Page 73 of Paper Coffins
“C’mon, no need to fight it.”
The stench of bourbon suddenly infiltrates my senses as he leans in ever closer, and I gag.
“You’re drunk.”
“And?” he asks, chuckling, heavy breath smothering me. “Doesn’t stop the fun.”
Suddenly, his eyes darken again. The look in his eyes is one I’ve been met with before, and the familiar pit in my stomach opens up. He comes impossibly close to me.
“What have you told my son exactly, you little bitch?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
The switch in his personality isn’t one I’m unfamiliar with, but it always caught me by surprise. Apparently, Alistair still holds that power over me.
“I said, what have you told my son, Natalia?” Alistair speaks through gritted teeth. “There is no way he’d let you back in without him knowing something.”
“Oh, you mean about what happened?” I ask, twisting against him. “I’ve not uttered a word.”
“You just can’t stop yourself, can you?” He grabs me viciously. “The lies just come so fucking naturally to you. It’s no wonder people believe them so easily.”
“You need to get your facts checked because, believe me, your son is doing this power trip all on his own.”
“I don’t believe you!”
As his body presses harder, I react in what little room I have, but I use it wisely—knee to groin.
A grunt follows the impact, and Alistair’s weight falls away from me.
I thought I’d feel relieved to have him away from me, but when I find Sebastian standing in the doorway, two glasses in his hands and his eyes dropped to the floor, I know I’ve just created a whole new load of problems for myself.
“Sebastian,” I pant.
Without a word, Sebastian enters, setting the glasses down and rushing to Alistair’s aid. Of course. Turning away from the scene, I start to pace, wringing my hands as I pull myself together.
“Don’t move. I’m going to sort him out and I’ll be back.”
I go to speak, but Sebastian waves a hand dismissively at me.
“You don’t fucking move.” His order is stern, and I want to revolt. “I mean it, Talia. If I find you gone, Beckett won’t be the only one after your fucking blood.”
I won’t lie, seldom do I listen to anyone, but there’s something about the look in Sebastian’s eyes that makes me pause, and I know I can’t run for much longer. I’m dragging so much baggage with me that it’s only a matter of time before I trip. Whatever Sebastian saw is either going to add fuel to my fire or destroy me before I have a chance to fight my way back into The Company.
Crossing the room, I look across the city and take a deep breath. I settle on the arm of a chair, looking out of the floor to ceiling window, begging the city to give me the answers I need. There are so many moving parts of this now, and I’m gradually running out of time to fix any of them.
Alistair has always made it abundantly clear how he views me. He showed me too how much he’d crush me and how easily he’d do it. For that, I vowed to never let him—or anyone—lay a finger on me, but apparently, he has full control. That needs to change because before I take the throne, I’m ending Alistair Knight once and for all.
“Now,” Sebastian starts, and the soft shutting of the door sounds. “Want to tell me what that was about?”
No, I don’t.
I keep my back to him, knowing there’s no support coming from Sebastian, and nor do I expect it.
“Look, the door’s shut. No one else is here. You can talk to me.”
I scoff. “It was nothing.”
“Sure didn’t look like nothing.”