Page 35 of Dead Love

But that wasn’t entirely true. I had ripped her from her home. Forced her to give up her life. Even if I didn’t end up killing her, I could never let her return to her old life.

My chest tightened, a pain swelling in the back of my throat:If I didn’t kill her.That had never been an option before. I had to change my thoughts, had to remember what she was there for. Sarah’s brown eyes widened at me, reading my emotions, and I knew she was right. Only a terrible bastard would do something like this to someone so harmless. Kora was innocent; so were her father and mother. The only thing they were guilty of was having a perfect life.

My skin itched with the thoughts churning in my mind. But there was nothing I could do to change that now.

I was scratching behind Bernie’s ears mindlessly when the front door opened. The doormat flapped back into place, indicating who was intruding: Catie.

“Sarah? Bernie? Ulysses?” she called.

The dogs ran toward her, barking, and she bent down to pet their heads.

“Hey doggos,” she smiled. “I’m glad to see you too.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

She startled at my voice, standing up straight. “I didn’t think you were awake. You asked me to check on the dogs whenever you missed work.”

I had said that, hadn’t I?

“I fed them,” I said. “Thanks.”

“But then it’s time for a treat from Auntie,” she said in a sing-song voice that instantly made all three of them jump. She went to the bag above the fridge, grabbing a few treats and handing them out accordingly. As they licked her face to show their appreciation, Kora’s sob, like a faint whimper, reverberated through the house. The dogs froze and Catie looked down the hallway to the basement.

“Now I know I heard something,” she said.

The dogs went to follow the noise as if to say to Catie:We found a friend! It’s her!Catie tilted her head to the side, and I motioned in the hallway's direction. Might as well get this over with. We followed the dogs and stopped at the locked door to the basement.

“Who’s in there?” Catie asked.

“I had to cut her off from everything,” I explained, “including her parents.”

“Who?”

I rubbed my forehead as if it pained me to say this. “You remember that woman with the big green eyes at Nyla Nerissa’s funeral?” I asked. Catie nodded. “She told me she was twenty-one, and yet her parents were so controlling that she had never been out of the house by herself.”

“Never?”

I shook my head. “She asked if I would help her run away. But, you see, her mother is incredibly—” I paused, trying to think of the appropriate euphemism, “—determinedto keep her daughter pure and safe for as long as possible. And her father is a cop.”

“Mike,” she whispered, lowering her head. “How long has she been in there?”

“Since the funeral. She begged me to help her. How could I say ‘no’?”

“Oh.” She furrowed her brows. “Is that why you were out late that night?”

“You caught me.”

She nodded slowly, like it all made sense now, and yet I could tell it still didn’t sit right with her. That was the thing about hiring someone intelligent; they caught on to bullshit too quickly. I needed to distract her from what was going on as soon as possible.

“Did Saturday’s family come by yet?” I asked.

“Yeah, just left a few minutes ago, actually. They want a plot on the eastern side. Hey, Vincent?” She tapped on the door. “Why don’t you let me talk to her? She might need someone to talk to if she’s still processing this.”

I forced a smile. “That’s a great idea,” I lied. “But let me prepare her first. I want to make sure she’s comfortable.”

“Why wouldn’t she be comfortable?” Catie asked. “You’re not torturing her down there, are you?”

I tilted my chin. If only she knew.