Page 87 of Vendetta

Something didn’t make sense.

“If ‘The Order’ doesn’t make threats, then how do you explain the bloody message that was left on my mirror?”

Confusion crossed Kaptan’s face.

“That wasn’t us.”

I had more questions than ever.

Kaptan let the silence hang in the air for a moment before speaking up again, his gaze once again locked on Cashton’s.

“Look, I can’t protect you now that they’re onto you. They’re going to send more men once they find out what happened here. Landry, you inherited your dad’s private jet—Use it. You need. To leave.”

I spared a glance up at Cashton, his face hard as stone. Panic surged through me at what Kaptan had said. He was right, they were going to come after us. There was no way they wouldn’t retaliate when not only did we somehow know too much, but had also killed three of their men. Well, technically speaking, Kaptan had killed the last one, but that was neither here nor there.

“Cash…” I whispered, dying to figure out what was going on inside his head.

“There are only a few weeks left in the semester, I guarantee that the school will let you finish them online. You don’t have to leave forever, just long enough for the Order to get distracted with something else. Spend the summer abroad, and when you come back, stop looking into this. Please. I’ve already risked enough today, I can’t keep them off of your back forever.”

“Cashton, please…” I pleaded.

I was so scared… Kaptan was right, we needed to leave. We were in danger, and they wouldn’t stop coming after us if we stayed.

He finally looked back at me, his expression softening.

“He’s right, we need to leave. I don’t want to constantly be looking over my shoulder, to know that people are actively trying to kill us at any given time. Cash, I’m scared… Please, can we go?”

“I’ll get all of this cleaned up, but you have to go. Now.” Kaptan urged.

Cashton glanced between the two of us, a war raging inside of his head. I knew how strongly he felt the need to avenge his sister, how he wouldn’t stop until he solved all of this. But right now, I needed him more than ever. We had just killed people—I had just stabbed somebody. And we had people out to kill us.

We left Kaptan in the house as he made a few calls, Cashton leading me to the passenger side of his Chevelle. We left my car there, not needing it if we were about to leave the country. I could always just buy a new one.

I had called my dad’s pilot, Pete—well, I guess my pilot now–and gotten him to agree to meet us at the airfield in less than an hour.

“We’ll stop by your house first so you can pack. Only grab the essentials, you can buy anything you need once you get to Paris,” Cashton said, his eyes on the road ahead.

“Paris?” I asked, turning in my seat to face him. He finally glanced my way, offering a sad smile.

“This will be your first time leaving the country. I know French cuisine is your favorite, and I figured I could see you loving it there.”

I hadn’t thought about where we would go until Cashton brought it up. I had to admit, Paris sounded pretty perfect. We could get a top floor apartment with a terrace and small yard for Tomahawk, maybe even with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

These weren’t the ideal circumstances for my first trip out of the country, but I would be happy if we were safe and I had Cashton by my side.

I managed to pack in less than fifteen minutes, my bags filling the backseat along with Tomahawk who had been waitingfor us at the dorms where I had left him. I called Bexley and Olivia on the way to Cashton’s to let them know that we were leaving. I didn’t give any details, just telling them that it was complicated but that I would explain as soon as I got the chance.

I had just gotten done hanging up with Olivia when we pulled into the airfield. Confusion struck me as I turned to Cashton.

“Wait, we haven’t gone to your house yet? What about your stuff?”

His eyes didn’t meet mine for what felt like forever before finally turning to face me. Everything he needed to say was written in the look on his face. My heart sank to my stomach.

“You’re not coming, are you?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He looked torn, a war raging in his head, but I knew that his decision was already made.

“Princess–”

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