Fourth Debt (Indebted #5)(46)

My socks ghosted over the pale pink flooring, sinking into a few sheepskin rugs before stopping beside Bonnie Hawk. My nose wrinkled at the familiar smell of rose water and overly sweet confectionary. I didn’t need to know her diet to guess she loved desserts.

She was rotten—just like her teeth from consuming too much sugar.

In my head, I cursed and hexed her, but outwardly, I stood calm and silent.

Do your worst, witch. It won’t be good enough.

She narrowed her eyes, inspecting me from head to toe. I let her, glancing out the window instead. Her chair rested beside a long table pressed up against the lead light glass overlooking the south gardens of Hawksridge. A water fountain splashed merrily, depicting two fawns playing a pipe. The colourful pansies and other flowers that’d run rampant when I first arrived had long since gone dormant, replaced by skeleton shrubs and the dull brown of winter.

“Do you have any skills in this arena?” Bonnie pointed at the hobby scattered over the table. The array of dried and freshly cut flowers painted the table in a rainbow of stamens and petals. Roses, tulips, lilies, orchids. The perfume from dying flora helped counteract the sickly stench of Bonnie.

“No. I’ve never arranged flowers, if that’s what you’re asking.”

She pursed her lips. “Hardly a lady fit for society. What skills apart from sewing do you have then? Enlighten me.” Reaching for a crystal vase, she snapped off a piece of green foam and shoved it into the bottom. “Well…go on then, girl. Don’t make me ask twice.”

What the hell is going on here?

The past few days had a strange consistency, as if I was stuck in quicksand. If I moved, it sucked me further into its clutches, but if I stayed still, it treated me as a friend—keeping me buoyant in its greedy granules.

What’s her point?

My back stiffened, but I forced myself to stay cordial. “I run my own fashion line. I can sew any item of clothing. My attention to detail—”

“Shut up. That is all one skill. One lonely talent. A frivolous career for a trollop such as yourself.”

Don’t retaliate. Do not stoop to her bait.

If her aim was to make me snap so she could punish me, then she’d lose. I’d learned from them how to fight.

My hand rubbed my lower back, checking my dirk was in place and ready to be used.

Wouldn’t now be the perfect time to dispatch her?

We were alone. Behind closed doors. Regardless of my past conclusion to kill Cut and Daniel first, I couldn’t waste an opportunity.

My arm tensed, agreeing.

Do it.

Almost as if she sensed my thoughts, Bonnie cooed, “Oh, Marquise? Can you come in here, please?”

Immediately, a door I didn’t see, camouflaged with matching wallpaper, opened. Marquise, a Black Diamond brother with shoulders like a submarine and long greasy hair pulled into a ponytail, appeared. “Yes, Madame.”

Shit.

Bonnie’s eyes glinted. “Could you keep us company, dear? Just sit quietly and don’t interrupt. There’s a good chap.”

“No problem.” He flicked a glance at me.

I hid my scowl as Marquise did as bade and perched his colossal bulk on a dainty carved chair. I was surprised the tiny legs didn’t snap under his weight.

“Now, what were we saying?” Bonnie patted her lips with a fresh rose.

I didn’t know how she’d read my body language so perfectly, but it put me on the back foot. I swallowed, letting go of my dirk. Grabbing a lily, I twirled it in my fingers. “Nothing of importance.”

Bonnie glared. “Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. It was very important.” Snipping the end of the rose with sharp shears, she jabbed the stem into the green foam at the bottom of the vase.

She caught me looking. “It’s called an oasis. It’s flower arranging basics. If you’d applied yourself at all, you would know that.”

My skin prickled. Hemmed between Bonnie and Marquise, my hands were tied, my mouth effectively gagged.

Damn you, witch.

“Applied myself? I was working until 10:00 p.m. most nights before I’d even turned twelve. I sewed my way through high school and college—I had no free time to indulge in useless hobbies.”

Bonnie swivelled in her chair. Her eyes shadowed, cheeks powered white. “Watch your tongue. I won’t put up with such contumelious talk.”

I sucked in a breath, doing my best to be quiet even though I wanted to stab her repeatedly. My eyes skittered to Marquise.

Damn him, too.

Grabbing a sprig of leaves, she wedged the plume into the oasis. “Know why I summoned you?”

My fingers tightened around the lily. I wanted to crush the white petals and scatter them over Bonnie’s coffin.

A coffin I’ll put her in.

“I’ve long since given up trying to understand you.” I narrowed my eyes, unable to hide my livid hatred. “Any sane person could never guess what madness will do or not do.”

Bonnie scowled.

Her tiny stature sat proud and stiff; arthritic fingers tossed aside a newly snipped tulip and wrapped around her walking stick. Never breaking eye contact, she stood from her chair and inched forward.

I stood my ground even though every part of me vibrated with the urge to smash the crystal vase over her head.

We didn’t speak as the distance closed between us. For an old woman, she wasn’t bowed or creaky. She moved slowly but with purpose. Hazel eyes sharp and cruel and her signature red lipstick smeared thin lips. “That mouth of yours will be taught a lesson now that you’re in my youngest grandson’s care.”