar?”
“I didn’t call you a liar, Rori.”
I jump up and look down on him. “By saying you don’t believe me, you’re calling me a liar. I have no reason to tell you anything. You aren’t anything to me. Who do you think you are?”
Dax jumps up and weaves a hand through his blond waves in frustration.
“I was just asking a simple question.”
“Well, it’s none of your goddamn business! Just because you sobbed out your sorry story doesn’t mean I have to.” I ball my hands into fists and Dax steps closer.
“Birdie, I just want to help.”
“I don’t need your help, Dax. There is NOTHING you can do for me. What is this?”
He looks at me in confusion.
“What, you think because you lost all your other friends you can just replace them with me? Mould me until I’m someone good enough to take their place?”
He shakes his head and starts to speak, but I don’t let him get that far.
“Don’t you dare ever make assumptions or try to save me ever again, Dax Rhivers. We are not friends. We are not anything.”
“Rori.” Dax reaches out, but I’ve already turned away.
“Fuck off!” I run in the opposite direction from where we are standing, the way I came from those few days ago. I’ll just risk Carlo telling Maxwell where I am. I’ll disappear before he can ever find me. I’ve made it two years. I can do it some more.
* * *
I don’t makeit very far. By the time I’m out of the clearing, I’m already being hauled into a big black car and sped off back towards the mansion. Carlo sits in the back seat next to me, a glass of scotch in one hand and a thick cigar in the other.
“Running again, Aurora? You seem to do that often.”
“I wasn’t running away,” I lie, but Carlo just chuckles and the sound makes me cringe.
“I thought we had a deal?” he questions and I chance a look over at him.
He’s looking out the window, disinterested, and I decide to go with a little bit of honesty.
“We do. I just needed some space from him.”
“You don’t like my nephew?” He turns to look at me with a smug grin plastered on his face and I look back at him silently. “I don’t either, to be honest. The kid has always been a nosey pain in my ass.”
I know I should stay silent, but I’ve always had that annoying trait where I can’t keep my goddamn mouth shut even though I know I should.
“Where’s his cousin?” I ask, with a lot more confidence than I feel.
Carlo takes a puff of his cigar and lets the car fill with smoke before he replies.
“So he told you. Good. Then know your place, Miss Shaw. You question me again, you’ll end up with them. Or like his little cousin, Bonnie. I don't have any limits, girl, and for a nobody like you, it won’t be hard to dispose of you.”
Basically admitting to Dax’s theory, I have no idea how he can talk so freely about the daughter he murdered. It makes me sick and I hold my breath to stop myself from retching.
The car stops and I look out the window to see we’re back where we started this morning.
