by Tee, Marian
My Fawn.
My angel.
My love.
But he knew it was better this way, knew that for as long as he believed it was his destiny to be the Prince of Darkness—-
So was it his destiny to love her from a distance.
****
“Thank you for agreeing to speak with me, Ms. Cornwall.”
The young woman on the hospital bed nodded. “Thank you for agreeing with my request, too.”
30-year-old Fredericka Spears took her time studying her star witness. According to her files, Fawn Cornwall was a straight-A student her entire life and had never been cited for a single misdemeanor either in or out of school. She had also been able to split her time effectively between the academic demands of her scholarship, part-time jobs, and all the responsibilities that came with being the girlfriend of politician’s son Grant Bennett.
A good girl in every sense of the word, Fredericka pondered, but all it had taken was one mistake – one that took the form of a six-foot-plus half-Greek playboy infamously known as the Prince of Darkness – and the descent to hell of Fawn’s life had been inevitable.
And yet, here this girl was, face bandaged, body beaten black and blue, but instead of blaming the man who was the reason behind her involvement in Fredericka’s high-profile case—-
Fawn was asking for something that was for that man’s sake.
Clearing her throat, Fredericka said finally, “I’ve spoken with my clients, and they’ve given me their permission to speak with you about your request.”
Fawn unconsciously gripped the edges of her bed covers. “A-and?”
“First of all, I’d like you to know that what you’ve requested has no bearing on my case. Or if it does, then I’m unfortunately certain it’s only going to make things more sensational, and that’s a good thing for my clients.” Fredericka paused. “Which is why...I’d like to speak with you, one woman to another.”
Ah. Fawn’s lips formed a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re wondering why I want it this way?”
“If I may be blunt—-”
This time, Fawn’s smile was a bit more genuine. “Will I be able to stop you?”
Fredericka said apologetically, “I’m afraid not, Ms. Cornwall.”
“Then...please feel free.”
This was so hard, Fredericka thought glumly. Serial killers were so much easier to talk to. At least one didn’t have to worry about hurt feelings with them.
Taking a deep breath, she finally decided to say it in one go. “Have you made your request in hopes of making Reid Chalkias take pity and pick up where he left things off with you?” Fredericka had barely finished speaking when her star witness started shaking her head at her.
“No.” At the attorney’s skeptical expression, Fawn insisted, “It’s really not.”
“You may be honest with me—-”
“Oh, Attorney, I am.” A soft, painful laugh spilled out of her, and Fawn thought absently, Here we go again. Not wanting to sink into hysterics, she cleared her throat several times, working to get herself under control. “And I mean it when I say I don’t need his pity.”
Seeing that Fawn really did mean it, Fredericka blurted out, “Then what is this for?”
“Love,” Fawn answered simply. “I know you don’t believe me.” Another shaky laugh escaped her, and her grip on the covers tightened. “I know the world won’t believe me, and God knows even the prince doesn’t believe me, but I know.” She touched her heart. “I know here.” Her voice turned into a whisper. “I know he loves me, and I feel...I feel this is the only hope I have left of making him realize that I’m s-strong enough to love him back.”
Fredericka slowly settled back on her chair. “You win.” And it wasn’t as if there had been any other alternative, the moment she saw the emotions in Fawn’s eyes. After everything this woman had gone through, the least she could do was give Fawn a fighting chance for her own happy-ever-after.
When Fawn smiled in relief and start to thank her, Fredericka felt honor-bound to warn her uneasily, “But are you sure you don’t want to watch it first?”
The smile faded. “No.”
“It’s not a happy video.”
The girl touched her bandaged face, saying humorously, “I know.”
Fredericka cringed. “Sorry.” Shit, shit, shit, this was why she was better off interrogating serial killers.
“It’s okay,” Fawn hastened to assure the older woman. “I really don’t mind.”
