Page 176 of Under Your Scars

From the corner of my eye, Bethany swings at me with a frying pan. I catch her wrist easily. She tries to tug it out of my grip, but I don’t let her go until she drops it. I turn my attention back to Gavin.

“Where is she?” I repeat, my patience dangerously thin. When he says nothing, I seethe. “Fuck! Code Lilac.”

Code Lilac is reserved for the high priority emergencies involving Elena or Caroline. We came up with the term when I promoted Gavin to their permanent bodyguard.

There are only two people on the planet who know Code Lilac.

Gavin Miramontes and Christian Reeves.

Gavin stares at me in utter disbelief. He tries to sit up straighter, his back slouched awkwardly against the cabinets now coated in his blood. “He took her.”

“Who?”

Through gritted teeth, he hisses, “The Silencer.”

I tighten my jaw. “Where’s Caroline?”

“What the hell is going on?!” Bethany screeches as she covers Gavin’s mouth with her hand.

Gavin tilts his head to his left, towards the cabinets under the kitchen island. I scramble over to swing open the door of the largest one.

Precious Caroline lets out a whine of pure fear and curls up into a tight ball in the very corner of the cabinet. “Babygirl, it’s me,” I coo before letting my mask fall to the floor. “It’s daddy.”

Caroline blinks in confusion, but then she relaxes. “Oh, hi daddy,” she says, before crawling out of the cabinet and into my arms. I hold her tight to my chest, a small wave of relief coming over me now that I know she’s okay. From over Caroline’s shoulders, I make eye contact with Bethany and Gavin.

“Beth—”

“Give her to me,” Bethany demands, her eyes flickering to Caroline. When I don’t move, her gaze and tone turns dangerous. “Christian, give her to meright now.”

As much as it hurts my still-healing gunshot wound, I make my way to my feet as I hold Caroline in my arms, making sure to keep her facing away from Gavin and all his blood.

I shake my head. “You’ll take her.”

“She’s a baby, Christian,” she begs as she takes a step closer.

I take a step back. “She’smybaby. I’m the way I am because ofyourhusband, Beth. You don’t get to judge me.”

Bethany recoils as if I’ve just slapped her across the face, because she knows I’m right. I take a deep breath and nuzzle my cheek against Caroline’s head. “Take her,” I instruct, my eyes a silent warning that if she leaves the property with my daughter, I will violently dismember her.

Bethany takes Caroline from my arms and takes her out of the room. I pick my mask up from the ground and secure it onto my face. “Hey Gav?” His eyes flicker up to mine. “Do you remember what you said to me in the gym after I was shot? About how if anything happened to Elena, I’d do far worse than fire you?”

His face turns three shades paler as I crack my neck and point my gun at his forehead.

“Consider yourself lucky that I’m making it quick.”

The strawberry blonde bitch steps away from the ATM on the corner, having made what looked to be a deposit of bills worth a few thousand.

Gavin was right. Kate’s loyalty is with the highest bidder, but she’s made a mistake. No amount of money is going to save her from me.

As she passes by the alleyway, I emerge from the shadows and grab her by her hair, ruthlessly slamming her down against the concrete sidewalk.

I love the sound of her skull cracking against the ground, and the pained scream that comes after. She tries to fight me, but she’s disoriented and scared. I drag her into the alley by her hair kicking and screaming. I cover her mouth with duct tape and tie her wrists and ankles together as blood from her head seeps down into her face. I drag her through dirty alleys, making sure to put her in the path of garbage and stagnant water before we come to a stop at an abandoned warehouse.

I set up a chair in the center of the empty space and secure her limbs to the wooden supports.

I take a moment to catch my breath and clutch the burning flesh where my gunshot wound is aching. When I pull away my hand, there’s blood.

Fuck.