Page 9 of Stryker's Ruin
“My god, have you not looked in the mirror when you go clothes shopping or putting on make-up and doing your hair? You’re stunning.”
“My clothes were always sent to me. I’ve never had make-up. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I keep my hair braided, in a ponytail or loose like today. Feminine wiles were not necessary. I needed to study.”
“Fucking assholes,” he sighs.
“I—thank you. I don’t feel beautiful but thank you. Your words will be a good memory.”
He looks at me and frowns. “What have you been told? Do you know what’s going on?”
“I’m to get married in order to help the family. I owe it to them.”
“Jesus Christ, do you know what your family is? Does to make money? What the other family is and does?”
“Businessmen.”
“Innocent. Too damn innocent,” he mutters, propping an elbow on his bent knee and rubbing his forehead.
What does he know that I don’t? What can he tell me, teach me? I’m so tired of being ignored. Ettore told me to watch and listen but to think for myself. To never forget how smart I am. That… “I’m not a doll on the shelf.”
His head pops up and he stares at me. “What did you say?”
Be brave. “I am not a doll on the shelf to simply exist. I may have lived my life in isolation, so I didn’t shame my family, but I am smart. I’m fluent in five languages and already do mathematics and accounting at the graduate level. I can reason and comprehend difficult problems and solve them. I want…need to know what you aren’t telling me so I can understand.”
“Can you deal with the harsh realities that those we think we know aren’t who we thought they were?”
“You mean things like being told you’re a bastard. Worthless like your whore of a mother who tried to trick your father? That you were a shame on the family name. That you needed to be grateful for the little you were given because you were insignificant. That you would marry because it was the one thing you could do for the family and then you would be someone else’s problem to deal with and no longer a burden.”
He shifts, kneeling before me, cups my face and thumbs away the tears I didn’t even know I’d been crying.
“Oh my god, what have I done? Please, please you cannot repeat what I have said. They will destroy Ettore. She was the only one who encouraged me to be me and to somehow find freedom. Please, I beg you. I can’t have her hurt because of me. He’ll know where to find her.”
“Shush.”
He lifts me onto his lap. I lay my head on his chest and the tears of a lifetime pour out. It’s as if he’s crushed the dam that was holding them back.
“Shush, shush,mo stór. Your secrets are safe with me. I’m here for you. To protect you.”
I don’t know how long he rocks me in his arms. When I finally have the strength to open my eyes the sun has dropped in the sky. I can tell it’s late afternoon. Lifting my head I see the food has dried on the edges and looks hard.
“I’m sorry, I ruined your lunch.”
“No. Never, never say you’re sorry for taking what you need, saying what you feel, demanding your rights.”
His phone rings. Pulling it from his pocket he glances at me. “It’s Vince.”
CHAPTER 7
Stryker
“I need to answer. By now he knows we aren’t at the apartment he picked. Can you trust that I’m here to take care of you? I may need to use a few of his rules against him.”
She nods.
Turning up the volume, I hold the phone so she can hear. Holding her gaze I answer, “Stryker here.”
“Where the hell are you?” Vince demands. “Why aren’t you at the apartment? I received a call that you insisted the locks be changed and then you disappeared.”
“When was the last time you inspected that place? Seriously, that’s the best you could do for your granddaughter. The one you’re trying to use to impress the O’Kelley’s. Your bargaining chip?