Page 143 of The Good Girl

“He’s dead, darling.” I lift my bloody hands for her to see. “I killed him myself.”

She stares at me for a minute. “Do you promise?” There is something so childlike about her question that it hurts my fucking chest to answer.

“I swear it.”

She drops the rod with a sob. Nevaeh runs over to her, Ambros hot on her heels. When Citi’s legs give out, he catches her.

The loud clank of chains brings my attention to her ankle and the shackle on it. I turn and walk out of the room before I losemy shit again. I jog down to the kitchen and round the counter. I stalk over to the body and lift my leg before stomping on his face.

“Havoc?”

I pause, my breath wheezing in and out of my chest as I look at Hannibal and Ferris. “Nevaeh’s sister is upstairs with a shackle around her ankle and a child, I suspect is hers, strapped to her chest.”

“He kidnapped Nevaeh’s sister too?” Ferris questions confused, but Hannibal just looks shocked because he knows the full story.

“Yeah, Ferris. Fifteen years ago.”

His mouth snaps shut as a look of horror passes over his face.

“I need to find the key,” I say, bending down to rummage in the dead man’s pockets. I come up empty.

“Let me go look. I can pick most locks,” Hannibal says.

“Just go careful. She’s terrified.”

He nods and heads up.

“We need to burn this place to the ground,” Ferris snarls.

“Yeah, but we need to check on the sister first to see if there is anything she needs from here.”

“I’ll go see what kind of accelerants I can find and rig the place.” He leaves, so I take a second to get myself together before I head back up.

Nevaeh is standing near her sister, who is still in Ambros’ lap. She has her arms wrapped around herself as she watches Hannibal use his lock pick on the shackle. I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her tightly, lending her my strength.

“Probe?” she whispers to me.

“No news yet, but Circus and Capone are with him.”

“My dad? He fought off Driller, who was trying to?—”

“Shh…your dad is fine. A couple of scrapes and bruises, but he’ll live. I don’t know about Driller, and right now, I don’t care. I’ve got the club lawyer on his way to your dad to make sure hedoesn’t get railroaded. He was the one who recognized who had you.”

“He creeped me out when I was little, but nobody ever listens to a kid. I feel sick, Havoc. He had her all this time, and we gave up on her.”

“You didn’t. You didn’t know.”

“But I should have. I’m her twin, for god’s sake.”

I turn her into my arms and hold her while she cries. “We have her now. We’re going to help her heal.”

“Got it,” Hannibal says triumphantly.

Ambros scoops Citi up into his arms, kid and all. “Let’s get you out of here,” he tells her softly.

I take Nevaeh’s hand and move closer. “We’re going to burn this place down. Is there anything you need or want before it blows?”

Citi looks down at the little girl who hasn’t spoken a word since we entered. “I have everything I need,” she tells me, stroking the little girl’s hair.

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