Page 191 of Lawless God

KAYLA

Bodies - Bryce Fox

“Nate.”

No matter what people think of me and the reputation I’ve always upheld, I am not ashamed to say I have never been so terrified in my life.

And it’s not because Nathan White is sitting at my kitchen table, a gun right in front of him and two arms crossed over his chest. It’s not because the gun is placed in a precise way, so that he could quickly pick it up and point it at my mother if she moved from her position opposite him.

It’s not even because I shot him, aimed to kill, and that he is now back very much alive. I’m not worried for myself.

I’m worried for my two daughters coloring in the room next to us. About what he’s capable of doing to them.

“Nate,” I repeat, swallowing thickly. “We can talk.”

“We will,” he replies with ease as he pushes his glasses up his nose.

He’s wearing a simple white t-shirt and some blue jeans, and it’s somehow scarier to see him like that. The elegant man I know isn’t really here, like he’s given up on him. This is Nate in his purest form.

“We will,” I agree. “But not with my mother here. Let’s… Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Not with my daughters in the other room, you mean.”

It’s not even a question. My heart hardens, my deadly gaze going to my mother.

“You told him?” I hiss at her like a snake ready to bite.

She doesn’t get to answer anything. Nate is already talking again.

“She didn’t have to.” He turns to my mom. “You can go now. Leave the house.”

“Mom, take the girls.”

“Take them and you’ll have your brain covering that brand-new carpet before you take a second step.”

His threat doesn’t do anything to me, and it shouldn’t do anything to my mom. The most important thing is protecting the twins.

“Take them, Mom!” I step to follow her into the living room, but he’s on me in a split second.

Grabbing me by the hair, he pulls me back toward his chest, and before I know it, I’ve got a gun pointing at my temple.

“You stay here, my darling wife. And don’t scream, you’re going to scare the girls.”

My mother looks at me with barely the semblance of a sorry in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Kay.”

“No. No, no, no. Coward.” Fury is a weak word for how I feel. “I hate you. Fuck!”

I hear the front door too quickly. I know she didn’t take them with her. She abandoned me. Again.

“Nate, please.” I’m a trembling mess in his hold, and when he flips me around and slams me against the wall, his gun to the side of my head, I can’t stop myself. “Please, don’t hurt them. Hurt me. Don’t—”

“Are you out of your mind, Kayla?” His question is collected, but the tightness of his jaw shows me how he’s really feeling. He’s angry. “Do you think I would hurt my own daughters?”

I shake my head. “I don’t—I don’t kn—” I cut myself off. He wouldn’t. I know he wouldn’t.

“Kayla.” He kisses my temple, my cheek, the corner of my mouth. I can’t help but melt into each one. “You lied to me. The whole time I had you, I waited. I waited for you to admit I had gotten you pregnant, and that you decided to have my children. I waited for you to admit that you had twin girls who you sent to your mother so they would be protected from the North Shore. I waited for you to admit that the reason you wanted to be freed so badly was because you wanted to go back to them.”

He sucks on my lower lip and presses the gun harder against my head.

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