Fredericka shook her head, muttering, “I just really think you should watch it first. Your doctor informed me that trauma’s made you forget most of the ordeal, which I suppose is a good thing, but—-”
“It is a good thing,” Fawn said quietly, “and I want it—-” Fawn’s voice faltered.
Her heart started to squeeze.
Why, why, why did her heart keep hurting every time she almost remembered what happened?
Could she have perhaps...fallen in love with her abductor in a matter of hours? Could she have done something so shameful that it would break her heart to remember?
“Ms. Cornwall?” Fredericka asked worriedly, noting the younger woman’s sudden pallor.
The pain disappeared.
Fawn forced a smile. “Just please...please do your best to make sure he c-comes, and that’s enough.”
****
When a slight commotion erupted behind Nick and Jason Christakos, the twins turned around simultaneously in time to see Reid Chalkias enter the courtroom.
Dressed in a crisp black suit and his rather famous green eyes covered by dark glasses, the prince walked straight to the front, taking a seat on the first row beside his friends.
“Thanks for coming,” Nick murmured under his breath, shaking hands with Reid.
“We appreciate it a lot,” Jason said quietly.
The prince only nodded, unwilling to lie. If Fawn hadn’t made the submission of her testimony conditional on his presence in court, he wouldn’t have come at all.
The hearing began after a minute, and the Christakos twins’ young but fiery redheaded lawyer made her opening salvo against Abraxas Davos. The Greek tycoon’s terse expression didn’t change throughout Fredericka’s speech, not even when she began talking about Fawn.
Fighting to keep his own face expressionless, the prince clenched and unclenched his fist as he struggled against the impulse to sink his fist in the older man’s face.
The attorney’s introduction of Fawn was brief but succinct, emphasizing on Fawn’s numerous positive qualities, before moving on to an explanation of her witness’ relevance to the case.
After summarizing the events revolving around Fawn’s abduction and subsequent rescue, Fredericka said quietly, “I shudder to think what kind of character could orchestrate such an attack—-” The attorney turned to Davos as she spoke. “—-and against someone like Fawn, whose only involvement in the case lies on her innocent decision to love Reid Chalkias.”
The prince’s lips tightened.
“Following the rescue, a subsequent investigation revealed that Ms. Cornwall’s abduction was being remotely viewed and recorded.”
A video...was made of her torture? The prince had heard nothing of this at all, and he looked at Derek, demanding grimly, “Do any of you know of this?”
Before Derek could answer, the prince saw Nick drop a note behind him without turning around. Picking it up, he unfolded the note and read the hastily scrawled note.
I’m sorry. We only learned of this last night, and Fawn swore us to silence.
“This is the sworn statement from Ms. Cornwall—-”
An objection was made and overruled.
“As shown by the projector, Ms. Cornwall states that the video had been taken without her knowledge. She’s also given her express permission for the video to be played in this courtroom.”
A quick press of a button had the display show the next slide, and the attorney’s light gray eyes settled on
the prince as she murmured, “The slide you see now is the diagnosis submitted by Ms. Cornwall’s physician, and the long and short of the matter is, Dr. Robbins believe that her inability to recall almost any detail regarding her ordeal is due to severe trauma. Upon our procurement of this video, we have asked Ms. Cornwall if she wished to view the content.” Fredericka paused. “Ms. Cornwall declined.”
The digital display on the white screen showed the next slide, and numbers showed up on the screen, patterned like an incomplete Sudoku puzzle.
4 5
1 7
2 6 3
“These numbers will make sense later on, in a way that I wish it wouldn’t.”
The attorney clicked on her pointer, and the numerical puzzle shrunk into an inlaid screen.
She clicked again, and a video took up the rest of the display, its cover showing Fawn tied to a chair, her eyes blackened, and what they could see of her body was colored with bruises. Her hands were bound behind her back while her legs were strapped together with ropes wound tightly around her ankles.
Murmurs and gasps rose from the crowd, and the blood leeched from the prince’s face as he stared at the woman he loved.
