Page 110 of Cruel Dominion

“Anyway, he was still your father, I just thought…”

My jaw clenched as I worked to stuff down the memories of that night. They were still so fresh. So raw.

I could still smell his blood as if it were stuck in my nostrils. I could feel the grip of the hammer in my hands as if I were still holding it. What I did to him was…barbaric…but when he said in a drunken stupor that maybe it was better if Ma were to die—that he could make it look like an accident and then the hospital bills would stop, I just…I saw red.

I couldn’t even remember picking up the hammer. Not really. By the time I was lucid again, I was hovering over the beaten pulp of his head and Hudson Vaughn’s men were already breaking through the front door.

They held me down while they took photos. While they waited for Hudson himself to arrive. They’d been waiting weeks for something like this. Something he could use against me to force me to stay away from Anna, and I handed it right to him.

What kind of man did that make me?

The sort of man who could be bought.

A killer.

The kind of man that shouldn’t be anywhere near a girl like Anna Vaughn.

“I just can’t believe he’s gone,” Ma said in a rough voice.

“It’s just you and me now, Ma. You and me against the world. I’ll go see what we have for food.”

I hadn’t had time to grocery shop and while it was easy to explain away a charitable donation for her treatments, I wouldn’t be able to explain my sudden ability to afford takeout for every meal.

I closed her door and went to the kitchen to see what we had. First chance I got, I was going to fill this thing to the tits with all her favorites. Shit, my favorites, too.

Our rent was already pre-paid out for the next three months. After that, I intended to move us somewhere better. Closer to the hospital so she wouldn’t have to travel back and forth so much.

Anna’s face filled my mind and I screwed my eyes shut, slamming the fridge closed.

All this freedom for what?

What was it worth when I couldn’t share it with her?

My thoughts were loud but empty like an echo. The weird, empty feeling in my chest hadn’t gone away since I’d taken the deal.

It had to eventually, right?

It wasn’t like I’d live the rest of my life like this.

I checked the time. It would be dark soon. Any other night, I’d already be chomping at the bit as I waited for 11:30 so I could sneak out the front door and head for the beach.

Someone knocked at the door.

I jumped, stared at it like it might swing open itself. The light was on so it was obvious we were home. A terrifying montage of my arrest and sentencing in court for murder played in my head. I took a few shaky steps toward the door. They knocked again. I didn’t want my mother to hear it. She was well enough right now that she’d come out here and answer it herself if I didn’t.

My stomach turned as I opened it.

“You’re home,” she said.

Ice spread through my core. I looked over my shoulder and quickly stepped out onto the cement stoop, shutting the door firmly behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered angrily. Even in a loose hoodie and jeans, she stuck out around here. Her skin was too flawless. Hair too shiny. Sneakers too obviously brand name. And she was alone by the look of the empty streets devoid of black sedans in either direction.

Fucking hell, did she take the bus? A cab?

“Why haven’t you been answering my texts?” she asked, her round eyes pleading.

“How did you find my address?” I asked, ignoring her, still angry as fuck that she’d come here alone.

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