Page 70 of Cruel Possession

“He’s not going to kill you. He might intimidate the hell out of everyone, but I can see the way he looks at you. He cares about you, and you care about him. Now, whether either of you are willing to admit that to each other is another story.”

I hate that she’s right.

I do care about him. I might be walking away from the hell that is my life, but I would be lying if I said my relationship with him didn’t play into the decision at least a little, too.

Okay, more than a little.

Sighing, I rake my fingers through my hair. “I don’t want to die.”

“I thought you were fine with dying,” she says sarcastically.

The corner of my mouth twitches. “You know, you can be infuriating at times. If I knew you were going to be this annoying when we became adults, I would’ve told Mom to drop you off at the orphanage.”

She snorts and gets up to set Dominic in the bassinet. “Mom never would’ve done that, even if she has always liked you better.”

“She only likes me more because I’ve been able to fund her lifestyle.” I glance around the house. “Why are you over here?”

“I like it here, even if I could kill Aiden some days. Feels like a real family, not that bullshit that we had cobbled together before Noah died.”

My gaze roams the room and sure enough, there’s an updated family photo hanging on one of the walls, Gia smiling with Bianca in her arms and Royce standing behind her, surrounded by the rest of the family.

“If you want to be part of the family, then I think all you need to do is tell Aiden. He cares about you. If he didn’t, he would’ve killed you when you stopped being useful to him.”

I give her a wry smile. “I don’t think I’m done being useful to him. He’s still getting off.”

“You and I both know that isn’t what he wants from you. Not in that regard.”

My cheeks warm. “Fine, maybe that’s more than just how I can be useful to him, but I don’t even know how I feel about him. Not really. Hell, I don’t even know how I feel about myself right now, and it’s getting more complicated by the day to figure it out.”

“Well, you should start figuring it out soon. I don’t want to lose you, and I refuse to allow my children to grow up without having their aunt in their lives.”

“What if I got us out of here?” I say the words lightly, but it feels like there’s a heavy weight settling over my shoulders.

“I wouldn’t leave Royce.”

“I know.” I look down at my nails, picking at the dirt beneath them. “He could come with us. I’m willing to put up with him to make sure that you and the kids are safe.”

“I’m safehere.” Gia leans over and puts her head on my shoulder the way she used to when we were younger watching movies in my room. “I like being here. You will too if you lower all your guards around everyone else.”

“That’s kind of hard to do when they want me dead. Skyla watches me like she’s just waiting for the opportunity to put a blade in my neck, and if I didn’t know better, I would think that Summer and Jade were the Lyndes that I needed to be concerned about.”

“Summer not so much. Jade is unsettling at times, though. She’ll square up with Aiden without a second thought even though she’s like half his size.”

“Great. Watch out for the serial killer and the one shaped like a ballerina.”

Aiden steps into the room. “Zoe, could I have a minute?”

Fuck.

I stand up, hearing the bossy undertone in his voice. Even though it was phrased like a question, we both know it was an order.

And this is going to be the point when he kills me.

I follow him into his office, shutting the door behind me.

He grabs one of the chairs from the front of his desk, hauling it around to the other side and setting it beside his chair.

My heart flutters, but it’s due to the impending sense of doom that’s been sitting over me since I went to meet with Morgana.