Page 103 of Dash

“Yeah.” He made a decision. “I’m on it. Meanwhile, Elite Team is following the trail to Coco Martinez. He’s the key.”

“Dash, someone, please, help!” Sandy ran into the library, looking as bewildered as I’d ever seen her.

I rushed to her. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Thena.” Sandy said. “She’s locked herself in her father’s study. She’s not answering me and there are some worrisome sounds coming from inside.”

Trev, Mina, and the guys formed up behind me.

“I’ll deal with this,” I gestured for them to hold back.

“Holler if you need backup,” Bozeman called after me.

“Stand by.” Knowing Thena had reached her max, I headed her way.

***

Thena

As if coming from a great distance, I registered the knocks on the door, Sandy’s pleas, then, a little while later, Dash’s voice.

He banged on the massive double doors, making them shake. “Open the door.”

Nope. I wasn’t gonna open those doors. I was gonnafinish what I’d started, what I should’ve done a long time ago, when my shithead of a father was still alive and soiling the world with his presence.

Riiiiiiiip. The knife cut through the cloth with a screech.Stab.I plunged the short sword I’d snatched from my father’s weapon collection directly into his heart.Stab, stab, stab. I put all my strength into each blow. My shoulder ached from the violent motion. My arm hurt. My fingers throbbed from clutching the knife, and yet I kept at it.

“Bastard,” I muttered as I struck. “I put up with your shit all those years. I tried to clean up your act. All that fancy talk of legacy. Not only did you betray me, our family. You betrayed your country!”

The hinges creaked behind me.I glanced over my shoulder. Dash peeked in. I had no doubt he’d picked the lock with the ever-present multitool that lived in his pocket. Sliding inside the study, he quickly assessed the massive antique credenza where I stood. Keeping his eyes on me, he reached behind him, closed the door, and locked it again.

My guess? He didn’t want anyone to know I’d gone batshit insane.

I didn’t care if people thought I was nuts. Ignoring Dash’s questioning gaze, I returned my attention to the task at hand.Stab, stab, rip. The canvas fell away, the paint crackled under the blade.Stab, rip, slice.

“Thena?” Dash’s quiet voice drifted from behind me. “What are you doing?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t stop. The image of Dash, standing among the ruins of my father’s study, surrounded by the destruction I’d caused stayed with me. The fractured remains of Caesar’s bust laid scattered on the floor around the spot where I’d smashed it into pieces. The fancy books I’d wrenched from the shelves littered the place. The glass of theframes of every photograph that had lined the mantel glinted in jagged slivers over the wood floors. I’d thrown them on the floor and stomped on them until I crushed them all.

I felt no loss, no regret, and no mercy. These werehisthings. The things Father had bought with the blood money he’d earned from undermining our country, dealing in drugs, weapons, and lives. Human trafficking, for fuck’s sake. He’d sold people! And I—stupid me—

I’d gone along knowing nothing about the filthiest part of his business, his life.

“Darling.” Dash’s voice interrupted my mental flagellation. “I asked you a question.”

“Go away,” I bit out, tightening my hold on the knife. “Leave me alone.”

I charged at the portrait of Father and the huge mastiff that sat at his feet. The canine was all pretense. In all his fucked-up life, Father had never owned a dog. No need. He’d had me. I was his meek, obedient beast, and I’d allowed him to trick me and kick me in the ribs one too many times.

The crunch of glass beneath boots announced Dash’s advance.

“You should leave.” I lifted the knife and ripped into the dog’s face.

“I’m not leaving.” Dash braced his hand on the credenza and, pushing off with his good leg, scampered up. He landed next to me and grabbed my wrist, immobilizing my hand with his grip before he wrapped his other arm around me and hugged me to his chest. “I know you’re fighting a war in your head, but you don’t need to fight me. Not me.”

The plea in his eyes reminded me he was my true ally. My only ally. Tired, spent, and dizzy, I disengaged from his embrace, took a step back, and after stretching my shaky arm, offered him the knife. He took it and tossed it away from me.

“Run, Dash, get as far away from here as you can.” Facing him atop the credenza, I fisted my hands and lifted my chin. “We, Astors, we’re a blight on the planet, toxic trash. My father’s assassin, whoever he is, he’s right. Our seed should be wiped out from the face of the earth.”

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