Page 122 of Vain

“And in the end, it was all for nothing.”

“How can you say that?”

“I was going to build you an annex. I hoped you’d move with me. I wanted Zoe to meet you and know how wonderful you were.” I cry, unable to stop the flow of my tears. “But now, you can go to hell. I’ll never let you near my daughter,” I snarl.

“You don’t understand.”

“You’re right about that. I just don’t care.”

“No, that’s not right. That’s not what’s supposed to happen. We’ll go away for a while, pretend we were kidnapped, and return when you trust me again. I know it will take time, but I can prove myself to you, I know it.”

He’s not straight. He can’t be. His plan has so many holes that it would never work. He has to know that. “What about Daniel and my mom? What about the people you burned with acid? What about Marley?”

I see it then, the remorse on his face.

“He was never going to let me go,” Marley says sadly, pain and betrayal evident in his voice.

“It has to be this way. I’m sorry, Matilda. One day you’ll understand. But right now, we need to go,” he states as his phone rings again. He gets to his feet, though he looks far from stable. “Move.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Please,” he implores, his face ravaged when he realizes this was all for nothing. He gambled with all our lives and lost.

“I can’t,” I sob.

He lifts the gun and aims it at me, his voice devoid of all emotion. “If I can’t have you, then nobody can.”

And then he fires.

Chapter Forty-Five

AIDEN

Kellen is yelling at the police on the phone, telling them we can’t stay when we have reason to believe Matilda is in danger. The fact that we couldn’t give them anything beyondher fatherdid not go down well. In the end, Kellen loses his shit and hangs up.

“I’ll call Blake and get him to send our lawyer, if needed.”

I don’t speak. I can’t. I’m scared that if I open my mouth, I’ll scream. When we pull up outside, the gates are locked. The guard isn’t there, so I hope that means he’s still with Matilda.

We jump out and scale the gates, landing on the other side, and sprint up the driveway to the house. As soon as we get close enough, we can see the dead guard on the doorstep.

“Fuck.”

“We should wait for backup,” Kellen states

I shake my head. “There’s no time. He might have already taken her.”

“Jesus, just don’t get dead.”

I nod, then kick the door in. I see a blood trail heading toward the back of the house. Once we reach the hallway, there’sa fuck of a lot more of it. I swallow bile and keep my gun aimed, knowing Kellen is watching our backs.

As I turn the corner, I stop dead when I see Greyson leaning against the wall, soaked in blood and looking ashen.

“Shit, Greyson, can you hear me?” His eyes flutter open as Kellen drops down beside him.

“I’ve got him. Find Matilda.”

I turn and move slowly, toward the door at the far end of the room, passing the sofa on my way.