Page 98 of The Pretty Psycho

Vega stepped away from me, crossing the short distance toward Aydin as I followed her, nerves wreaking havoc on my insides. I didn't like the tone of his voice. I didn't like the stench of fear in the air as I came closer, and most of all—I didn't like the tiny device attached to the wall we would've missed if it wasn't for the red light that started appearing the moment we came closer.

And I knew.

All three of us knew.

"Is that a—" Vega started.

"—bomb," Aydin finished for her, his eyes plastered to the device. "And not just any bomb."

"This one has a motion sensor, doesn't it?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. We used the same type of bombs on my missions back in the day when I still worked for my father. Hell, I was the one setting them up more often than not, and I knew there was no way to deactivate them without the main remote.

The remote that was no doubt in my father's hands.

"Get everyone out of the building," I said, not looking at Aydin but at the bomb.

"Adrian?" I could feel Vega's eyes on my face, but I couldn't look at her right now. She was going to hate me for what I was about to do, but if things didn't go well, I wanted her to live, even if it meant living without me.

"Every single person, Aydin," I pointed out as I looked at him. I didn't need to explain it to him. I didn't need to point at Vega to describe what I meant.

She had to go.

"He's behind that door down the hall." Aydin pointed at the metal door not too far from us. "It’s unlocked."

"Good. You'll have ten minutes to get every single person out."

"I know."

Vega kept looking between the two of us, her head going back and forth as we talked, and I just hoped she wouldn't hate me for what I was about to do. But these bombs started ticking the moment the motion sensor got activated, and I had no idea if this was the only bomb or if my psychopath of a father had planted more of them.

I turned toward Vega just as Aydin walked slowly behind her.

"I love you, Bambi."

"Adrian?"

"I love you more than anything in this entire world." She started shaking her head, slowly realizing what was happening. "I need you to be a good girl for me. I need you to be my strong girl, Vega."

"No," she mumbled, her voice trembling with fear. "Don't."

"Remember how much I love you," I said as I took a step back, trying to ignore the slicing pain in my chest at the sight of the fear in her eyes. "I'll always love you."

"Adrian, no." She stepped toward me when Aydin wrapped one of his arms around her throat and the other around her waist. "No!" she screamed, her eyes pleading with me, but she couldn't stay here. She didn't need to die for this. "Don't do this!" She choked against his hold, thrashing, trying to get free, but for all her strength, Vega was physically weaker than Aydin. She was also shorter, which was why I knew he'd be able to take her away. "You fucking fuckface!" she screeched, but Aydin was already pulling her out.

Away from me.

Away from this makeshift tomb my father was creating.

"Adrian! Goddammit. Goddammit, Adrian!" I closed my eyes as Aydin managed to pull back all the way to the entrance to this little hallway, disappearing with her. Vega's voice echoed throughout the space, slowly killing me with the anguish in every word, but this had to be done.

She was going to hate me. She was going to kill me herself if I managed to survive this, but I needed her safe if I was going to meet my father and deal with this insanity he had created.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and turned toward the door Aydin pointed at.

It’d been months since I last saw my father, and as I closed the distance between me and the door, I couldn't help but feel anxious over this meeting. The last time I saw him it was clear he wasn't well. It was clear he was spiraling down the roadof madness, but I didn't pay attention to it. I didn't want to, because his well-being wasn't my concern.

Even the anxiety now had nothing to do with my need for him to be well, but the fact that I wanted to survive this. I had so much to live for, so many things I wanted to do, and if he was insane enough to place all of these bombs around the place, with no obvious exit, then it was clear to me that things weren't going as well for him as he had hoped for.

He always danced on the line between madness and sanity, but for a young kid like me, he was the hero. He was my hero for so long that I missed the signs pointing at him being the villain. It wasn't until my mother died that I realized I had worshiped the wrong one all that time.

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