The Starkest Truth (A Breaking Insanity Novel Book 2) (30 page)

Right about now, I’m wondering what the fuck this is about. Even if I believed it was an adoptive mother/daughter situation, I knew people well enough to know there was no way these two women were actually mother and daughter. There was either love or hate in a situation like this. They were both emotionally vacant toward each other, like two strangers would’ve been.

“That’s more like it,” said the older while batting her eyelashes and giving me a toothy smile.

The giggling of the nurse behind me reminded me she was there. I shot her a look that wiped the smile from her face. My frown deepened when I examined the two women in front of me. She reminded me of Nikki’s mother for a minute. Mrs. Givens. She was the first woman to fuck with me and win. From what Vic said, it seemed Mrs. Givens had secrets that would turn up to screw up my life sooner or later. Of course. Because I definitely needed more shit to deal with at the moment.
 

“Mrs. Sharpe,” I started, keeping my demeanor completely unfriendly, “I was told you’ve been causing unnecessary problems with your transfer.”

“We just want to—” The pretend daughter stopped and darted out her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m Trisha. This is my mother Anne.”

And I call bullshit…again.
 

“You forgot your manners because he forgot his,” Mrs. Sharpe said. “Don’t you apologize, honey. Can never have both, you know. Looks and manners. It’s what happens when a man has too much tang thrown at him.”

“At present, there’s only one,” I snarled back, flashing my ring. “I’m Dr. Brenton, but you knew that, didn’t you? Therefore, my introduction would’ve been redundant. Can you tell me what I can do for you?”

“I just want to take her home,” Trisha responded. “I should be allowed to do that.”

The irritation cut in because they wanted to dance instead of giving me real answers. So, I kept up the game. “The reluctance is because you’ve been to the E.R. seven times in the last month while repeatedly refusing hospice care.”

“Why can’t I die when I want to die? Why can’t I die in peace?” she asked, being a little too tongue-in-cheek with her words.
 

When I scanned her eyes for more than what she was telling me, I saw something I didn’t want to see. I turned to the nurse. “Call”—I checked her chart for the name of her oncologist—“Dr. Marsden, and request his office to reorder Mrs. Sharpe’s transfer to hospice.”

“Right away, Dr. Brenton.” The nurse, whose name I didn’t care to remember, disappeared behind the curtain.

When she was gone, I turned to the woman without one hint of the bedside manner I never had for anyone. “This is where we stop fucking around and you tell me who sent you here?”

“Mr. Mejía,” Trisha answered, her voice quiet and shaky. “I work for him. Well, not really work for him like the other girls do. I work at Mejía Enterprises as a receptionist for the Acquisitions Department. He caught me crying one day and said you were the one to see.”

Bullshit
. She was more to Victor than she was letting on. I counted my breaths for a few seconds and signed off on Mrs. Sharpe’s chart. “Your oncologist’s orders should be on the way, Mrs. Sharpe. Maybe he can convince you to go. If not, feel free to discharge yourself, go home, and die from your disease.” I turned to leave.

“Dr. Brenton,” Trisha called frantically. “Dr. Brenton, please wait.”

Trisha darted in front of me, blocking my exit. I met her pleading stare with a none too nice expression. She looked around in suspicion and bowed her head. “Can we talk in private?”

“No.”

“Don’t you have a heart? Don’t you see what she’s going through? Do you think she asked for this? Why can’t she have her”—she lowered her voice and moved closer to me—“peace. Vic said you would do it.”

I squared my shoulders to face her, scowling all the while. “Why did Vic send you here? Are you fucking him? Does he want to fuck you? Has he made a pass at you?”

She gawked at me like it could never happen. “Victor has been nothing but professional with me.”

Even though she wasn’t his type, she could’ve fit the bill for the women who used to be my type, except she was missing one crucial thing—confidence. Instead, she read as vulnerable and damaged. I would’ve bet my life that if I cared to look, I would discover that she was a cutter. Victor sent her here for me. He claimed he hadn’t met Nikki, but he kept trying to implement divisive devices by dangling rotten carrots in front of my face.

