Page 159 of Lock Up the Darkness

“I asked him once and he said she reminded him of somebody he once knew.”

“Your mom?”

“Absolutely not. He hated her. He’s never said a good word about her.”

“Why not?”

“He considered her weak. And a traitor. She tried to escape shortly after I was born, tried to use a couple of his henchmen for help. It backfired. She ended up killing herself to escape him. It was her only way out.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “This is what they do to the women in their orbit. My mom. Valerie.” He looked at Jonah. “Not so much yours.”

At my questioning look, Jonah told me, “No idea who she was, she was just one of his many whores. He wanted a heir, so he knocked her up, then sent her away. She had the good sense to stay away. She’s in the wind now. Good for her.”

Wow. All of them and their relationships with their mothers was so bleak and disturbing. It was a wonder they weren’t as corrupted as their fathers who’d obviously tried to fashion them in their image.

A smile spread across my face as I realized what had made a difference.

Their friendship.

It protected them from becoming like those bastards.

“What about yours?” Killian asked. “You’ve never spoken about her, only your dad.”

Before I could answer, Asher told them, “She died in a car accident when Aurora was young.”

I started.

“What can I say? I did my research on you.”

I pushed it down and gestured at his laptop screen. “So, we all head to this meet in two days and convince her to work with us instead, feed us her intel, that we’ll take up the fight in my dad’s stead?”

“Yes. Then we take the remaining dollhouses one by one.”

“Until it breaks them?” Jonah asked.

“And activates the plants Revenant put in place. They’ll believe he’s back and the mission is no longer on pause.”

“The Head Infidels will be attacked from several different angles at once,” I spoke.

Killian added, “We’ll be destroying them while also distracting them big time, enough to keep them off our backs, even with you declaring war by implicating my father to the law.”

“In essence,” Asher responded. He looked out at each of us in turn. “This has to be done right. You need to follow the tactical plan I’m going to work on tomorrow to a T. Are we understood?”

“You’re the commander-in-chief, got it,” Jonah agreed.

“I’m on board. All the way,” Killian said.

“I’ll work with you on that plan,” I told Asher.

He nodded. “Agreed.” He responded to the alert from Amethyst and confirmed the meet, then shut his laptop lid and told us, “Get some rest, we’re all going to need it.” He eyed Killian. “Heal up. I need you combat-ready.”

As we all began filtering out, anticipation thrummed in my veins.

This was it.

The beginning of the end of those sick bastards.

The key to bringing my dad back to me.

The way through to free my men.

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