Page 61 of Stay Toxic

"Oh, darling… All right. I'm staying right here."

I'm relieved he sits at the edge of the bed. Who needs food anyway?

Sebastian grabs his phone and starts to type away. "I'm ordering food. Anything sound good? The kitchen makes Indian on Mondays but I can get them to cook anything at all."

"Indian's nice," I murmur, suddenly exhausted.

I blink, and the next thing I know, everything goes black.

* * *

Sebastian

I'm a nice guy. A sane guy. Compared to most of my family, I'm basically a saint. Sure, I've been taught to shoot, and I have a concealed carry license because no one related to the Goltzes should be left defenseless, but I've never had any reason to hurt anyone until today.

Now I know the gun is completely useless to me, because I want to feel the flesh I'm crushing with my bare hands. I want to watch as I strangle the life out of anyone who dares hurt her.

Turns out, I'm not that nice after all.

As I watch Hestia sleep on my bed from the armchair next to it, I'm practically vibrating with rage, and a single desire.

I need her to be safe.

And that can only happen after something's taken care of.

Honestly, I thought I had more time. I started to fix her problems as soon as I became aware of them, but I genuinely believed I could just take care of the surface issues without attacking the cause. I was wrong.

I don't want to wake her, but when my phone vibrates, I take the call."Yes?"

My eyes are fixed on her sleeping form. She's so out of it, she doesn't even twitch.

"I had my PI look into your heiress and the wannabe kidnapper the last few hours," Markus says without preamble. "It's a fucking mess."

He's never been one to waste words.

"You can say that again."

"You're ready to do what needs to be done?" my cousin asks.

I know him. We all realize who Auntie M married. We know the ties the Goltzes have, and we're fully aware of whom Markus works for.

I know exactly what he's asking, and I don’t hesitate. "Name the time and place."

27

I wake up in the dark, disoriented for a few moments, because I can tell the soft sheets on the four-poster bed are nothing like what I’d find in my own room.

Then I see him, leaning back on an armchair, watching me.

Everything comes back. Joseph, dragging me to his van.

I can’t believe he’d try to take me. There’s only one reason why he would: my mother said so. What was the next step in her plan, locking me up until I’m twenty-five? Or forcing me to marry Rob now?

I sit up, trying to make myself to breathe in and out, but I just can’t.

“Hey, hey, now.” I feel a shift on the bed as Sebastian sits and drags me onto his lap. “Tell me five things you see.”

“What?” I manage to croak.