Page 79

Xander

Once Haven is situated with Athelia, Dad pulls me onto the back porch. I don’t want to step away from Haven, but she seems distracted enough at the moment that she doesn’t notice.

I tip my head up toward the blue sky. It’s warm out, although Colton’s backyard is mostly shaded, so the sun isn’t directly shining on us. We should bring Haven out here later. Maybe it’d help her a little to be outside.

“Xander,” Dad says gently.

I look at him. “What’s up?”

“We’re going to leave. Josie is packing up as we speak.”

“W-what?”

“Haven is too overwhelmed. We don’t want to make that worse, and we definitely are.”

My heart sinks. I’ve barely gotten any time with my family, and I’m not ready to say goodbye. But… dammit, my dad is right, and I need to protect Haven right now.

“Okay.” Jaw clenched, I look away. I hate this. I hate how my relationship with my dad has amounted to a series of events of me failing him over and over again.

Phil sighs. “Xander…”

“I hate myself for what happened to her.” I’m not really sure why I say it, other than I have to tell someone, and at least Dad will forgive me.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was very directly my fault,” I state flatly. “I should’ve gone to her immediately after the ceremony and taken her with me to say hi to you. Or—or we should’ve at least thought of the possibility that Isaiah would come back and grab her during the chaos. Dad, I—”

My voice breaks, and the last thing I see before I close my eyes against the tears is my dad’s pitying expression.

“Come here, Xan.”

I drop to my knees, and when he runs a hand through my hair, a sob breaks free. Crying like this makes me feel like a little kid, but I don’t think I can stop it. The guilt is too strong.

I could’ve prevented all of this so easily. We all could’ve.

“Dad,” I choke out. “I don’t know how to fix this.”

“She’s going to be okay,” he tells me gently. “It’ll take time, but she has you three. You’ll take care of her.”

“What if that’s not enough?”

“You’ve always been enough, Xander. Always.”

The statement hits me in the chest like a ton of bricks. I stare up at my dad in shock. I don’t know why—he’s always treated me like I was enough—but I’ve never felt it. Between my mom and growing up being told I was evil every Sunday, how could it ever feel true?

“I mean it,” he says firmly. “You’re a good person, Xander. Fuck what everyone else says.”

I raise an eyebrow. My dad never swears.

“Don’t tell Rachel I said that,” he adds.

That makes me snort in amusement, and I can’t lie, it helps clear my head a little. I stare up at the man who’s sacrificed so much for me, who’s always rooted for me, who’s always done his best and then some.

“I love you,” I say hoarsely.

He smiles. “I love you, too, Xander.”

Wiping at my eyes, I stand. “I’m gonna come visit you. Once things are settled here, I’ll make the trip. Maybe we all will.”

“You don’t have to rush. Take your time. Haven needs it.”

“She needs support,” I say. “You haven’t seen the real her. Not really. She was so much happier at Christmas. I know she’s too overwhelmed right now, especially with everyone here, but she lost her siblings when she left Cornerstone, and she just lost them again.”

Dad’s eyes soften with realization. “She needs a family.”

“A good family,” I say. “Like you and Rachel.”

Dad nods. “When she’s ready, we’re here.”

“I know.”

We head back inside. Haven is still crying, but it doesn’t sound nearly as heart-wrenching as it did when we stepped onto the porch.

Colton is on the floor next to the couch, and Lucas is hovering nearby, too. Hell, even Star is here, curled up in Colt’s lap. I stay as close as I can while also helping my family get their bags into the van.

Saying goodbye is hard, but I manage to keep it together until they’ve pulled out of the driveway. The only thing that makes me feel better is falling into Lucas once I’m back inside.

“You and me,” he murmurs. A reminder that even though my family is gone, I’m not alone.

“You and me,” I whisper back. “Always.”

. . .

Athelia doesn’t leave until around eight. It’s when Haven starts having trouble staying awake, and I think Athelia is anxious to get back to Wes, too. So once she leaves, we get Haven upstairs and ready for bed.