He was using Trisha to call in a favor. A favor I would have to complete before I could deal with Preston like I’d been wanting to do for weeks.
 

I’m feeling like his bitch right now. Not a good fucking thing.

“Vic should’ve never sent you here,” I said to Trisha.

Quivering her bottom lip, she brought on the waterworks. There they went, down her cheeks like raindrops. She was good, but not that good. If those were genuine tears, I wasn’t born with the genetics to ensure I developed a huge cock during puberty.

Rubbing my aching head with my fingertips, I tried to diminish the pounding. In order to see if it would lead to me getting my hands on Preston, I took a bite of the rotten carrot.

I slipped my card her way. “Tomorrow. I’ll pick the place to work on the details. I need to be sure you’re…kosher.”

She gave me a smile. “Thank you so much, Dr. Brenton. Thank you.”

BACK AT HOME, IT escaped my mind that I’d left my wife tied to the bed. Kifo had left a few messes here and there, reminding me pretty damn fast.
 

After cleaning up after the dog, I washed my hands and headed upstairs to the bedroom.

Resting my back against the doorway, I drank her in. She was right where I left her: in bed.
 

I walked up to her bedside and pounded my fist on the headboard.

She jolted and opened her eyes, showing me how pissed off she was. The fire in her eyes always turned me on. It threatened to make me forget how she betrayed me. It had been a while since I’d seen that fire that made me want to do very dirty things to her.
 

Her tits heaved with heavy breaths. Her hard nipples called my attention. Visions kept flashing in my head. I struggled between diving my cock inside her, bottoming out as I made her pussy clench around my cock—repeatedly forcing her to scream my name until she was hoarse as she came on my cock over and over again.
 

Then, there was that other thought of hurting her. Not in the ‘it aches so good it’s going to make me come’ kind of way. No. I thought about breaking out the knife and cutting my artistic expressions into her skin, making her beg me to stop—
Fuck
.
 

I closed my eyes and bit my lip hard enough to hurt and bring my head back from screwing her into soreness and not so much the ‘punish her like she’s a regular bitch’ anger.
 

“I halfway expected you to wet yourself,” I said with a grin. “Sort of disappointed you didn’t.”

She pursed her lips and dramatically turned her in the opposite direction.

“The silent treatment, huh?” Goddamn, she was really turning me on. Shoving what she tried to do back in my memory banks, I rebooted. “I’m getting the silent treatment, when you’re the one who was going to have an abortion in secret? Really? Is that the game we’re playing right now, Nik? Got it.” I palmed her torso and slid my hand underneath her shirt. Keeping my touch soft, my fingertips grazed across the silky skin at curve of waist; the place I knew her to be very ticklish in.

“No,” she wheezed. Her head turned so fast toward me, her neck creaked.

“You used to get a say. Now…we’re back to square fucking one.” I tapped my fingers against her waist like I was fingering piano keys.

She struggled until, eventually, her jeans darkened between her legs.

Satisfied, I slowly smirked.

She turned her head, unable to look at me as she sobbed.

I gripped her chin and forced her to face me. Remembering every second of every moment of how pissed I was. Thinking about the fact that she wanted an abortion, and she was going to do it without telling me.
 

It’s not a good thing when I feel like I showed her something I didn’t show anyone—never showed anyone—only to be fucked over later. It was like she was digging for the monster I warned her about on purpose.
 

I leaned forward, my lips almost touching hers. “This isn’t the worst I can do. I can’t sedate you, but I will keep you chained to the goddamn floor for the next six months to keep our kid safe from you. And, baby, that would still be considered the easy way. Nik?” I squeezed her chin beneath my fingers until she winced. “Don’t ever fuck with me again. Got me?”

“Yes,” she conceded.

