by MK Schiller
“What do you mean?”
“I took care of it. They’ll have a home and be moved in before Christmas. When we get back from Hawaii, I told her we’d help them paint. We’re both pretty handy at that.”
Both Liam and Stephen had written large checks to the shelter. So large they could accommodate additional families and start new outreach programs. But this…this warmed my heart so much, I could have melted into a puddle. “Liam, you sweet, sweet man. I love you.”
He pressed his lips against my forehead. “Second, things are going very smoothly. Stephen can handle it for a while.” He settled his hands on my hips. “C’mon, lover, walk on the beach with me again.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Open your gift.” He tapped the box I was holding. “This is just a little something I picked up. Consider it an appetizer.”
I lifted the lid, blinking against the shine of emerald earrings done in a paisley design. “These are gorgeous. They’ll look beautiful with the dress.”
“You would be beautiful in anything, Mary.” He smacked my bum. “Or nothing at all. In fact, I think I want to paint you in nothing but these earrings.”
“Seriously, Liam, you and your dolphin-sized libido need to leave me alone.”
He laughed. “Baby, you’re about to make the great white shark in me come out.”
* * * *
My mouth dropped as I took in the dazzling ballroom with its sparking chandeliers and massive Christmas tree. I walked with nervous steps, hoping the heels didn’t buckle on me. A firm hand pressed against my lower back, giving me the boost of confidence I needed.
“This is some dress. I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you,” Liam said, his whisper heavy and husky.
“Then don’t.”
“No worries there. Come and meet some people.”
He introduced me to so many people, I forgot all the names. We sipped pale champagne and chatted casually. Stephen joined us. He and Liam even exchanged a few jokes.
“Mary, meet Janet Waters. She designed the interiors of several of our hotels.” I shook her hand. Stephen stiffened beside me.
“I love your dress. It’s stunning,” she said. She had hair the color of strawberries. There was something familiar about her.
“Thank you.”
The air stilled when she glanced at Stephen.
“Hi, Jan,” he said. “Didn’t know you were coming.”
“Liam invited me.”
“I see,” he said, sounding disinterested, although his fingers tightened around his wineglass.
Liam led me to the dance floor. I noticed Stephen, standing in the corner, talking with Janet.
“Who is she?” I asked Liam.
“She went to college with Stephen. I believe they dated for a bit. He suggested her for this job. I have no idea why he was acting so cold to her. Then again, I rarely get what’s going on inside his head.”
I got it. It dawned on me why she looked familiar. She was the picture behind the picture in Stephen’s office.
Liam looked down at his watch. “I’m counting down the minutes until we can leave. I hate this house.”
“I’m sorry.”
We danced through two songs before they announced dinner. Liam and I sat apart during the meal. Stephen was seated next to me. He downed one drink after another, keeping his eyes on Janet’s back the whole time. Once she turned in his direction, he looked away.
“How are things, Mary?” he asked.
“Wonderful. What about you?”
“Can’t complain. I’m going to get some air.”
“May I come?”
“I wouldn’t mind the company.”
He helped me from my chair. We went outside to a heated patio. I worried it would be cold, but the heat lamps made it feel like a warm summer night. Everyone else was still inside. The naked trees stood close together, their branches twining as if they were embracing. A shiver ran up my spine. Stephen leaned against a railing and lit a cigarette.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I have to keep some vices.” He smiled at me. “How’s therapy?”
“It’s good. Liam is going to start coming with me, too. How’s your therapy?”
“Not bad. I’ve been clean for over a month.”
I bumped his shoulder. “You have? That’s great.”
“I got a keychain and everything.” He bumped me back. “I never really thought about myself as an addict since I always managed to function in my life. I figured as long as I maintained a balance, I was fine. I just needed something to take the edge off once in a while.”
“And now?”
“I figured out I need edges in my life. If you make the pain disappear, how would you ever recognize the pleasure?”
“True.”
He stubbed his cigarette on the railing. “I hate this house,” he muttered.
“Liam does, too.”
“One thing we have in common.”
I gestured inside. “You love her, don’t you?”
“Who?”
“Janet, the girl with the red hair.”
“I love all redheads.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “They’re freaks in bed.”
“Don’t lie to me. That’s why you always ask the agency to send one. Do you pretend they are her?”
“You’re a brazen one. Yeah, you got my number. What of it?”
“Why don’t you tell her how you feel?”
“Some ships sail too far and deep to anchor. Understand?”
“Ummm, no, I have no idea what that means.”
“I couldn’t give her what she wanted then, and I’m certainly not capable of it now.”
“What did she want?”
“The usual—marriage and kids. Security. Anyway, I let her go. That’s what you do for someone you love. You let them go so their dreams don’t die.”
“Rubbish.”
“What?”
“Rubbish. If you loved her and she loved you, then you fight. You fight for the person you love. You work hard to make each other’s dreams happen or create new dreams.”
“Look at you, Miss Freud.”
“Sorry, yaar, I spoke out of turn.”
“What does that mean? Yaar?”
