Page 190 of Under Your Scars

She tries to run, but I grab her and cover her mouth, holding her still and shushing her until she calms down enough for me to explain.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I coo. “I’m not going to hurt you.” My voice sounds wrong coming out of the mask, but I have no choice but to wear it. If I want things to be normal after this is done, I have to pretend this is who I am. Just for a little longer.

It will all be over soon.

I lean down to whisper in her ear. “Where is Christian Reeves?”

“I…I…I don’t know. Please.”

“Do better.”

“Please…whatever you want, we will give it to you. There’s a child in this house. You don’t have to hurt anyone else.”

“Where is Christian Reeves?” I demand again, carefully annunciating each word.

He wasn’t in his bedroom. Or Caroline’s room. Or in the backyard or in any of the other rooms I’ve checked.

Sweet Bethany, she’s terrified, but if I know one thing about her, it’s that she isn’t a liar, and while she’s a fierce protector of her family, she knows as well as I do that Christian can take care of himself. She doesn’t need to protect him. If she says she doesn’t know where he is, then she doesn’t know.

“What do you want with him?” Bethany asks, still shaking in my arms.

“It wouldn’t matter if I told you, because you’re under his spell. Just like Elena. Just like this entire fucking city.” My molars grind roughly against the force of my jaw as anger boils in my blood. “The Reeves legacy is good for only one thing Beth, it’s murder. If I don’t save her now, he’s going to kill Elena. He’s going to kill our baby.”

I didn’t think it was possible for any more color to drain from her face, but it does, and I’ve realized my mistake when she flinches in my arms.

She begins to sob, shaking and scared and defeated. I let her go, just enough to turn her around and cup her cheeks.

“Ihave todo this,” I tell her, and her face softens for a moment.

“No you don’t. Please…let’s just talk about this. Let’s just talk. No one else has to get hurt.”

“He’s the Silencer, Beth.”

She whimpers. “I know, but—”

My brain short circuits. My muscles tighten. My vision goes black around the edges. I don’t control my limbs as I grab her neck and squeeze. She starts fighting, trying to scream, but I knock her skull against the wall until she falls limp and slumps to the ground. I set her down gently.

Then she grabs the mixing bowl and hits me with it. I pull it out of her hands and throw it across the room as she starts screaming bloody murder. The only thing I can do to get her to stop is wrap my hands around her throat again.

With her lungs already out of breath from screaming, her face quickly turns red, and then purple. She slaps me with weak arms.

“You knew!” I growl, the fury making me squeeze harder as tears prick in my eyes. “And you chose his side instead of mine. Why would you betray me like that, Beth?” When she doesn’t answer, I crack her skull against the floor. “Why?!”

“Please…” she begs, her eyes rolling from disorientation as thick tears fall from the corners and into her hairline.

I soften my face and shush her, like a parent would soothe a child. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m only doing this to save her.”

“El…El…” She croaks, choking out the first syllable of my name with the last of her oxygen.

As my fingers dig into her delicate throat, I find myself getting choked up, but I can’t find it in me to stop. “I have to save her, Beth, I have to. You just…you got in the way. But I promise, baby, we’ll all be together soon.”

CHAPTER 60

THE SILENCER

I’ve got to act quickly. The motel Elena was taken to is on the other side of the island, and the sun is coming up, which means there will be a lot of foot traffic, and dumping a body when anyone could turn a corner at any second isn’t exactly ideal, mask or no mask.

On top of that, I have an entire cleaning crew scrubbing out the blood from my floors. After I take care of the bodies, I’m going to my presidential suite at The Black Palace, where Elena, Caroline, Bethany, Elliot, Edwin and I will stay until my house is spotless again.