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“Why are you afraid of him?” Attikus asked.

“Not afraid, Jack.” She moaned. “Always be cautious of a man with nothing to lose. He’ll turn the world upside-down to find you.” She started mumbling to herself.

Attikus walked over to the President, whose face was twisted with fear and pain. The President gasped for breath as he tried to escape Attikus, but he couldn’t move.

“My mother came to you for help, but you betrayed her trust. You betrayed your country—your people. You’re a pathetic man. This is for my mother, your country, and all the lives you’ve ruined.” He stabbed the sword into the President’s gut twice. The President called his wife’s name as blood poured out of him.

Madeline was delirious and hallucinating. She looked at Attikus. “Jack, take us out of here. Now!”

I saw the closure on Attikus’s face as he turned his gaze away from the President and Madeline. He wiped his sword on a napkin from the table and returned the sword to the cane scabbard. Taking my hand, he led me out the side door, leaving the President and his wife to bleed to death.

“We can’t leave them there,” I said. “The hotel staff will find them.”

“No, they won’t.” He lifted my painted hand for a kiss. “I own this hotel. Someone will clean up the mess. Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

ATTIKUS

A month later,Vanessa was still mad at me and living with her mother in her old apartment. I only had so much patience. She’d told me she needed time to think things through. A month was long enough. I walked into the studio at her apartment, carrying a gift bag, and knocked on the door.

She opened it. “Yes?” Her dark hair was in a messy bun. She looked beautiful in her stained T-shirt and ripped jeans.

“May I come in?”

She shrugged. “Go ahead. You own this building.”

Vanessa walked back to her fantastical painting of a lotus reaching for a floating island with a waterfall dripping with gold water. An intricate world lay beneath the lily pad and the surface of the water. I recognized the buildings around the City of Providence. Her color preferences had evolved to pastels instead of the bold, dark shades she’d favored before.

My love was transforming before my eyes. The darkness no longer existed in her.

“That’s a gorgeous painting,” I said.

“Thanks.” She continued working, ignoring me.

“I love you,” I said, standing beside her.

She stopped, turned, and met my eyes. Love radiated from her face.

“Can we please talk?” My heart quickened, fearing she’d say no.

She closed her eyes and released a sigh. When she opened them, she nodded. “Let’s sit over here.”

We walked to the old couch, and I sat beside her, leaving the gift bag on the floor. “Are you okay?”

She looked pale and exhausted. I blamed myself for her condition.

“I’m okay. Nothing sleep won’t cure.”

“I know I said this already, but I’m truly sorry for not telling you about my plan. I wanted to keep you safe. If I’d told you, I feared The Trogyn members would spy on you for your reaction.” I took her hand in mine. “Your emotional state drove Charles Collins and Madeline Claude-Collins to believe my friends and I were dead. This led The Trogyn to loosen their security and become more careless.”

She swallowed. “Go on.”

“The boys used this carelessness to attack their multiple headquarters and hideaways. They had several in all the fifty states and many around the world. We destroyed all of them.”

Her mouth dropped open. “How did you know their locations?”

“Dr. Messina had a list since he was one of their top elites. He gave me a clear picture of the intricate web within The Trogyn. Once I eliminated Ashton and the line of succession, they wouldn’t have any more legs to stand on. There would be no leaders. No more hideaways, no more money, no more resources. They’d have nothing. The Trogyn would crumble.”