Page 30 of Back In the Shadows

I glanced at the laptop on the desk, and my dark chuckle filled the room. “That was a good day ending that son of a bitch.” I grinned. “Give me my son,” I said to Kip. My tone was firm, but not unfriendly. My attention landed on Cami, who I knew from Ella, but this was the first time I’d met her face-to-face.

Cami’s arms shook as she held Verity. It was clear that I scared her, which wasn’t an unhealthy response.

“Well, if there’s any doubt that you and your kids are deeply connected, it’s gone now.” Ryan smirked. “They’re the key to bringing you around. At least we know.”

I wrapped my son in my arms. “You aremyboy.” I smoothed the dark peach fuzz on his head and placed a kiss on his pudgy cheek.

“Welcome back. We need to know what happened when you returned to the house. Did you see anyone around?” Ryan asked.

Fear flickered in Cami’s gaze, and I couldn’t help but flash her a sinister smile.

“Rest assured that I will find my little lamb and bring her home.”

Cami tipped her chin. “Make it fast.” With that, she spun on her heel and left.

“Send Dope in,” Kip yelled after her.

I paced the room with Alaric. “I don’t want the kids to leave here. Whoever took Ella, they might be back.”

“If we could figure out whotheyare, it would really help.” Kip rubbed his stubbled jaw. “Um, and not to piss you off as soon as you show up, but Ella told us that she’s mentioned Sebastian to you before.”

The tension around his name was so thick, I could have cut it with my knife. I pinned him with a glare and snarled. “We don’t talk about it … about him.”

“Hell, I wouldn’t want to either, but we’re going to have to in order to find Ella,” Ryan said.

“Dude, never been so fucking happy to see you.” Dope walked into the office and closed the door behind him. “Sorry I missed that entrance, but I had to take a piss.”

“It was the kids that brought Death out, so here we are,” Kip said.

“Very fucking cool! I guess the twins are the key to bringing you around. I kind of wondered if you all were two peas in apod. I’m only guessing, but we might have to keep an eye on them.” Dope rubbed his hands together as if he were up for the challenge.

“Def,” Alaric said again.

Dope’s light red brow arched. “And that’s my point.”

“About Sebastian,” Ryan said, bringing the topic back around.

“You knew about the paternity and DNA tests, so you know he’s around. Somewhere in your head, you realize that you and Sebastian reside in the same … body.”

“I don’t have to know anything. I hate that son of a bitch for touching what belongs to me.” I seethed.

“I would love to play this game with you, but we don’t have time, so I’m going to cut to the chase,” Kip said, approaching me with his features full of compassion. “You and Sebastian are the same man. You look exactly the same, live with Ella, have kids with her. You’re a serial killer and Sebastian isn’t. His dark side comes out in other ways, like cage fighting in the old days. He’s calculated and smart, just like you. But you’re his dark side and live with a bloodlust that drives you to kill people. The reason you lose time and memories is because Sebastian comes out and vice versa.”

I shook my head at his directness. “And if I don’t believe you?”

“Then remember who has hung around you since middle school—Dope and later me. Have we ever lied to you about something this important? Would we do this just to fuck with you? Think, man. Ella is depending on you and Sebastian working together to find her. If for no other reason, accept the truth for her.”

My eyes darted around the room, landing on each of my friends in turn. Kip’s words hit me like a punch to the gut. They had never lied to me about anything important. I trusted themwith my life, and more importantly, with the lives of Ella and our children. Everything they were saying was overwhelming, but I pushed it aside for the moment. Right now, all that mattered was getting to Ella and making sure she was safe. The rest could be dealt with later, when my mind wasn’t clouded with fear and urgency.

“Fine,” I snarled.

A collective sigh of relief exploded from the group, their tense bodies finally releasing fear and anxiety that had been building up. My thoughts raced with questions about Sebastian and our complicated relationship, but for now all I could focus on was getting Ella safely back home. Failure was not an option, and the thought of anything happening to her filled me with a searing rage. I would stop at nothing to find her.

“We finally took a chance and told Sebastian about you. We need any help we can get to find Ella. Plus, we think her being taken has more to do with you than Sebastian.”

“You meanmyenemy, not Sebastian’s?” The hair on the back of my neck prickled with his name on my tongue.

“It’s more likely since you tend to piss people off when you kill a family member.” Dope shrugged with his comment. “I mean, no offense, but Sebastian is a nicer guy than you are.”

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