Page 259 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

Trepidation throbbed in my senses.

Nelly set it on the mattress and worked the code into the lock, and when it gave, she unzipped it.

I frowned at the sweaters that sat on top, but then I was getting slammed by a rogue wave of shock when Nelly pulled them out to reveal a ton of cash hidden underneath.

Stacks of it.

“She started dating the bastard one summer years back,” she rushed. “She was nineteen. Had her whole life ahead of her. I knew he was a snake the second I saw him. He didn’t even come inside, he just waited for her on the curb like he was too good for anyone. Or more like he just didn’t care. But I got the sense immediately. He was dangerous, and not just in ahe would break her heartkind of way. I felt the wickedness coming off him.”

She blinked. “She was involved before she even knew what hit her. He had her act as a decoy when he robbed this poor, innocent man of all that money.” She gestured at the stacks. From a quick scan, I imagined it was at least half a million. “And the jewelry underneath.”

Alarm ricocheted through me as Nelly continued to rush through the explanation. “She didn’t know what he was up to. She had no clue, Theo, but she’s blamed herself for it for all this time. She tried to go to the police.”

Grimness took over her tone. “He sent someone to kill her, but this girl warned her about his intentions instead. Gave her this bag of money and jewelry and told her to get out of the city and never to come back. Only when Piper rushed home to warn the rest of us, Justin was already there. He had slaughtered our whole family. Her mother, father, and brother.”

Nelly’s voice cracked in pain.

In sorrow we must stand.

Horror spun through me.

Gripping.

Confounding.

I tried to remain steady.

No fucking wonder she didn’t trust anyone. No fucking wonder she carried so much grief. I was going to end this monster. End him so she would never have to be afraid again.

I needed to get out of here.

Find Toga.

Make sure Piper was safe.

But there was something about Nelly’s insistence that kept me pinned.

“I was living out in the guesthouse, and he somehow didn’t know I was there. He attacked Piper. Stabbed her twice in the back, but she fought him off and managed to get away. She grabbed me and ran with me to the car, all while that devianttried to chase her down, shouting that he would find her wherever she went. And she’s been running ever since.”

She dug deeper and pulled out a sketchpad. “She was in school for fashion design, and she was always drawing clothing on her loved ones, but after, she started drawing this.”

She flipped through quickly. There were a ton of sketches of clothing. Smiling faces of an older woman that looked a whole lot like Piper.

Undoubtedly her mother.

I stumbled back a step when she finally flipped to the page she wanted. “This is him. This is who you should be looking for.”

It looked like…Toga.

What the fuck?

My head spun, lightheadedness hitting me like a tsunami.

“That’s…” I choked.

“That’s the bastard. You need to be able to recognize him if he’s out there. If he has her.”

Dismay whipped through her features. Her own grief so distinct. “I tried to get her to go to the authorities, but she was terrified of the threats Justin made. She tried to settle with Finn’s father, but…”