Page 99 of Hold Me Before You Go

My former mother-in-law appeared to be unbothered as I stared at her through the small window of the locked door. She and her husband had been locked up in here for over a week, and the only thing out of place about the woman was her hair. It was down and loose, something I’d never seen when I was married to Robert.

Then again, I rarely ever saw them.

Donna Hale was dressed in a simple pencil skirt and blouse, sitting on the small cot with her legs crossed, her heels neatly lined up against the wall as she examined her nails. I left her door, needing to see both of them. My former father-in-law was in the room next to her, lying down on his cot, his face covered in bruises and cuts. My lips parted at the sight, finally seeing the damage Dominic had done.

Last night, when Grayson confessed all of this to me, I asked him why he let Dominic torture and question Robert’s father, and all my bounty hunter said was, “I was willing to do anything, hurt anyone, to find you. Still am. That will never change.”

And he did. He pushed the limits, and now, there was a very good chance they would all go to prison for it.

I felt Grayson’s body heat close to my back then as he rumbled, “When we let them go, this will be a complication, of course.”

I didn’t need the reminder.

All of this was screwed up.

The lives of so many people were hanging in the balance, as well as closure for all of Robert’s victims. All of it was on my shoulders, and all I ever wanted was to find happiness in this life. I’d only gotten a taste of it before it was ripped from me, and now, here I was, facing an impossible decision.

Before I could do that, I needed to confront the woman who raised a serial killer.

“Open her door,” I said softly, straightening my shoulders as I stepped up to it.

Dominic, who was standing a mere ten feet from us, pressed a button on the wall panel. The lock to Donna’s door clicked, and Grayson pulled it open, gesturing for me to step inside, features stone cold. I nodded, and without another word or look back to the men, I went inside—alone.

Just like I told Grayson I wanted.

Donna slowly turned her head in my direction, appearing bored at first. Then, her eyes landed on me, and everything about her demeanor changed. Her eyes widened, and she shot up from her place, stumbling back as I took another step inside. Confusion slammed into me as I noticed the fear in her eyes, the way her mouth was trembling.

“C-Carrie,” she gasped. “My god.”

“Hello, Donna,” I greeted, keeping my voice level.

She blinked, as if she was trying to get me to disappear, as if I was a ghost. “You…you look so—”

“—healthy,” I finished for her. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. “I would look a little better if not for your second son kidnapping me along with the woman Robert was apparently in love with his entire life.”

Her mouth snapped shut.

“Yeah, Brandon is a real piece of work, but then again, can you really blame him?” I continued, my voice sharp. “After all, his big brother was a serial killer.”

The shock melted away from her features as she righted herself, shamelessness coating her face now. “So, they told you?”

I scoffed. “I think me of all people have a right to know the truth about my dead husband, don’t you think?”

Donna’s eyes drifted down from my face then, taking in my appearance. “You gained weight,” she noted, mainly to herself. “He would’ve hated that.”

She knew.

She knew about the abuse, the torture, that her son put me through. Day in and day out.For years.

“How could you?” I whispered, my throat burning now. There was no way I could play this off as if it didn’t bother me, not in front of her. “How could you let him do…everything?”

“He was my son,” she quipped, hissing at the end.

I stared at her, an overwhelming sense of confusion and disbelief surrounding me, disgust pooling in my belly, a new sense of hatred blooming in my chest. “He killed other people’s sons,” I murmured. “Other people’s daughters…even yours.”

The woman flinched. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re just a stupid girl, Carrie. That’s all you ever were to us—to him.”

She had no remorse.

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