I unhooked her wrists and set her free. She hopped off the bed, heading to the bathroom like she had a bowling ball stuck between her legs. I could hear her sobs from the other side of the door. I sat on bed, crashing my back against the mattress, avoiding the small damp spot.
 

As pissed as I was, as much as I knew she deserved it, another part of me knew it was fucked up. I’d made her remember what was done to her by the bitch who tormented her, because I’d done some semblance of the same thing to her. She was the only woman who could get to me in a culpable way.

I met her in the bathroom. She stood under the shower head, naked and crying. Clothes and all, I slid in the shower with her and palmed the back of her head, bringing her closer to me. “The reason you’re scared is idiotic. You have no reason to be. Going off the deep end to solve your issues isn’t going to work. This is a life we’re talking about. He or she deserves a chance, don’t you think?” I held her neck, pushing her jaw up with my thumbs. I pushed forward to be doused under the stream. “My twisted angel, how many times do I have to reassure you?”

She slowly nodded through closed eyes. “Something is happening to us. Something good, and then, something not so good. I’m not sure of which direction things will finally lead. I used to be so sure until you left me the way you did. You left me after you knew about what was done to me. You preyed on an incident I’m still sore about, and the worst part? You enjoyed doing that to me.” She blinked up at me, her bottom lip shaking. “Why would you do that to me, Eric?”

I grimaced, feeling like she just stabbed me in the heart. I couldn’t deny that she was right, and because she was, it increased the potency of an emotion I wasn’t familiar with—guilt. “I was rightly pissed because you were making extreme decisions based on your doubts, instead of confiding in me—making decisions that don’t include me. Just fucking talk to me, Nik. That’s what I’m here for.”

She stared at me almost like she was looking through me. “Eric? I need to know what’s going on with you. I know I shouldn’t pry, but I can’t help it. The things that are going on around you will touch me, no matter how hard you try to prevent it. They already have.”

I tipped my head down until my forehead touched hers. I reached out, palming the wet tile behind her. I felt defeated. Exhausted. I never wished I could be that guy constantly. Most of the time, he appeared because she pulled him out of me. I couldn’t be that way anymore. Emotional susceptibility caused blindness, and I needed all of my senses to be keen. Circumstances made it impossible to be the man she wanted me to be all the time. “I have to be strong for you. If I let you in—all the way—I won’t be able to be strong anymore.”

Her eyes floated up to mine and I could tell I abated her anger. I regretted what I said the minute I said it, but it was too late to take it back. Fuck, she made my head spin.
 

She slowly slipped her hands around my face and softly kissed my lips.

Her lips…goddamn. I gave her back more than she could give. I…wanted…her. It was so fucking strong I could taste it in the back of my throat.
 

The thoughts to punish her…torture her, were taken up by how many times and how many ways I wanted to make her come. In my mouth. On my cock. Her cum dripping down my fingers. I wanted to make her come so hard she cried.
 

Being inside her was…my addiction and my source of power wrapped into one, and sometimes it broke me the hell down. It caught me off guard the first time we fucked. Every time I was inside her, it’s like I walked into a place I had no business being in. A place I knew I wouldn’t go when I died.

Hoisting her up, I pushed her against the tile. She wrapped her legs around me, running her hands through the back of my hair in a way that drove me crazy. She writhed her pussy against my hard cock.

Firming my hold on her, I dipped my teeth into her bottom lip, making her moan.
 

She lifted my chin over her hand. Her doll-eyes tugged at me. “Please, please fuck me, Eric. Please. I miss that big cock of yours. I’m so wet for you. Please give it to me.” Her hands reached down, but I grabbed them away from finding my dick and pinned them against the marble tile. I angled my head down again, unable to look at her through the strong downpour of the shower-head. I kept her still, watching her tits ebb and flow against my chest with her erratic breathing. “Nikki…are you still bleeding?”

She took too long to answer. When my eyes flickered at her, I saw one more reason on top of two others to back down and not fuck the senses out of her like I wanted to. “We can’t do this.” Kissing her forehead, I let go of her hands and gently placed her down to her feet.