Page 69 of Fear Me, Love Me

My mouth drops open in outrage. “What have I done that would make you believe I’m so heartless? You disowned me, but I have fought for your lives.”

“Don’t bother trying to deny it,” Dad retorts. “Your friend told me all about your plan when I ran into her at the ball.”

“My friend? I don’t have a friend who would make up such lies about me.”

“Julia something. Julia Merrick.”

I’m hit with an ice-cold wave of shock. Julia said that? Julia, one of only two friends I have in the world, has been talking to Dad about me behind my back? I never even talked to her about Tyrant. I can’t think of one reason for her to betray me like that. I’ve never hurt her in any way. We’ve known each other since high school. It’s not true. It can’t be true.

Tyrant grips me even tighter. “Did you just say Merrick?”

Suddenly he stands up and places me on my feet, and he pushes the rifle into my hands. “Don’t let them near you. Stay here. I need to go and see someone, and I’ll be right back.”

He stalks off into the darkness and disappears around the corner.

Dad follows him with his eyes and then turns back to me with a frown. “What’s that about?”

I shake my head, mystified. “I don’t know.”

“Wherever he’s gone, he’s just going to come back and kill us,” Samantha cries.

Dad steps toward me, reaching for the gun, but I aim it at him and say, with surprising calmness, “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll shoot you.”

If he believes I want him dead, then he’ll try and hurt me, and I can’t let him hurt my baby. I’ll kill him if he tries anything.

His expression is outraged, but he stops in his tracks. “Vivienne, I’m your father.”

I don’t reply. I don’t belong in their lives anymore and I don’t need them. I’m going to make my own family.

“So you fucked him, and now you’ll do anything he’ll say?” Dad says. “That man was going to hunt you down for fun. We all heard him say it.”

I think about this for a moment and shake my head. “Tyrant was never going to hurt me. He wanted to force us to have this conversation. You never wanted me around, did you, Dad?”

Dad glowers at me but doesn’t reply. I suppose it’s a good idea not to piss off the girl holding the hunting rifle.

“And us?” Samantha quavers. “Is he going to hurt us?”

“He wants to hurt you both very much.” It sticks in my throat to speak these words, but I say them anyway. “Tyrant is going to let you both go. He wanted to kill you, but I convinced him to spare your lives.”

I carefully avoid any mention of Barlow.

“How can you be sure he’ll keep his word?” Dad asks.

“My wish is the only thing that has convinced him to spare you, because I promise you, he hates you so much. Also…” I feel a rush of happiness as I finally say the words out loud, and with a smile on my face. “We have the most wonderful future to look forward to. I’m having his baby.”

The shocked expressions on Dad’s and Samantha’s faces are priceless.

24

Tyrant

When I return to the center of the labyrinth, Vivienne is where I left her thirty minutes ago, standing well apart from her father and stepmother and holding on to the rifle with a fierce expression on her face.

What a good girl. She didn’t let those vipers get anywhere near her.

Her mouth falls open with shock as she sees who I’m dragging along by her shiny blonde hair. Julia Merrick. Alan Merrick’s daughter, the city councilman who’s been harassing me about marrying his daughter.

I hurl the bound, whimpering girl onto the grass at my feet. Vivienne steps forward to help her, but I hold out my hand, barring her way. “No. Stay where you are.”

---