Fawn.
His angel.
How the fuck could anyone do this to Fawn?
In front of Fawn stood a woman with dark hair cut in jagged edges, crazy black eyes, and sallow skin.
“For the record, the person tied to the chair is our witness, Ms. Fawn Cornwall, and the other individual is known by the alias of Tic Tac Toe, which, not surprisingly, is the M.O. she is known for. Prior to her capture, it was erroneously believed that Tic Tac Toe was a middle-aged black male of average height. Records reveal that this person’s birth name is Meredith Grayson, is on the Most Wanted list in four states, and is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least twelve individuals in the past seven years.”
An objection was made and sustained, and Fredericka took a deep breath. “Regardless of how many Meredith Grayson may have killed, I hope the people in this courtroom share my hope that Ms. Cornwall will be her last victim.”
The attorney pushed a button on her pointer.
Click.
And the video began to play.
Meredith Grayson came to life on the screen, sharpening her knife in front of Fawn’s face, so, so close that if she had breathed just a little deeper, the knife would have cut her.
No.
God.
No.
But the prince and his fawn’s nightmare had just begun.
His stomach curled as Meredith Grayson began to taunt Fawn.
“Do you know why they call me Tic Tac Toe?”
“Are you scared?”
“Do you have any idea what I’ll do to you if you don’t give me what I want?”
“Do you understand why you’re here?”
“Do you think anyone will come rescue you?”
And with every question, Meredith would bring her knife close to his angel’s face, so damn close that if Fawn had nodded or shaken her head, the blade would have cut through her skin.
“Smart,” Meredith marveled. “You’re definitely one of my smarter guests.” She put her knife away. “Too bad you’re not smart enough when it comes to men.” She pointed to the wall behind her, where a colored photo of the prince was taped. “That man doesn’t give a shit about you, and yet here you are, embroiled in his troubles.”
Fawn’s eyes widened, and so did Meredith’s smile.
“Wondering about my vocabulary, aren’t you?” The woman lifted her knife again. “I was a teacher in a prestigious culinary school, top three in my state actually. But then I was laid off and—-” Meredith shrugged. “I found another way to make my skills handy.” She ran a finger across her blade, murmuring confidingly, “This blade has killed twelve persons, but I’ve also spared the lives of at least thrice of that. Do you know why?”
Fawn shook her head.
“Because they realized that I had the better offer.” Meredith began playing with her knife, tossing it up in the air and catching it by the handle before tossing it back up. “The people who hire me think I use force to get what I want.” Her lip curled. “Which is stupid. Everyone knows these things can’t be done by force.”
“I don’t understand—-”
Meredith stopped playing with her knife, and her crazy black eyes began to dance. “You will. In fact, we’re going to play a game. We’ll play tic tac toe on your face, and every time you lie to me, I’ll mark your disgustingly flawless face. Tell me the truth, give me what I want, and I’ll let you go.”
Fawn whispered, “I don’t know anything.”
“LIE.” Meredith suddenly made a buzzing sound, similar to game show buzzers, and Fawn jolted against her restraints.
“You know something.” The knife moved up, pointing straight to Fawn’s eyes. “I can see it in your eyes. You know something.”
Fawn didn’t answer.
The prince followed Meredith’s gaze.
The prince looked into Fawn’s eyes.
Ah.
God.
She had known something.
Isola L’Eternita.
He had succumbed to having her one last time, and she had ended up hearing something that had endangered her life.
Fawn, I’m sorry.
This – this was fucking why it would never work between them.
Fawn, I’m sorry.
He heard Meredith say from the video, “Let’s play.”
And the nightmare continued.
“My first question is, and I know this is a bit of cheating, but it’s more like a free pass for you in case you want this to be over.” Meredith licked her lips, almost as if she could taste Fawn’s fear. “Do you know where Beatrice Crichton is being hidden?”
