Page 80 of Reign of Psychos

I removed the photograph and slid it into my jacket pocket. Dad’s desk drawers were empty, his files and computers missing. There was nothing here.

“Come on, let’s go find Mom.”

Just as I turned around, the study door swung open, and a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.

“Hello, Son.”

39

Thea

Lucian looked like shit. Like my dearly beloved father, he had stupidly fallen for his own spin. Believed he was untouchable, thanks to all the people in high places on his payroll. Only nobody is ever truly bullet-proof. Just ask Daddy. He’d know all about that.

Which reminded me… I needed to schedule a visit to see the old bastard. Pass on the sad news about Torrance’s untimely demise.

I grinned to myself like a psycho. Perhaps I should have taken some photos of the corpse for posterity. Then again, keeping gruesome mementos was a bad idea. It crossed the line into serial killer territory, and I had no plans to become the subject of a Netflix True Crime documentary.

“I knew you’d come back,” Lucian sneered, stepping into the room. From the smell of alcohol, he’d been drinking. And judging by the stains on his shirt, the man was mid-breakdown as his carefully constructed empire of carnage slipped away.

I frowned as my nose detected the faint odor of something stronger than alcohol. Gasoline?

“We’re not stopping,” Cassian said, pushing me behind him. “You can keep the house. Mom won’t be living here again.”

Lucian laughed and then pulled a gun from his jacket. “That bitch won’t ever be leaving here. I’ve made damn sure of it. None of you will.”

Cassian froze. Dammit. We were cornered in here. Lucian blocked the only exit. A strategic mistake on my part. There was a window behind us, but we were on the first floor, so leaping out was a seriously bad idea.

“Are you hoping to be sent down for multiple homicide, too?” Cassian did his best to appear calm, almost bored, but I could hear the concern in his voice. He was worried. Worried that we might not survive this encounter.

“A tragic fire that claims the lives of my poor son and his mother should garner some positive press. Luckily for me, I was miles away at the time, with my loyal mistress.”

Fuck, where was Kyril? Had Lucian ambushed him? We’d heard no gunshots, so it seemed doubtful, but Lucian could have come with backup. For all I knew, Kyril was facing off against more armed men.

Fuck my life.

“And you think some whore will be your alibi? I hope you’ve paid her well!”

Smoke filtered into the room. Lucian must have started a fire somewhere. Fire complicated things. I didn’t know the house well enough to escape if it was burning down around us. Adrenaline spiked as my fight-or-flight response activated. We needed to disable Lucian, and fast.

“Amanda will do exactly what I tell her to do!” Lucian snarled. “She’s loyal to me.”

“Oh, you mean the dumb as fuck barmaid from the inn in the village? I’d say expecting that silly bitch to stick to the story iswildly optimistic. She doesn’t have more than two brain cells in her pretty little head. But isn’t that why you like her, eh?”

“Be quiet!” Lucian roared before succumbing to a coughing fit as the smoke thickened. The moment his gun lowered, I took my chance.

Lucian wore an expression of surprise when I shot him in the chest. I’d aimed for a head shot, but the acrid smoke was making me woozy. He fired back, but the shot went wide, lodging in the wall.

Cassian leaped forward and kicked the gun out of his father’s hand. It slid under a bookcase, out of sight. Lucian groaned and coughed, blood trickling from his lips. I stared down at him and wondered whether he knew he was about to die.

But there wasn’t time for an existential debate. The smoke was now so thick I could barely see the door.

“We need to find Mom and Kyril. Cover your face and don’t let go of me.” Cassian pulled his jacket up over his nose and mouth while I used my sweater to do the same. It did little to stop the smoke from burning my lungs.

We headed back toward the main hall, thankful the lights still worked. The smoke was thicker here, but still no flames, thank God. There was no sign of Kyril or Ophelia.

Cassian and I stumbled outside, but they weren’t there either. Our car stood empty, the driver missing. Fuck knows where he’d gone.

Flames burst from the side of the house, roaring up into the night sky.

---