Page 260 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

She trailed off, unsure if I knew.

Sickness burned as my mind played through the admissions Piper had made. “She told me he was killed.”

Nelly gave a jerky nod. “After that, she was trapped by her fear. Merely surviving. Until she met you.”

Reaching out, I flipped the page, hoping there was some mistake. That my eyes were playing tricks on me.

But when I flipped it to the next, there was no question.

Those eyes.

I knew those vicious eyes.

But it was the drawing of the woman on the opposite page that sent my soul dropping to the floor.

The paranoid horror on the face I would never forget.

Scarlett.

Dumbfounded, stricken, gutted—I stared at it.

“She’s the one who warned Piper. Probably the only reason we’re still alive,” Nelly whispered.

No.

It was her.

It was her.

Weeks had gone by after I’d begged her to come back. Weeks of seeing her riding on the back of Toga’s bike.

I wanted to be jealous during that time, but the only thing that I felt was protective. Wanting her to thrive and live. For our kid to have a good life. Wishing I was better, all while I pleaded with her to find reason. Promising I’d do whatever she wanted.

She told me it wasn’t enough, and she didn’t ever want to talk to me again. That was until the morning when I received a frantic voice message from her.

“Theo, I need your help. I’m in bad trouble. Toga, he’s gonna kill me. I know it. I’m on my way to your house.”

Except she never made it.

I found her mangled body on the backlot at Iron Owls’ club later that night.

Guilt striking me through like the blades that had impaled her. My hands had shaken with violence, desperate for revenge.

Toga had disappeared.

For years.

Until now.

Until right now when Piper was here.

“Oh, fuck.” Frantic, I dragged my fingers through my hair, trying to process it.

He was here.

For her.

“I have to go. Do not open the door for anyone until I get back,” I commanded.