“No.” Fawn’s voice was flat.
“Wrong answer.” Meredith’s voice was equally flat.
The knife went up, and the video captured the reflection of Fawn’s frightened look on its blade.
And then Meredith started to carve an X just below Fawn’s right eye, deep enough to gouge the flesh, deep enough to scrape against the bone, deep enough to prolong the pain without killing her victim.
Without killing Fawn.
On the small inlaid screen, the number one lit up, turning into blue.
And finally, the numbers began to make sense.
Someone began to cry.
Nick and Jason Christakos turned towards the prince, their whitened expressions saying everything they felt.
I’m sorry.
Everyone was crying—-
Except for the prince.
He remembered himself asking her, “May I ask...if you’re alright?”
He saw Fawn on her hospital bed, unable to face him in her pain, forced to raise her arm to give him a thumbs-up sign.
She was alright.
And he had chuckled—-
He had fucking chuckled.
In front of him, Fawn’s nightmare showed no signs of ending.
He watched Meredith snap her fingers, a man coming forward, leering at Fawn as he nearly shoved an iPad in Fawn’s face. Bile rose in his throat as he realized that the iPad showed a girl kissing him on the lips—-
“Do you still believe someone like this man would love you?”
“Yes.”
The knife went up.
The second mark took a little longer, Meredith wanting to draw a perfect circle on Fawn’s right cheek.
Fawn began to bleed again.
And the prince bled with her.
Oh God.
Oh God, why, why Fawn—-
Number 2 lit up on the screen and turned red.
And still the questions weren’t over.
“You say this man loves you, but he left you.”
“It’s to protect me—-”
The knife was on Fawn’s face before she could even finish speaking, and this time Meredith was obviously rough as she carved the other side of h
er victim’s face, marking Fawn’s left lower cheek with a crude circle.
Number 3 lit up on the screen, turning red.
“Stop being stubborn. He could have taken you with him, you know. But he didn’t. That means he doesn’t love you. It’s simple as that.”
And still Fawn didn’t answer.
“It’s your life on the line, not his. So let me ask you again. Where is Beatrice Crichton?”
“I don’t know.”
Meredith went back to carving.
It was another circle, marking the right side of Fawn’s forehead, and number 4 lit up on the screen, turning red.
Meredith’s tone became conversational. “Why are you so loyal to him? Is it because he fucked you so good?” She didn’t wait for Fawn to answer. “Oh, wait, you don’t need to answer that. I’m being a dumb fuck again. Of course he had to have fucked you good. Duh. He’s the Prince of Darkness, after all.”
She looked at Fawn contemplatively. “What about you? Do you fuck just as good?”
Before Fawn could answer, someone out of the video leered, “I can answer that for you. Just give me a taste.”
The sound of raucous laughter filled the screen, and the prince’s blood ran cold as he realized together with everyone in the courtroom that there was more than one man in the room with Fawn.
“Do you hear that, Fawn? I can have them answer it for me, but like I said, I don’t want to hurt fellow girls. Girl power, you know? So tell you what, if you tell me the truth about how good you are at fucking, I might not let them all rape you at the same time.”
Meredith looked at her expectantly.
“So are you good?”
Fawn choked out, “No.”
Doubt colored Meredith’s voice as she asked, “Is that false modesty?”
Fawn shook her head. “No. I used to think...I used to think I w-was frigid.”
“I see, I see.” Meredith began sharpening her knife again. “Do you think that’s why he left you?”
“I t-told you.” Fawn’s lips trembled as she spoke. “It’s because he’s protecting me. He doesn’t want me involved because his life is dangerous—-”
“So he’s doing it because he cares for you?”
“Yes—-”
“I want to believe you,” Meredith said, voice ringing with sincerity, “but you must explain to me first. Why does this man keep you at a distance when he’s had his parents and friends with him all these years? Does this mean he doesn’t love them as much as he loves you?”
