Iniquity (Dahlia Saga Book 5)

by Natalie Bennett

  “That’s different. Your mom shit all over your dad’s heart in a way there was no coming back from.”

  “His heart, huh?” He reached over and placed a hand on my knee. “Should I be worried that’s genetic too? The people we love fucking us over?”

  Ignoring the way my dick jumped to attention from his touch, I focused on his question. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. It was a valid concern, in a sense. Nobody in his family had ever started out in a normal relationship, but how could they when not even one of them was anything close to that?

  I wiped some water from my brow, then mirrored his movement, resting my palm a bit higher up on his thigh.

  “I know Katie and Mason had their issues. Julian and Morgana had their problems too but look at them now. Mason and Kat have a family they fuckin gush over. Julian’s off chasing sunsets with the love of his life.”

  “Not sure that terminology is what I would use to describe what they have going on, but you’re right.”

  “Duh, I’m right. And you know what else?”

  “Yeah,” he replied evenly, sliding his palm from my knee to between my legs and taking hold of my cock. “I need to make you come before the water turns cold.”

  That wasn’t what I was going to say, but when he gripped my dick like this any speech I wanted to give was long forgotten.

  Being jerked off had never been appealing before Declan got his all too experienced hands on me.

  His grip was perfect in that he changed it up as he worked my cock, going from soft to hard, pumping his fist up and down.

  The intensity of the stimulation had me bracing my back against the wall with a groan. His lips met the crux of my neck and traveled slowly upward. I reached down and cupped my balls, rolling them as he pumped harder. The pressure was building rapidly, it continued to rise, and I knew I was seconds away from coming. So did Declan.

  “Come for me,” he commanded, his voice steady and low. I cursed as I reached my threshold.

  My balls tightened, my cock jerking as each rise and fall of my chest had me releasing another spurt of semen until I had nothing left to give.

  Declan grabbed my face and turned my head towards him, pressing his soft lips to mine in a firm, controlling kiss. I could’ve stayed like this all damned night if it weren’t for the icy water beginning to replace the hot.

  We broke apart laughing, rushing to wash up and get our asses out. Neither of us bothered with actual clothing, both rocking towels tied around our waists after we dried off. He brushed his teeth at one sink, and I used the other.

  “You know she never mentioned the man from the bakery?” I pointed out, returning my toothbrush to its charger.

  “Earlier you told me I was overreacting about that. Why is it an issue now?”

  “It might not be, but don’t you think that’s strange?”

  “No.” He flipped off the light on his end of the bathroom, then brushed past me. I did the same before following behind him.

  We both paused just inside the bedroom and stared at the bed. Helena was partially in the center, drowning beneath our comforter. She always looked so peaceful when she slept, I wondered what she dreamt of.

  “About earlier, I want to clarify that I understood what you meant…after I thought about it.”

  “And?”

  “And I want to chain her ass to our bed, but I can’t stop her from going anywhere. You can’t stop her doing something as simple as watching TV. Neither of us know what really goes on inside her head. We can be vigilant about keeping an eye on her, but we can’t control her.”

  He moved to his side of the bed and managed to peel back the comforter without disturbing her. Thankfully he’d gone with a California King, or there was no way we’d all be able to sleep together comfortably.

  I slid in on my side, remaining awake long after he tapped out.

  I glanced over at their sleeping faces and smiled to myself. How could two severely twisted people look so angelic? Shifting to get more comfortable, I stared up at the ceiling debating if I had the ambition to get out of bed and go eat a cream-stick.

  I was restless, there was too much circulating around inside my head. I agreed with everything Declan said, we couldn’t dictate every action Helena made, but I was still stuck on her not bringing up the man she spoke to. Something about it had an ominous feeling starting to take root in my gut.

  Chapter Five

  Helena

  This morning wasn’t much different than the one before, only Declan and Ethan were both gone when I woke and there hadn’t been any mid-night fucking. I went through my morning routine, and then let Hannibal outside. While waiting for him to do his business I helped myself to a chocolate doughnut and glass of milk.

  This was one of the many indulgencies I’d never had with Mother or Buddy. Most mornings a simple cup of cheerios was all I could grab before fleeing the house for the day.

  Sometimes Buddy let me have milk if I kept quiet when he touched me. He never took things as far as Daddy had, though.

  Life then compared to life now had changed so much I still had trouble wrapping my head around it. Every day I was reminded of something from the time I’d spent in the small house with the sagging back porch. I would look to the sky and envy the birds for their ability to fly, to so easily belong, to be free.

  My past had followed me to Riverview. It was here now even, lingering in the kitchen. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get rid of it, so I did my best to ignore it. I was good at pretending something didn’t exist. Mother made sure of that. It was difficult sometimes, but I wasn’t going to allow my tragedies to define me.

  I took a bite of my doughnut and contemplated what I was would do that day. I could go to the Dahlia, but I had to be there in the evening to fix someone.

  Besides, Declan and Ethan were working. I wouldn’t want to be a distraction.

