Absolution and Fragility

XVII

There was a light at the end of my tunnel, and then, darkness, darkness, and more darkness.

Silver eyes narrowed, she glared at the small antique colored globe at the edge of his desk. Greece glared back at her as if rejecting its own blood. This was purposeful, harmful, and degrading. Every silent second that passed in waiting, she thought about breaking the new small globe that was so small she couldn't even see the island her home was on, that she was raised on, that she had found and lost love on, and that her family was buried on.

"I apologize for the wait." His voice rang clearly.

With no reply, he sat on the other side of the desk and set the papers on the desk's top as far from her eyes as possible. Lexi looked away from the small globe to his dark eyes that roamed over her face freely. They pried through an imaginary layer with every pass until she felt almost bare in front of him.

"What was his name?" he asked.

She blinked once. Twice. Utter confusion swept over her. "Who?"

"The last man you were with, Alexia...What was his name?"

Her relaxed position changed immediately. Lexi sat up straighter. Her fists clenched on the arms of the chair. Her legs readied themselves to move.

This was never a conversation she wanted to have, and least of all, did she want to have it with her captor that she may or may not be attracted to in a physical way. There was no way in Hades that she wanted to talk about himor Issy.

"No, not that," she replied.

"So, you are still intimate?"

Lexi stood and slammed her hands down on his desk all within the span of one breath. Her anger was rising to levels she didn't want to revisit, and she would if they kept exploring this subject.

"Alexi—"

"Stop saying my name like that, kommáti skatá," she snapped.

Theo stood instantaneously and towered over her. The air around him had turned menacing but not enough for her to cower to him. Alexia would never cower to him even if her life depended on it.

"Sit down." His voice was demanding and cruel.

Lexi took a step back from the desk and turned for the door before pausing. Even if she had to answer this one question, she could bargain for as many as she wanted. This would be her chance to press him until she felt as though she couldn't press any further and the knowledge she was receiving wasn't helpful anymore. That could be hers.

"I want to ask in return as many as I see fit if I answer this, and you have to answer honestly."

The bargain was there.

Lexi didn't have to turn around to know that he was glaring holes in the back of her head. Ever since the one day she had ventured out, she had tested her luck further because she knew he wanted this information. This time he didn't need it. It wasn't vital in what would be happening in a few weeks, but something had gotten to him through the grape vine and now he had to know. Theo had to know all.

"Fine. This goes both ways today."

Her heart lurched in her chest. "Get me something to drink."

As she turned back slowly, she saw him slink down in his seat and bend down. Curiosity pulled her back to the seat she was previously in as he placed two crystal glasses on the desk and a crystal bottle of dark liquid. He pulled the glass cork from the decanter and poured two doubles of the drink before setting her glass by the small globe near the edge of the counter. Lexi leaned forward and sniffed the contents before knocking the alcohol back in one fall swoop. A shudder racked through her at the foulness of it, but she should have known better. Cognac was never her forte.