Page 73 of Forbidden Eyes
“Don’t you talk about him that way. Not when you’re no better yourself.” My voice wobbles, ready to break, just like my heart.
“You wanted to be a Vico? Wanted to see what it was about? Well, now you can.” He grabs my neck and twists me, keeping me still and forcing me to watch as the two men let go of Carter. His hands are still tied up, but they aren’t holding him in place.
He looks to me, his eyes searching mine and I nod, telling him I’m okay. As soon as he gets that confirmation, the guy on the right slugs him in the stomach, while the other guy goes for the face again.
“No, stop!” I plead and try to run to help, but my dad’s grip is tight, and he doesn’t budge.
“Take him,” he commands. One raises his gun again and presses it to Carter’s skull while the other shoves him forward.
“Fia, it’s going to be okay. Stay calm.” His words are calm but that only makes me worry more, and my heart splinters for a whole other reason. My mind rushes to the worst conclusion, and right now, at this moment when I believe my father might have the man I’m choosing to be with killed, I hate him. It’s a hate that’s corrosive and evil and all encompassing.
“I hate you. I hate you for this.”
“You gave yourself to him. Scum. Someone as pure and innocent as you—he shouldn’t even be in the same fucking room with you. Go get dressed into something decent before I treat you the same as him.”
“Why? Why should I do anything you ask?” I try moving again, and this time, he allows me to turn.
“Because I told you to and I’m past having you defy me. Now go!”
My whole body shudders as his voice strips me of any courage I had to stand up to him. I rush towards the bedroom and slam the door behind me, locking out the hurt and pain.
“Don’t think you can hide in there. You’re going to see this through.” His voice echoes and the split second I thought I could stay hidden away vanishes. Besides, don’t I owe it to Carter to stay strong? To work through this and hope there’s a solution? To somehow reason with my father?
I exit after grabbing a clean pair of jeans and a top and tying my hair in a messy knot. My eyes are still bloodshot from the tears, but I don’t mind showing him what he’s done to me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, as I come back out. I look around,noticing no one else in the room anymore.
“To show you the consequence of your actions.”
My father keeps a grip on me for the entire journey down in the elevator and out to a waiting car. He doesn’t have a gun to my back, but it certainly feels like it. Another man I’ve never seen before swings the back door open to allow me in, my father close behind.
My heart and my head wage against each other over what to feel. Horrified, frightened, and fearful are winning at the moment. Sadness and utter grief are both threatening to swallow me up, but the hate that I first felt for Benjamin Vico, the hate that rose up within me, now festers and darkens anything I feel towards my father.
“Where are we going?” I venture after a couple of minutes, unable to take the stillness any longer. “Does Mom know why you’re here? Have you told her your plan?”
“She is none of your concern right now. She’s betrayed me as well and she certainly knows better,” he grates.
“What have you done?” Fear for my mom’s safety isn’t something I ever want to consider, but seeing this new side to him…
“Fuck your questions. You think you have a right to know anything now? Shut your mouth and think about what’s yet to come.”
The rest of the journey we sit in silence and thankfully it’s short, which doesn’t allow for much time to consider what altered universe I’m currently in. It does give me enough time to wonder how much his expensive suits have covered up over the years, though. What else this man I've loved is capable of.
As the car draws up next to a large building, I realise I’ve been here before. We’re at the docks where all the sordid revelations about my family started to unravel.
The driver opens the door for me, and I look around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Carter. I turn to look at Dad as he steps from the car, doing the button up on that expensive jacket as if he’s about to walk into a business meeting.
“Is this where you take all your dirty problems then, Dad? Bit of a fucking cliché, isn’t it?”
His hand is so fast and so direct that the blazing sting on my cheek registers before I realise what he’s done. The gasp is automatic, as is the rise of my hands to my face after the fact. I stare up into his eyes, fear filling me, and try to search for the man I used to know as my father. The throb in my cheek beats in time to my drumming heart and I know, as I step away from him, panic infusing every bone in my body, that everything in my world has just changed. The family I loved, the life I led. Nothing can, nor ever will, alter the reality that I now know is the truth.
Hitting me is a line that I never thought he’d cross, but it seems that Benjamin Vico is more concerned with his reputation than his role as my father. Then again, there have been a lot of firsts when it comes to him now.
He leads me inside the warehouse, his feet clacking at such a tempo that I struggle to keep up with his long strides. It’s just a huge empty space, the occasional bit of debris littering the edges, metal side-panelling and dark corners looking foreboding in the blackest of nights. And then I look into one of the far corners, drawn there by the sound of more feet moving, and see Carter being dragged towards me, a canvas sack over his head. “Carter!”
Twenty-One
The high-pitched yell from her makes my head turn under the cloth, trying to get a feel for where she is as I’m pushed fuck knows where. The hell is she still doing here? He should have taken her away from this by now. I struggle against the men holding my arms, pissed that I can’t get to her and unsure what’s coming next. It doesn’t fucking help that I’m dropping. I can feel my blood sugar damn near evaporate with every breath. Everything’s hazy, nausea riding my guts, and I’m getting weak, my muscles pulsing to try to find more energy.