Page 62 of Scars Run Deep

“What’s that?”

“Look at me and not see him, the face of your torturer, your tormentor?”

He eyed me curiously. “Why does that matter to you?”

“It just does.”

He studied me for a few more moments. “Not because you’re worried I’ll betray you. No, this is about Aurora. You’re concerned, should she come face-to-face with Carson, she’ll see you in him and subsequently let her guard down and possibly succumb to his manipulations.”

“As disturbingly fucked-up as that is to even think about, that’s not it.” It was further proof, though, that he didn’t know who Aurora was now. “Besides, she’s not a fool.” I stepped closer. “This is about Olivia and Nyx.”

He started. “Excuse me?”

“The two women you were involved with? Olivia being a current thing. The other being your ex-wife, Isobel Carlyle. Also known as Aurora’s mother.” I twirled my hand. “You didn’t see things going that way with the Strenwell meet. The things Olivia revealed were a bid to gain our trust, but they were also a risk. It was a risk that would’ve been minimized a great deal if the original plan had gone ahead of you having her work with us. But then the Heretics interfered with that unprecedented attack and you were forced to shift gears.”

“And you connected Isobel and Nyx from the recordings.”

I nodded. “Something you weren’t aware I had.”

“It makes no difference either way.”

If that was true, he wouldn’t have hastily arranged this meet. He was worried about it, all right. I just didn’t know for what reason yet. The only incriminating thing so far was that, according to those recordings, Isobel—or Nyx—had been the one to out Aurora to my father, to put her on his radar. It would be a hard blow to take for her, yes, on a personal level. But I couldn’t see any impact beyond that. Nothing big, nothing that explained his reaction in the form of this meet.

“She was involved with my father. Olivia already established that. But referring to her by a code name, I don’t get that. Especially with her being long buried at the time.”

“My wife had an affair with a monster. As far as I was concerned, she was the darkness and shadow that the representation of Nyx describes. It wasn’t just a fling, kid. She was well on her way to becoming his twisted queen, to becoming Isobel Monroe.”

“That doesn’t explain why my father also referred to her as Nyx.”

“A way to taunt me, to laud over me that she became his, that her identity as Isobel had slipped away.”

“How did she come to be in his path?”

“It’s a long convoluted story. Suffice to say, she craved power and danger. He filled that void in her—at least for a time.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Until it became too much.”

“That car accident wasn’t the real cause of her death then?”

“You know how your father operates. But with Isobel it was on another level because he was incredibly obsessed with her. He had no limits when it came to her.” He uncrossed his arms and scrubbed his hand over his face. “She was running from him the night she got into that accident, trying to come to me for help. She lost control of her vehicle.” Before I could get a word out, he said, “As for how I can stand the similarity in the physical appearances between Liv and Nyx, I don’t look at it that way. I see Liv how she used to be. Her personality is a world away from that nightmare of a woman. The same with you and Carson. Well, for the most part when it comes to you. You do share some similarities. That’s to be expected, though.”

He sank back against the wall and settled in. “Now, you have a choice to make. I will head the takedown of the dollhouse network, taking you and the wrecking ball also known as Jonah Keller along on-mission, where we’ll function as a unit with me as your commanding officer. In this option, the unstable one—Killian—will stay behind working as our eyes and ears under the supervision of Liv. I’ll then take on the Head Infidels directly as they scramble from the demolishment of their dollhouse network. You’ll return to Hexwood and resume your normal routines. I’ll contact you once I’ve completed the final part of the mission.”

“I need to be involved in all aspects.”

“No.”

“You don’t trust me. Because of those certain similarities to Carson.”

“When the Infidels fall, there will be a power vacuum. I can’t risk you being near it.”

“I told you I don’t want that power.”

“With them gone, you won’t have any. Not even Hexwood. The entire thing will be gone.”

“I’m well aware. I was since before you and I made that deal three years ago.”

“You’ll lose everything.”

“Sometimes there’s a high price to pay for freedom.”

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