After she brushes her teeth, Lucas gives Haven one of Aurora’s anxiety pills. We’re hoping it’ll keep her calm enough that if she wakes up after he and I slip out, she won’t panic. She begs that we all sleep in Colton’s bed again, so we climb in and cuddle her until she dozes off.

This time, Haven wraps herself around Colton. I thought it was cute, the way she clings to us. It’s like the moment she gets sleepy, she turns into a koala or something. Now, it breaks my heart.

Leaving feels like tricking her. In a sense, it is, but a lot of the Glass Rooks are angry. I only have a short window of time before someone beats me to killing Mark. And after what he did to my family—after what he did to Haven—he’s fucking mine.

“Ready?” Lucas whispers once Haven’s breathing has evened out.

“Yeah. You’ve got her, Colt?”

He nods.

“Then let’s go.”

We get off the bed slowly. Haven doesn’t stir, not even when Lucas drops a kiss to her forehead. We both hover close by for a minute in case the lack of a body at her back wakes her up, but she doesn’t move.

Quietly, we slip out of the room and head down to the garage. Both of us pull our bikes out into the driveway so it’s not so loud when we start the engines, and then we’re off.

As always, I take the lead. It’s been too long since Luc and I have ridden together, and I grin as he matches my speed. I take us the long way, for no other reason than having a few extra minutes on the road with him.

We hide our bikes just outside Mark’s neighborhood in a spot that Lucas made sure doesn’t have any security camera coverage from nearby intersections or houses. It’s dark out, so we don our masks and gloves and move through the shadows.

We come up on Mark’s mansion from the back. It only takes Lucas a couple minutes to disarm the security system—never piss off a secret tech genius—and then we’re inside.

Based off of which lights are still on, it looks like Mark is in his living room. When we enter, he looks up from the glass chess set on his coffee table. A glass of whiskey dangles in his hand, and there are dark circles under his eyes.

“I was wondering if it was going to be you,” he says with a sigh. “At least give me the mercy of making it quick?”

“You put my father and my little sister in the hospital, and you think there’s even a chance that I’ll go easy on you?” I pull out my knife and flick it open. “Do you know how old my sister is?”

“It wasn’t particularly relevant when I needed to get you out of town, so no,” Mark says dryly.

“She’s twelve. Twelve. You almost killed a fucking child. She’s not even a teenager yet.”

Taking a slow sip of his whiskey, Mark shrugs. “My only regret is that my plan didn’t work. Although… it looks like my second one did.”

Fucking bastard. I was already planning on making this painful, but his lack of remorse just turned tonight into a full-on torture session.

“Lucas,” I grit out.

At my command, Luc springs into action. He hauls Mark up from the couch and slams him onto the coffee table. It breaks under Mark’s weight, and he crashes to the ground with the shattered chess set.

Not missing a beat, Lucas grabs him again, this time tossing Mark into a nearby bookshelf. That’s the great thing about your boyfriend being a football player. He can throw a grown man around like a fucking rag doll.

Mark cries out as he hits the floor hard. He tries to get up, but I’m already stalking toward him. I kick him hard in the stomach, and he grunts in pain.

“Doesn’t feel so good to be on the receiving end, does it?” I kick him again, this time in the thigh, then again in the face.

Groaning, Mark rolls onto his back. Blood spurts from his nose, and he holds it gingerly. His silence only enrages me more, so I drive my knife into his thigh.

“Answer me,” I yell.

“Wait,” Lucas says. “Xan, hold on a second.”

I glance up at him in surprise. He knows how badly I need this. He does, too.

Lucas crouches next to Mark. “What was your second plan?”

“I think you already know.”

I twist my knife into his thigh, and he groans at the pain.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Lucas snaps.

“She’s dead, isn’t she? That’s the real reason you’re here. You put the pieces together.”

Lucas and I exchange a confused glance. He has to be talking about Haven, but she’s alive and in Colton’s bed right now.

