Page 69 of The Keeper

It was a lead, albeit a thin one.

Carnage stood, bones cracking as he stretched. “I’ll get with Jimmy when I get back to the hotel. See if we can’t turn up something. For now, let’s call it a night. You need sleep.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” I lied.

Sleep could fuck right off.

I waited until he left before pulling up the footage from the morning of the robbery. Derek had sprung for the high-quality security cameras, and seeing my worst nightmare play out in 4k resolution was like a shot of adrenaline to the heart.

“Please don’t do this. I have a baby.”

I swore my molars were going to crack under the pressure as I watched Timothy taunt Piper with the gun, toying with her body while she tearfully pleaded for mercy. My fists clenched so tight I could feel my nails digging into my palms.

It was the most helpless feeling in the world. And no matter how many hours I spent trying to track down the person responsible, it wouldn’t change what had happened to her. I’d thought living without her for two years was hell.

But I was wrong.

It was seeing the terror on her face and knowing I hadn’t been there to stop it.

Exhaustion weighed on me like a physical thing, my eyes drifting shut despite my best efforts. My chin dipped toward my chest, and I jolted awake before forcing myself to my feet.

My fingers itched for a cigarette or a neck to snap. Preferably the latter, but I settled for the former and stalked out onto the front porch.

The craving clawed at my insides like an animal fighting its way out of a cage, and I fished the pack from my pocket with trembling hands. It had been a bitch to quit smoking the first time around, but the need to quiet the chaos in my head since the robbery outweighed the hell of withdrawals.

I lit up and took several long, desperate drags, the nicotine hitting my brain with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The neighborhoodwas quiet, almost eerily so, and it made me wonder what other threats lurked in the shadows, waiting to strike.

After taking a final drag, I crushed my cigarette beneath my boot and immediately lit another before leaning my head back against the side of the house. I’d deal with quitting again later, assuming we made it out of this clusterfuck alive.

Tension coiled between my shoulder blades like a snake poised to strike, my body bracing for the sound of blood-curdling screams or cries for help. I should have been used to Piper’s nightmares by now. They’d become a nightly occurrence since the robbery, which was why our daughter had been sleeping over at GiGi’s, and I’d given up on it altogether.

She was slipping away a little more each day, and there wasn’t a goddamn thing I could do to bring her back. After finishing the second cigarette, I trudged back inside and rewound the robbery footage to the beginning.

As much as I wanted to turn it off, I forced myself to watch the entire thing—to relive the assault alongside her, over and over again, reminding myself what was at stake if I failed again.

TWENTY-TWO

PIPER

Ivy & Piper’s Guide to Life Rule Number Nine:

Don’t shrink yourself down for anyone.

Ibolted upright in bed with a choked gasp, my face damp with tears. The room felt too small, the walls closing in, trapping me with the remnants of another nightmare that had felt all too real.

The dreams were different every time. Sometimes, I fought back and managed to escape, only to find myself trapped inside the bakery like a rat in a maze. In others, I stood paralyzed while each man took what he wanted from me.

My mind was caught in an endless loop of the robbery, leaving me barely able to focus on the most basic tasks. Everyday stressors, like Avery shrieking at something on TV, sent me into a fight or flight response.

This was what they’d turned me into. Someone who jumped at shadows and didn’t feel safe even in her own home.

But tonight’s? Tonight’s nightmare took the fucking cake.

Instead of a stranger, it was Dane holding the gun. His dark eyes were cold and clinical as he groped my body, his touch both familiar yet terrifyingly foreign. When I begged him to stop, he told me to be agood girl. And the worst part? My traitorous body responded to him, leaving me feeling sick and confused.

I reached across the bed for him, needing his warmth to thaw the ice in my veins and reassure me it was all in my head, but found only empty sheets.

Alone.

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