  Maybe Katie would come stay this week. She and the twins always came when her husband wanted to spend his nights at the chateau. I had only seen their other house once. It was big. I knew Mason liked his fathers’ better, though. He’d said so.

  Suddenly remembering I had a cellphone again, I decided I would text her. Declan would have added her number to my contacts. She might have even messaged me already. I’d put the device in my bag yesterday and had never taken it back out.

  I took another bite of my doughnut, then had sip of cold milk before going to track down my bag. I think I left it by the couch.

  I turned back at the abrupt ringing of the phone. Staring at the oval device affixed to the wall, I wondered who it was. Declan and Ethan would have called my cell now.

  Maybe it was dead?

  I went over to the house phone and lifted it from the base.

  “Hello…?”

  A man cleared his throat twice. “Good morning. May I speak with a Helena…Gardener?”

  “I’m her.”

  “Oh, good. How are you this morning?”

  His voice sounded familiar. “Who is this?”

  “Ah, right. This is Ian. Ian Claude. We met yesterday.”

  I pulled the receiver away from my ear and stared at it Why was he calling me? How did he get this number?

  “How did you call this phone?”

  “I grabbed the number from the local directory,” he replied without missing a beat.

  I assumed this directory was like a phone book.

  The Andreous were way too private to ever list their contact number in something like that. He was lying.

  “You there?” he questioned my silence.

  I proceeded to place the phone back on its base. It instantly began to ring again. I snatched the receiver from the wall.

  “Stop calling this house.”

  “This is about your family,” the man blurted.

  I paused. My family?

  “What do you mean?”

  “Actually, I was hoping we could meet. It’s best to discuss this matter off the property and not o
ver a telephone.”

  If not for the tightening sensation in my stomach I would have hung up on him again. The Andreous were more to me than a family, they were my lifeline, and like me, they’d always had to keep their sickness contained.

  What could he know about them? I wasn’t sure. I’d find out, though.

  “When?” I asked, not entirely sure how I would manage this. I never left the Dahlia grounds without Declan or Ethan unless I was going to see Tonya

  “How about thirty minutes from now? You pick the place. I’m at the Waldroff, so I can get just about anywhere in town.”

  I had never heard of such a place, but where he was residing was irrelevant. All I cared about was finding out everything he knew without letting him near my family. I had to do this alone. No. With Hannibal.

  “Okay. I will speak with you,” I said.

  “That’s the best thing you could have done.”

  I disagreed. Ethan and Declan wouldn’t approve of this.

  We ended the call after a confirmation from either side on how we would meet and when.

  I gathered my things, finding my cell in the bag where I’d left it. There was a nice good morning text from Declan, another from Katie saying it was about time I’d gotten a new phone and announcing she’d be coming by tomorrow. And one from Ethan saying he took a cream-stick.

  It took me a minute, but I responded to each and then made my way out the back door, stopping Hannibal from going inside. I slipped his vest on and stroked his head for a minute, leading him around to the front of the house, then up the drive.

  I made it all the way to the Dahlia’s iron gates and managed to slip beyond them without anyone appearing or triggering the system to keep me locked in. The trees that had been planted to keep prying eyes from seeing beyond the fence became my coverage.

  I moved further down to wait for this Ian person, keeping a firm grip on Hannibal’s harness.

  He sat on his hunches and pressed his body against my legs, releasing a low whine.

  “It’s okay,” I reassured him. “We just have to see what he knows.”

  I wasn’t sure how long we waited before Ian finally arrived, but no one had called my cellphone or texted in the meantime. No other cars came by. When he finally pulled up and stopped, he rolled his passenger window down to speak to me.

  “Go head in hop in.”

  I eyed the vehicle. His car was in terrible condition compared to what the Andreou’s drove. Not wanting to be without Hannibal, I opened the rear door and instructed him to get in. Once he’d climbed onto the seat, I slid in beside him and put my restraint.

  Ian drove off quickly, continuing in the direction he’d already been going.

  “I didn’t think you’d really come out here,” he said, watching me in the rearview mirror.

  “You’re supposed to keep your eyes on the road.”

  “Ha, right.” He moved his attention to where it belonged and didn’t look back at me again. “You’re not afraid to be alone with a me?”

  “Only one of us should be afraid, and it isn’t me.”

  “That’s cute.” He chuckled and readjusted his grip on the steering wheel.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Well, from what I was told, and you confirmed, no one inside that fence would appreciate my being near you.”

  “What were you told?” I asked, wrapping an arm around Hannibal. This was all I needed to know. Nothing else he had to say mattered.

  “Well, I know that big house you live in has seen more corpses than the local graveyard.”

  I turned his words over in my head. That could be nothing more than him reciting a rumor he’d heard in town, one the Andreous had silenced a few weeks ago.

  “Is there anything else?”

  He jolted, turning his head to look at me, which caused the car to start swerving into the other lane for a moment. “What do you mean, anything else?”

  “That’s all you wanted to tell me?”

  “I know a lot more than that, girl.”

  “Oh,” I replied. This meant he knew too much then. “How?”

  “I can’t tell you that, but if you answer a few of my questions, I can help you help the people you care about.”

  “Are they in trouble?”

