A road less traveled

Chapter 38

With a cup of coffee in hand, a warm blanket, and her feet tucked up under her on the small couch Lyth began telling Rayce about how she came to be in his town. She didn't tell him about her childhood or how she ended up being the slave she essentially was. Nor, did she tell him of her current status or her future plans. She gave him just enough to hopefully quench his thirst. As she told her tale he sat across from her, leaned back in the chair, coffee in hand watching her from above the rim of his cup. She could see his minute reactions to parts of her story, they were small, the tick of an eye, clenching of the cup a little tighter, the slight shift in his seat, and the play of his muscles. If he had been anyone else, she would have played upon this, but she had promised honesty and it was no way to treat someone whom she would call a friend.

"And that's why I believe this is my fault. I don't see how it could be anyone's but mine, all things considered," she admitted.

Rayce didn't say anything for a bit. He took in all she had said, the story of how she came to be in his town was almost unbelievable, almost. Sadly he knew all too well stories such as that were a common occurrence. He fiddled with the handle on his cup before speaking.

"I want to believe your story. It's a little far-fetched though. Almost as if it had come out of a book. Do you have any proof?"

Lyth stopped herself from the retort poised on her tongue.

"None. I have no proof of my claim. At least not here. And I won't go back just to get it for you." she declared.

Rayce was startled at the vehemence in her voice when she stated she wouldn't go back. There must be some truth in her words, a person didn't carry that tone or fear without good cause. He pondered how to get some type of proof that he could put some weight behind. He wanted with all his might to protect her, to save her from her past. Not only her but Ben as well. An idea suddenly popped into his head.

"Where were you married? Where was Ben born?"

"We married in New York City, justice of the peace. Roughly about 6 months ago. Ben was born in NYC as well. You won't find him under the name he's using now. Nor will you find me under this name as well." she admitted.

"Is Lyth even your real name?"

"Part of it."

"What's your real name Lyth? The whole thing, no lies."

"Lilyth Amarys Blackstone King."

Rayce swallowed as he heard the name. That was a name he was familiar with. If she was telling the truth she was indeed the wife to one of the most notorious men in the mafia style families. The man on the news they pulled out of the water was her now-deceased husband. Bits and pieces of her story and actions began to make more sense. But one thing was still bothering him.

"How do you have so much self-defense knowledge and skills with weapons?"

"I really wish you didn't ask that Rayce. There are some things I don't want to share with you. That is one of them. Tell me this, have you heard of Little Mouse?"

The same sent a chill down his spine. Everyone who ran in the circles he did had heard of the assassin. She was deadly. Quiet as a mouse and no one ever saw or heard her. If they did, they had no idea it was her or they didn't make it out alive. She was top of the line, but she had vanished off the scene about 6 years ago. His thoughts turned to the Russian he had in his basement and how he had looked at Lyth and called her something. He racked his brain for the words said and quickly typed them into his phone asking for a translation. The words on the screen confirmed what his mind had been thinking.

"Holy crap," he muttered.

A chuckle from across the room greeted his ears.

"I tried to warn you Rayce. You can't say I didn't."

He nodded his head in agreement before speaking.

"This is a lot to take in. My only question right now is this, am I going to be safe falling asleep with you here?"

Lyth snorted then replied. "We've slept in the same house and worked together for months now. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Don't forget that. I'm not a monster anymore. Not that I was in the first place. You can be forced to do things but that doesn't mean you're the villain. Nothing has truly changed between us, other than you know what you know now. I'm not sure anyone is safe with me around, but then again maybe you're safer with me around."

"Why did you marry that man Lyth? You had to have known he was no good."

Lyth's eye took on a whole new level of sadness.

"For Ben's future. I had to ensure he had a future in the event something happened to me, especially in my line of work."

"Is he Ben's real father?"

Lyth nodded her head yes. Rayce was asking too many questions. The sooner she could shut him down the better it would be for both of them.

"Then why wouldn't his future already be secure?"

"He was considered illegitimate because we weren't married. I didn't want to bear his name, he had Ben, but it wasn't enough. Someone else could come along and take Ben's inheritance if I didn't marry the bastard. It was both the worst and hardest decision of my life. One that will haunt me more than the lives I've taken. At that moment, I lost everything that made me who I was, and I became nothing more than property."

Lyth's eyes looked past Rayce, into the past. A sad smile curved her lips as she looked back at him, "You'll have to forgive me if I show no remorse for his death, although it would have provided a great deal more satisfaction had it been by my hand. I'm free of him physically, but emotionally I'll be a prisoner for a while longer."

Her sadness was palatable. Rayce could feel the amount of anger and frustration built up. He couldn't imagine life as a slave. While she might have carried a name associated with power and wealth all it truly was was a collar. Ben was nothing without Lyth's sacrifice to ensure his future.

"A question plagues me still," Rayce muttered. Lyth looked at him and nodded for him to ask his question. "Did you not make any money in your line of work?"

A humorless laugh escaped her lips. "I did. I was given small amounts for the completed contracts. A mere fraction of what was charged. But it was enough to make a nest egg with." she conceded.

"I feel like I don't even know who you are Lyth. You're not who I thought when I met you."

"You know part of me, the good part, well mostly good part I should say. I don't want to be my past. I'm trying to write a future for Ben and I that isn't riddled with the filth of my past. Your claim isn't untrue. But who do we really know, in the short span of time we've known each other. It hasn't even been 6 months. There are parts of your life that I know you keep secret from me. And I'm sure there are parts you wanted to be kept secret but that didn't quite work out."

"True. I just don't know Lyth, it's all so crazy. My world just came tumbling down around my ears, literally, I might add. You say it's because of you, but I can't believe that's this is all about you. Auggie was into something, we both heard what he had to say. He was my best friend/business partner and he was keeping secrets from me, secrets I should have known about. What reason would he have to hide things from me?"

"There are a great many reasons he might have hid things from you, but honestly I would have to guess it was due to the type of people he was associating and dealing with. If they are who I think they are, nothing good would have ever come from it. They make it sound like something amazing, but it's nothing more than a life sentence of servitude. The only way to get out is to die." she deadpanned.

Rayce's eyes widened as he realized just how deep she had been within the place she came from. She knew more than she was telling, but he also knew she wouldn't tell him unless she felt he needed to know. It was going to be a chore but he would get to the bottom of this, and whether she liked it or not Lyth was going to help him.