Lucas figures it out a split second before I do. “You were behind Haven’s kidnapping.”

Mark grins, his teeth coated with blood. “You think Isaiah was the one who came up with the idea to grab Haven at the ceremony? He grew up in a cult, for fuck’s sake. He barely even knows what graduation is, let alone the ceremony.”

Oh my god. Of course. It makes so much sense—how Isaiah knew to be there, how he found Haven so quickly… everything.

Mark was behind it all.

“From there, all I had to do was make sure you three were distracted long enough for Isaiah to get to her.” Mark coughs before pointing at me. “You were the easiest. All it took was a stranger offering to cover the costs of a wheelchair-accessible van, and then all of a sudden, your father could make the trip. You went straight to him, just like I predicted.”

I blow out a shocked breath. “And Colton’s grandfather. You had him distract Colt. I saw it.”

“Almost didn’t work,” Mark says. “My son is a stubborn, determined bastard.”

“And me?” Lucas asks.

“You follow Xander around like a lost puppy dog. Well, I suppose sometimes it’s the other way around. I assumed you’d go with Xander. Your own family distracting you was pure, convenient coincidence.”

Lucas looks like he’s about to lose his shit, and for once, I wish he would. Haven’s kidnapping was far more sinister than we realized. Mark has caused us all so much pain, and to be honest, killing him tonight feels far too merciful.

“And it worked,” Mark continues breathlessly. “She has to be dead now. No way Isaiah let her live. My plan worked. I won.”

Lucas’s laugh is dripping with the darkest fury I’ve ever seen on him. “You really, really shouldn’t have told us all that.”

Mark rolls his eyes. “What does it matter? You already knew.”

“Haven is alive,” I grind out. “Didn’t you think to wonder why your son wasn’t here tonight? It’s because he’s with his wife. You lost, Mark. You lost.”

At least watching the realization hit him is satisfying. It’s not nearly enough compensation for the harm he’s caused, though.

Lucas yanks off his backpack and pulls out a couple lengths of rope. I don’t ask questions, just help him hogtie Mark while he yells in denial. It makes me glad Colton isn’t here because there’s no reason for Mark to care about Haven anymore. He’s about to die, and he knows it, which means wanting to kill Haven was purely about controlling Colton.

“Help me carry him to the fire pit,” Lucas says gruffly.

Mark struggles as we haul him through the house and then out onto the back patio. The fire pit isn’t quite big enough for him, but the patio is stone. The flames won’t spread.

Lucas kicks down the door to the maintenance shed and comes back with a gas can. With his jaw clenched, he dumps the entire thing on Mark, completely soaking him.

“You have a lighter?” he asks.

I nod.

“Good.” Lucas steps back. “He’s yours.”

I pull it out, but before I light it, I crouch next to Mark. We gagged him so his screams don’t disturb the neighbors, but that’s all right. I don’t want to hear his response to this.

“You want to know why you failed in the end, Mark? You want to know why you lost everything you built so carefully?”

Mark glares up at me.

“It’s because you forgot what’s really important,” I tell him. “You got the nice house, the cars, the power, the extravagant trips. But what’s the fucking point if you ice everyone out in the process? You end up alone and defenseless, just like you are now. Not even your own son wants anything to do with you.”

Mark tries to kick out of his restraints, but we tied them too well. He can’t escape this.

“End it, Xan,” Lucas says. “It’s time.”

He’s right. I’ve said my piece, and we’ve made Mark suffer. Now it’s time to get back to what matters to us—Haven.

Standing, I flick the lighter, and the moment the flame appears, I drop it onto Mark. The fire engulfs him immediately, and as I step back, I smile at his gagged cries of pain. This feels more like justice than cutting his throat open.

Lucas turns to me. “Let’s go home.”

I nod. “Let’s.”

Hand-in-hand, we make our way off Mark’s property, his muffled screams and the smell of burnt flesh following us as we go.