Page 53 of Final Cost

Lucien reaches out, his attention centered on the gun. “Daniel. Give me the gun.”

“She told me I disgusted her,” Daniel says. “She said she screamed and came over and over again when Winwood fucked her. She said the two of them laughed at me.” Daniel can barely get the words out. “She. Broke. My. Heart.”

“That sounds like Ravenna,” Lucien says. “So that’s why you killed her.”

Daniel frowns, looking startled by the suggestion. “I never wanted to hurt her.”

“But you did.” Lucien’s voice is quiet but firm. “You picked up a rock and bashed her on the back of the head. Didn’t you, Daniel?”

Daniel shakes his head, using both his free hand and his gun hand to press the sides of his head. “She was still laughing when she turned her back on me and walked away. She said she was going to use her fake passport and go to Bali. She said she hoped she never laid eyes on me again.”

“So you killed her,” Lucien says.

“I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to stop her laughing. I couldn’t stand the sound.” Daniel lowers his hands and stares down at them, looking bewildered. “But then there was blood. A lot of blood.”

“Where?” Lucien asks sharply.

“On my hands.” Daniel blinks several times, nostrils flaring. “On a rock.”

“And Ravenna…?” Lucien says.

“She was …she was face down on the stand.” Daniel now has his fingers flexed as though he’s holding the rock in question. “And her head was smashed in somehow.”

Lucien scoffs. “Notsomehow. It was smashed in because you killed her.”

A chilling half smile from Daniel. “It was smashed in because she deserved it. She won’t laugh at me again.” His satisfaction slowly fades away to bleak nothingness. “It’s her own fault. She pushed me too far. She knew how much I loved her.”

I stand there watching this whole exchange, frozen with revulsion. I’d thought I’d learned all about the face of madness the night Lucien kicked Ravenna out and she glared at me with evil intent behind those livid eyes. Butthis. It’s another master class on insanity.

“Thank you for telling us,” Lucien says. “Now you’ve got to tell the police. We’ve got to straighten this out.”

Daniel’s head snaps up, and there’s nothing teary or heartbroken about his gaze now as he levels it on Lucien. Just pure hatred. “Why would I do that? So you can win again? So you can live happily ever after with your little empty doll and your billions while I rot in prison for the rest of my life?”

“Because it’s the truth. Because the police will figure it out eventually.”

“Will they?” Daniel says, his attention shifting to me. It wasn’t a thrill to hear him call me a pretty little empty doll, but it was much better than the raw malevolence in his narrowed gaze now. “You should have stayed away, little doll. I warned you that it wasn’t safe here. Didn’t I?”

“Leave her alone, Daniel.” Lucien’s voice sounds rougher and less controlled now as he edges closer to me. “Deal withme. I’m the one you have a problem with. Not Tamsyn.”

Daniel laughs, the sound harsh and ugly. “Oh, I have a problem with you, Tamsyn,andWinwood. I have enough problems to go around. More than enough. My biggest problem is deciding which of you I want to kill first.”

“You don’t need to kill anyone, Daniel.” I try to smile. Try to keep my voice audible. Try to make it sound as though he’s got a way out when we all know he doesn’t. “You’ll only make things worse for yourself if you hurt anyone else when you don’t need to. And Lucien will let you go, won’t you, Lucien? You can take one of his cars and go.”

“Absolutely,” Lucien says, still easing closer to me.

Another laugh from Daniel. It sounds like a bark of hysteria. “Go where?” He gesticulates with the gun. “Do what? With what money?

“I’m happy to give you money, Daniel,” Lucien says. “Whatever you need.”

“I need Ravenna back. But since your money can’t do that for me, I need to put myself out of this misery,” Daniel says, his face spasming as he taps the barrel to his temple.

Oh, God. I exchange a swift look with Lucien, heart stopping and blood running cold.

“Slow down,” Lucien says. “We can figure this out. No one else needs to get hurt.”

Daniel stares at him for the longest several beats of my life. “I disagree,” he says, now pointing the pistol at Lucien, who raises his hands.

“No!”I scream. I step sideways, determined to shield Lucien.

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