Page 136 of Sinner

“I never knew you had it in you, Sam. You seemed like a nice guy.”

If he was surprised that I knew his identity, he didn’t show it. Then again, I certainly couldn’t see his face. Yet.

“You should know all about that, Xander. You are a true monster. You did kill my friend, Joel. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?” He truly seemed horrified.

I laughed softly and inched closer. “You know how competitive it is in this business, Sam. You certainly didn’t mind taking over the man’s business operations. Did you? With stealing several ideas and productions designs, our intellectual property, you counted on becoming a very wealthy man. Sadly, your idea backfired on you. You were just too… How do I say this? Stupid with using Elizabeth. She isn’t as naïve as you think she is. In fact, she had a picture taken of the two of you in case you reneged on whatever deal you made.”

I didn’t need to see the look of surprise on his face.

“Yes, she was a smart woman, sending copies to her home email address, a private one no one knew about and her attorney in case anything happened to her. Was she going to be next, Sam? Eliminating loose ends?”

Given his lack of answer, that’s exactly what he had planned. As I’d always known, anyone could cross the line of right versus wrong with the correct incentive.

My little lamb took the opportunity to elbow the man, able to jerk from his hold. But he reacted instantly, pummeling his body against hers, driving them both to the ground right by the water.

A flash of images tore through my mind, the memory of seeing Amy’s broken body by the river capturing my full attention.

Jessica’s sharp cry dragged my attention back to the present day. I threw myself on both, jerking him away from her and snapping my fingers around his wrist holding the knife.

She scrambled away, Christopher catching her and pulling her from harm’s way.

Sam and I pitched and rolled much like the rage was doing in my mind. I was fucked up, flipping back and forth between the past and the present. After managing to knock the knife from his hand, I reared back, delivering two brutal punches to his face in a row.

He lay limp, gasping for air. I’d likely broken his nose. Who gave a damn?

As I hauled him to his feet, I pressed the barrel of my weapon against his forehead and ripped off his mask. I wanted to see the look of terror in his eyes.

I got what I was looking for.

I was salivating over seeing the vacant look seconds later.

“Are you ready to die, you fuck?” I bellowed.

“No!” Jessica’s sharp cry as she wrestled free from Christopher’s hold caught my attention. She looked so damn beautiful, her face pensive, but her eyes held the same resolve. “You can’t kill him, Xander.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not the young boy caught in a monstrous cage and I’m not Amy.”

Startled, I sucked in my breath, pressing the metal against his skin. I slowly turned my head to lock eyes with hers.

She moved closer, nodding as she did. “I know about Amy. You tried to protect her. You didn’t fail her, Xander. You did everything you could as a young boy. Because of you, her life was better. Don’t do this. Amy wouldn’t want you to do this. He’ll pay for his sins, but you don’t have to any longer.”

I returned my gaze to his eyes. Maybe I was searching for remorse. What I noticed was a broken man driven to doing something he would never have done before. I shifted the weapon, still keeping the barrel pointed in the same spot.

“Xander. Don’t. You have too much to live for.” She placed her hand on my arm and I looked away briefly, hissing. “Please.”

When I dropped the weapon to the side, I pushed him hard, forcing him to tumble down on the ground. Christopher held his weapon out toward the fallen man, giving me a nod.

She removed my mask, brushing her fingers against my cheek. “I don’t need Sinner any longer. Why would I when I have Xander?”

I wrapped my arms around her. “Jessica.”

“You saved me. You protected me. Just like you promised.”

While nothing in the present or the future would take away from the horrors of the past, she was right in that for the first time in my life, I had everything to live for.

I cupped both sides of her face, lowering my head. As I captured her mouth, an entirely different set of emotions rolled through me.

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