“It’s Hindi. It means…friend.”
He smiled, a real smile, not a trace of condescension in it. “C’mon, yaar, let’s go inside.”
They were clearing dinner. Liam’s hand pressed into my back, his spicy masculine scent intoxicating me. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
“You found me.”
“It was easy. I just followed the gazes of all the men in the room. I think I liked you better when you wore my huge sweaters.”
My laugh was cut off by the woman approaching us. “Hello, Liam. I suppose your mother never taught you, but it’s rude not to greet your host.”
Liam’s jaw tightened, but he maintained the smile. “She did teach me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I should shut my mouth.” He turned to me. “Mary, this is Lorna Wilshire, Stephen’s mother.”
The woman embodied elegance in her floor-length gown, her hair the color of spun gold. “Also Liam’s stepmother.” There was judgment in her stare. I wanted to take a step back, but Liam’s arm kept me grounded.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yes,” she replied, her eyes scanning me like a package containing something foul. She turned to Liam. “Did Bobby tell you I’m selling the house?”
Who was Bobby?
“No, he didn’t.”
“I’m permanently relocating to the city.” She smiled as people passed us, making it appear we were having a friendly chat. “You have some things in the attic. I was going to donate them to the poor, but then I remembered you were pretty poor yourself, so I doubt they have any value to anyone. Shall I throw them out?”
Liam nodded, his arm tigh
tening around me. “Do whatever you wish.”
She patted her golden hair. “I see you’re wearing them. They were his favorite. Of course, I thought he’d leave them to his legitimate son. Then again, you managed to inherit a great deal from your father.” I followed her gaze to Liam’s sleeve. He wore gold cuff links in the shape of birds.
Liam smiled brighter. “I’d be happy to return them.”
She waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal. “Don’t bother. That’s not the point, is it?”
“I completely understand your point, Lorna. I’ve understood since I was a teenager. But back then, I actually cared. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
Her mouth gaped for a second. She quickly recovered, fixing us with an icy stare. “In any case, they look good on you. They are definitely appropriate for the evening, since the bald eagle is on the endangered list. Speaking of, I’m starting the presentation soon. I hope my son isn’t too inebriated to join us.” She walked away, leaving a heavy trail of expensive perfume behind her.
“Who is Bobby?” I asked, feeling uneasy.
“It’s Stephen’s first name…Robert. He’s Robert Wilshire the Second. He decided to go by his middle name a few years ago. Lorna does not approve.” Liam laughed. “She constantly lectured him about how lucky he was to carry the family name and legacy. I didn’t live here that long, but there were loads of fireworks in this house, I tell you.”
“I can imagine.” My voice sounded distant to me.
“Are you alright, sweetheart?”
“Can you get me another glass of wine?”
“Maybe you should have water.” He touched my forehead. “You feel warm.” He took my hand and led me to a seat. I slumped into it, swallowing down the bile. Stop it, you’re acting ridiculous.
I forced a smile, ignoring the irregular way my heart beat. “Wine, please.”
“Okay, love, I’ll be right back.”
He brought me a glass, but it was weak. I drank it anyway. The lights dimmed as Lorna Wilshire took the stage.
“Thank you all for coming. This was an important charity for my husband. As you know, he dedicated his life to preserving endangered species, not just in this country, but all over the world. He was a humanitarian, a successful businessman, a philanthropist, and a wonderful husband and father.”
I almost laughed at the last accolade.
“Friends, my words are hollow. He said it so much better than I can. He may be gone, but he is still in our hearts. So listen to him, and while you’re at it, take out those checkbooks and jot down a lot of zeros.” A few people snickered. “Or plastic if you prefer.”
Then the screen behind her lit up. A distinguished-looking man sat at a desk. There was a gold tower behind him and a painting of trees twisting into each other.
“Hello, friends,” his deep voice resonated.
I covered my ears. I didn’t want to hear anymore. It was the same voice that haunted me.
Liam knelt in front of me, his face full of concern. He took my wrists and pried them off my ears. “Mary?”
I recognized the lines and curves of the picture. They were made by the same hands that held me every night. “You painted that. It’s the trees in the back of this house.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “It was the portrait he bought at my exhibition. I still can’t believe he hung it up in his office or that my stepmother never took it down.”
Everything blurred, one color bleeding into the next, as if I was looking inside a kaleidoscope.
“Mary, sweetheart, look at me. What’s the matter?”
I looked down at his cufflinks, waiting for the birds to carry me away.
“I was wrong.”
“Wrong about what, love?”
“I thought they were birds of prey.” They were supposed to eat my flesh and peck away at my soul until there was nothing left of me.
“Birds of prey?”
Vultures, I wanted to say. But I slipped into the darkness. It grounded me. It protected me.
Chapter 47
Mary
I was on a couch in a dim room. Liam sat beside me, holding my hand. His face lit up with relief when I opened my eyes. “Hey, there you are. You just fainted. Thank God, there was a doctor in attendance. He thinks you’re dehydrated, so you’re cut off for the night.” Liam held a bottle of water under my lips. He offered me a half-hearted smile that couldn’t conceal his worry. “I checked it personally. It’s safe.” I took slow sips.
