Page 69 of Muzzled

Ryan grabbed her hand and led her out of the room, Bo and Alex following with the heavy slam of the door. He loaded her suitcase into the trunk and waited until the twins fought their way into the car.

“We didn’t get all the answers we were looking for,” he said once they were on the road. “Seph sent it up here to spy on us, yes. But we have no idea why it’s targeted you.”

Flipping through the photos she’d taken, she zoomed in on one, cringing at the red slashes running through it. “To get to you,” she replied, swiping to the next picture. “Though I suppose it came for me a long time ago, didn’t it?”

“Well, yeah,” Bo commented from the back seat. “I mean, your mom thinks it was your dad, right? Makes sense it would think so, too, and want to go visit his kid before hitting the road for his little killing spree.”

“Ho. Ly. Fuck,” Alex growled. “Shut up, Bo.”

She slid her thumb across the screen to the next picture, her physical serenity masking the tempest growing in her head. “Ryan?”

He adjusted his rearview mirror and cleared his throat. “We took Elijah down thirty years ago,” he answered, his voice hollow. “He went full feral thanks to a third sighting of us, which triggers the more violent Pirithous tendencies. The first brings on homicidal thoughts, the second marks a transition to preparation. The third brings on the pronounced physical changes alongside the feral behavior, with the kills starting shortly after.”

His calm explanation of the Pirithous bloodline pattern filtered through her head, drifting among the swelling waves of hurt and betrayal. “You killed my father.”

Swallowing, he flipped on his signal light. “The Pirithous line is always male,” he countered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. “There’ve been no females in the bloodline ever. Despite what your mother thinks, Daniel Elijah Ringer was not your father.”

“But—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “You killed him. And you’ve known. You’ve known you did, and you didn’t say anything to me?” The rest of Bo’s words slammed into her. “His killing spree. How many…”

“Eleven,” Bo replied, delivering a hard punch to Alex’s arm when Alex tried to shush him. “What? It’s not like he was her actual dad.”

The back seat audience was silent and motionless as Ryan pulled into the motel lot. “I’m sorry,” he finally said, turning the engine off and facing her. “I should have told you the moment I recognized the name. I should’ve told you we were responsible for his death, and I should’ve told you it was impossible that Eli was your father. It was just…” He trailed off, oblivious to his brothers creeping out of the car and easing the doors shut. “I didn’t want you to know until I was certain I understood the link between you and the shade. And unfortunately, I still don’t.”

Dropping her head back, she covered her face with her hands. “How did I go from having no dad to having a dad to having a maybe dad to having a murderer for a maybe dad who also happens to be haunting me?” Shoving her hands through her hair, she let out a frustrated groan. “We’re calling my mom.”

She swiped her phone to life and tapped on her mother’s number, putting it on speaker as a familiar voice picked up.

“Hey, Mom,” she opened, struggling to keep her voice from wavering. “I have a quick question.”

There was a long-suffering sigh. “I’m a little busy, so make it fast. Your sister is taking me to dinner and a movie. I had wanted to treat her, since she’s been so welcoming and accommodating, but unfortunately, that pittance you sent me didn’t last long.”

Ryan’s eyes hardened and she shook her head before he opened his mouth. “Daniel Elijah Ringer. Was that my father?”

“This again?” her mother huffed. “I swear, Micah, you just enjoy bringing unpleasantness into my life, don’t you? Yeah, he probably was.”

“Not probably, Mom,” she pressed, flexing her fingers. “I need a yes or no.”

“Well, I can’t give you that, can I?” she countered. “I was hanging out with a few guys around that time. Now are you done with this ridiculousness? We have reservations.”

Nodding, she stared out the window at the neon lights peppering the dark sky. “You wouldn’t happen to know their names before you go, would you?”

“Micah, I have plans. Goodbye.”

Ryan’s hand inched toward hers hesitantly before he intertwined his fingers with hers. Taking a deep breath, she slid her phone back into her purse. “So that’s that. No dad, no name, just a link to a cursed killer no one can explain. A cursed killer who seems to think he’s my dad even if he can’t be.”

He reached over and ran his pinky along her temple. “I’m sorry. More than sorry, but I don’t have the words for it,” he said quietly, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. “I’d sign a deal with the devil himself to reverse all this if I could.”

“The devil’s technically your boss already,” she grumbled. “I suppose I should have remembered the ‘hell’ part of ‘hellhound’ when I was getting all caught up in the coolness of the ‘hound’ part.”

He kissed her forehead softly, released her, and undid his seat belt. “We’ll figure this out,” he promised, then got out of the car and walked around to open her door. “And when we do, we’ll take care of it and you’ll be free of all this. I swear it.”

Giving him a tight smile, she accepted his hand and walked alongside him toward the motel, knowing he’d make good on his promise.

But in doing so, she’d be free of him, too.

And she wasn’t sure she was okay with that price.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

---