Page 35 of Sin (Salvation #1)

Cassidy

I sneak out of Sin’s bedroom and make my way down to the kitchen. It’s still not completely light yet, but I have important plans for my morning.

Even though he said I should go back to my room, I insisted on sharing Sin’s bed with him and clinging tightly to him all night. There was no way I was going to leave him alone after his confession about his mother’s death and the abuse he endured from Gideon.

I start putting a power breakfast together.

My brain fires best on a protein-rich meal to begin the day, and I have some heavy research and analysis ahead of me this morning, so I’m loading up on the omega-threes.

After filling my plate with some smoked salmon, boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, and berries, I’m about to head back to my room where I can study in peace.

On a whim, I grab a few donuts to pile on my plate for Sin.

Maybe I’ll sneak back into his room in a few hours and surprise him with breakfast.

“That’s a lot of food on your plate.”

I jump back, startled, and have to steady my plate to avoid running into Gideon, who is staring suspiciously down at my breakfast.

“I didn’t eat dinner last night,” I answer truthfully. I’d been too heartsick and obsessed about Sin’s date with the mysterious Oliver to feel any hunger pains.

He scans me as if this is an interrogation and not a simple conversation about a plate of food. I can see him note my swollen lips and the slight burn on my smooth face from Sin’s stubble.

He doesn’t know about Sin and me, I remind myself. Don’t let him intimidate you into giving anything away.

I move to leave, but he takes a step closer to me and cuts off my exit from the room. “I heard you leave the house last night.”

“I met one of my tutoring clients,” I lie, my voice squeaky with dishonesty.

“You’re a bad liar,” he says, his ever-present smile stretching into an ugly sneer as cold, empty eyes regard me.

Knowing it’s the gaze of a killer runs a cold chill down my spine.

“I brought you home to Nashville to be useful to me. Fill out the family photos and give the media a wholesome counterpoint to my worthless son.”

I open my mouth to defend Sin, even though I know it’s the wrong move, but before I can speak, Gideon idly reaches over me to the counter as if to grab one of the apples left in a bowl, but grabs a knife with a mean serrated edge from the butcher block instead.

In a quick move, he holds it against my neck, right up against my carotid artery.

A small burst of pain fires in my neck as the blade digs into my skin.

I freeze, afraid the slightest movement will lead to a fatal wound.

Gideon watches my fear, relishing it as if he’s a connoisseur.

“Especially now, with the media trying to smear my reputation, your image needs to be spotless. If you bring the slightest scandal to my door, you become useless to me.” The knife digs into my skin, causing another cut.

I feel a trickle of blood running slowly down my throat.

“And trust me, you don’t want that to happen. ”

The sound of high heels clicking on the marble floor echoes in the hallway.

Gideon pulls the knife away from my skin and calmly places it back into the butcher block.

“Good morning,” he says, greeting Mrs. Fenton, his assistant, as she walks into the kitchen.

A bland smile covers his face as he steps away to pour her a cup of coffee.

With shaking legs, I hurry out of the kitchen and go to my room, where I lock the door.

An empty gesture since I’m sure Gideon has all the keys to the house in his possession, but somehow twisting the lock helps calm me.

That’s a good thing. The last thing I need is to trigger a panic-fueled asthma attack.

Even though the new meds I’m on control my asthma much better, I still have to be careful of my triggers.

I go into the bathroom to clean and bandage the cuts on my neck.

I just met the man who killed Sin’s mother.

Of course, I’d believed Sin last night when he told me about his father, but seeing the monster on full display that I’d only had glimpses of before, I have a better understanding of the kind of hell Sin endured growing up.

My heart aches for the boy who lost his mother and was forced to be raised by her murderer.

He hadn’t gone into any detail about what Gideon’s corrections entailed, but I’m sick from imagining what that man must have put him through.

I’d already woken up motivated this morning to research ways I could help Sin on his quest to see his father pay for his crimes.

Now I’m even more determined. Being able to look at our past from a new perspective, I realize how much Sin protected me from his father.

Now it’s my turn to protect Sin. I’m going to help remove Gideon from Sin’s life.

He deserves to finally be free of that monster.