  “You really are something,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “You want to keep them safe, right? I know you don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  I toyed with Hannibal’s ear, not missing that he didn’t answer my question.

  “I won’t let anything happen to them.”

  “See. We knew you’d be the most reasonable about this.” He began to slow down, angling his car towards the side of the road. As he did, I removed my arm from around Hannibal and discreetly started reaching into my bag. I wanted to know who else he was referring to, but he wasn’t going to tell me. He’d already made that clear.

  He put his car and park and began to do something with his cellphone.

  “Alright,” he began. “What can you tell me about the red rooms?”

  I was not expecting this to be his first question. A heated flush spread across my face and my pulse elevated. He had no right to inquire about such things. He shouldn’t have known that part of the Dahlia existed.

  Someone was sharing secrets that should have gone with them to their resting place. I flexed my fingers, tightening my grip around my sewing scissors.

  “I’m not answering those questions.”

  He immediately reached for his phone again, tapping a button on the screen. I glimpsed a counter and realized he was trying to record our conversation.

  “Hey, don’t be like that. I thought you wanted to help your family?”

  My lips flattened into a firm line. Why was he speaking like that suddenly? It reminded me of how Katie spoke to her twins.

  “I am helping my family.”

  He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned so he could face me more clearly. “Helena, the only way for you to keep them from getting a needle to the arm when they’re sent to prison is to tell me all you know.”

  I narrowed my eyes and stared at him without immediately replying. Needle in the arm? I’d seen that on TV. If he knew as much as he claimed to, though, they’d have already been taken away. Did he think I wasn’t capable of piecing that together?

  Oh, of course he did.

  He was just like all the others. He’d assumed I was not intelligent enough to know when to keep my mouth shut. Someone had given him the impression I would be gullible and cave from his words alone.

  He was wrong.

  They were always wrong.

  I may have been a conundrum of turbulent thoughts and confusing emotions, but I was far from stupid and I’d never been weak. This was one thing about myself that I could be sure of, and I wasn’t going to take shit from anyone ever again.

  “I’m not answering your questions,” I reaffirmed.

  He sighed and turned back around in his seat. “That’s unfortunate, really not the right choice to be making. My friends won’t like this.”

  Whoever he was speaking of would never be hearing anything he had to say, not that it was much. I wanted to go home. Tell Declan or Ethan that he had ill intention towards them. I’d have to let Ian leave for me to do so and I had no intention of doing that. He wanted to take them away from me. Why didn’t matter. I wouldn’t let him break my family like Buddy had.

  He went to put the car in gear. I undid my restraint and slid forward, scissors in hand. The angle in which I stabbed into his neck had jets of red shooting onto the passenger seat. When he cried out and attempted to get away the dashboard was hit next.

  The point of the scissors sliced into him with surprising ease. I reached over the headrest and grabbed hold of his hair to keep him still. It wasn’t soft. The texture reminded me of the brillo-pads Ethan used on stubborn pans.

  “Please,” he choked out, coughing out a bloody phlegm.

  I withdrew the scissors and then stabb
ed him again, twisting the handle to dig deeper. Why was he still moving? Wasn’t there some kind of artery in our necks?

  Hannibal shimmied to the furthest side of the backseat, releasing a yip, tail wagging a mile a minute. I kept pushing and pushing, forcing flesh and something rubbery to split apart. Warm blood coated my fingers and filled the car with a metallic smell. Ian finally stopped struggling, but his body still twitched.

  I stabbed him twice more for good measure before pulling my scissors out of his neck and releasing my hold on his hair.

  His body slumped forward and nearly hit the steering wheel, still twitching. I sat back, scissors still firmly within my grasp. What was I supposed to do now?

  We were still on the lone road that ran adjacent to the chateau. Not many cars came from either direction but that didn’t mean an occasional passerby wouldn’t take this route. I didn’t think I could leave Ian out in the open even if it were for five minutes.

  “What do you think?” I asked Hannibal.

  He blew an odious breath in my face and tried to lick my cheek. I used my shoulder to block him from getting too close, not wanting any blood to get in his fur.

  I looked around at my surroundings. There was an open field on the left, just after some more trees, these ones a natural type of woodland and not manmade.

  An idea began to form.

  I dropped my sewing scissors back in the bag, making a mental note to clean them off as soon as I got home. I slid across the seat and got out on the opposite side of the car. Hannibal followed right behind me.

  Pulling open the driver side door, I bunched up the fabric of Ian’s collared shirt within my fist and dragged his body off the seat, heading towards the field across the street. The first minute or so wasn’t too bad but once we got into the straw-colored grass his weight became a hindrance.

  My foot slipped and I nearly fell, losing my grip on Ian’s shirt. I gathered my strength and tried again, this time turning around and hauling with my shoulders hunched forward.

  Sweating profusely, chest heaving, and arms feeling as if they were aflame, I eventually got him out of the field and into the woods.

  I took a few seconds to catch my breath, then continued for a couple more feet, stashing him behind a large tree. I didn’t have anything to bury him with and lacked the proper items to fix the errors of his ways.