He caressed my cheek. For the first time, I backed away from his touch. Hurt flickered across his face.
“Can we speak outside, Mr. Montgomery?” asked the man who must have been the doctor.
“Later,” Liam answered, irritated.
“Go, Liam, I’ll stay with her,” Stephen said. Stephen…Bobby…the Monster’s other son.
The door closed. I sat up, a dull ache in my head. The ache sharpened as I took in the room. The painting, the desk, the gold tower were all there. I used to dream of killing him in this room. Of taking the tower and smashing it over his head.
“Lay down, Mary,” Stephen said. “You shouldn’t be up.”
Stephen…the man who’d asked me to be his friend. The man who thought he could help himself by helping me. It all clicked.
Stupid, stupid, girl.
“You knew.” It was an accusation.
“Knew what?”
“You knew who I was. How?”
He took a step back. “You don’t understand.”
I stood and pushed him. Then I slapped him hard across the face. “What did you do, you sick bastard?”
He winced. “Calm down.”
I kept going, spitting out the sick, twisted thoughts as they entered my mind. “Did you watch the videos? Did you and your father watch them together?”
I held my hand up to slap him again, but stopped in midair. He looked wounded and lost. Almost as if he wanted me to slap him.
“Listen to me,” he pleaded. “I found a video on my father’s computer. I had no idea what it was at first. Then I realized and wished to God I had never found it. I saw you in it. I recognized you that day in the office. I thought you had come to get revenge on us. Oh, God, Mary, I’m sorry. I confronted my dad about it, but I was just a kid. I was weak. My mother told me it would ruin us if I said anything, and no one would believe me anyway. She destroyed all the evidence. But I never forgot your face. It was burned into my memory. I have a lot to atone for since you weren’t the only victim. Just the only one I met. After I saw you, I did some research into your background to confirm what I already knew.”
I had fallen in love with the son of the man who had destroyed my life. The knowledge hit me so hard, I had to lean on a side board to keep from collapsing.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“How could I? I was suspicious of you. Like I said, I thought you were looking for revenge, and that’s why you were with Liam. Isn’t that why you were a maid in Jaipur? The daughter of an educated man. Isn’t that what you were doing? You honestly didn’t know who Liam was? Who we were?”
“I didn’t know your father by name. I only knew his voice, his smell, his shadow. Those things were seared into my soul. I’d heard him say he’d be back at the Wilshire in Jaipur in a few years. I decided when he returned, I would be waiting for him. I wanted to kill him.”
“He’s already dead.”
“Then dig him up for me.” I’d dance on his bones and spit on his grave.
“Mary, you have to calm down. I understand what you’ve been through. I’ve been where you’ve been.”
“You don’t fucking understand, Robert Wilshire the Second.”
Stephen cringed. “Don’t call me that.”
“It’s your name, isn’t it?” I jabbed my finger into his chest. “Do you know what it’s like to be tortured? To be raped? To feel as if you’re nothing but a speck of dirt, upswept and sullied? To watch as
your little sister had her innocence ripped away? To be relieved when she got ill and prayed she would die because she’d never find joy again? Do you fucking know what it’s like to watch your papa blame himself?”
He dragged a shaky hand through his hair. “Stop…please.”
“Don’t tell me you understand me. That you’ve been where I’ve been because you feel guilty you saw something on a video once.”
“No…I haven’t been there, but I understand more than you think. He liked boys, too, at least young boys. He’s behind every sharp edge and dark night of my life.” He choked out a bitter sound. “When I realized I wasn’t his only victim, some fucked-up part of me decided…” He sucked in a breath as a tear slid down his face. “Better them than me. Better you than me. God forgive me.”
“Maybe God will forgive you, but I won’t.”
Stephen’s body slumped in resignation. “We have the same monster, Mary. I’m begging you to let me atone for my sins. What can I do?”
The room closed in on me again. My head ached and a nauseous heat grew inside my belly. “Get me out of here.”
Chapter 48
Mary
I waited for Stephen in his car. I watched as the lights turned on in every room of the massive house.
He opened the door. “I found your suitcase and your coat. Liam is going crazy.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“Are you kidding? He probably thinks I kidnapped you. I snuck past him. This is ridiculous. You need to go back into the house.”
“I’m never going to step foot in there again.”
“Then I’ll tell him to come out here.”
“No.”
He sighed. “Fine. Want me to take you back home?”
“Yes,” I said, grateful he gave me the answer I searched for.
“Okay, we’ll go back to the city. Then we’ll call Liam.”
I shook my head. “Take me to the airport.”
“That’s not going to happen.” He opened his mouth to argue some more, but I slapped my hand over it.
“You owe me this. I want to go home. This is your chance to atone, Stephen. So shut up and drive.”
I let out a breath when the car started moving. We were silent. Stephen’s phone buzzed constantly, like some silly song on repeat.
