Page 147 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

I cross the lawn and head for the beach, adjusting my plan slightly. For now, I can run until I see another house with the lights on. Maybe they’ll call the police for me and keep Dad away. Maybe they’ll have a car I can borrow. It’s a pathetic plan, but it’s all I have. One way or another, I have to survive and find Archer. Tears slip down my cheeks. I miss him so much already, it hurts.

My lungs burn, but I continue running toward a spec of light in the distance. I can do this. I can get to the light. I tell myself not to look back, to just keep going. But fear crawls up my spine, and I just need to know Dad isn’t right behind me. He can’t possibly keep me here against my will. He’s a killer. I never want to see him again.

I chance a glance over my shoulder and see him. He’s not chasing after me on foot. He’s not even the one driving the golf cart. One of his security guards is behind the wheel, his attention zeroed in on me, like I’m some kind of wild animal he’s hunting.

The house with the light is too far still. So instead, I head for the one to my right. I pick my way through the lawn and the pool deck, while I consider my options. I could break in and hide inside. Or I could double back to the beach house. If I’m lucky, I can steal one of the valet cars and return to the city.

But before I reach the street on the other side of the house, a set of arms lock around my body and yank me off the ground. I’m once again kicking and screaming. But unlike Hunter, this guy was trained to handle a situation like this. He twists my arm behind my back and walks me back to the golf cart and Dad.

In the dark with only the moonlight overhead, I can’t see his face. I stare at him with an odd sense of deja vu. I’ve been here before, staring at a man who I know can hurt me if he wants to. I also know I can’t escape him.

To my surprise, Dad doesn’t slap me again. Instead, he closes the space between us and pulls me into an embrace that feels like old times. Once again, he’s the loving father. How many times did I do anything he asked of me, just for this small reward? I worked on my ballet day in and day out to please him, to show him how much I loved him. But he always made me feel like I wasn’t enough, nothing I did was ever enough.

The security guard holding me releases me. But I can’t get myself to hug Dad back. Nothing between us will ever be the same. I know what he’s capable of. I know he doesn’t love me because he only loves himself. All I can think of is that somehow, I have to survive, escape him, and find Archer.

Dad never deserved my sacrifices. All the money he took from his own campaign, he did it to feed his gambling addiction and satisfy his own greed. He killed Archer’s dad for the same reasons. He showed zero remorse when I accused him of being a murderer. In twenty years, Maurice Davis has not learned a single lesson. Even after I told him Archer had been hurt, he didn’t care. Because to him, a life isn’t worth much. Only his greed matters.

“We’re going back to the house,” he whispers in my ear. “You’re going to stay in the cellar until you decide what kind of daughter you wish to be going forward.”

“Archer will find me.” My entire body shakes in terror.

“Not if I kill him first.” He glares at me.

CHAPTER36

ARCHER, LITTLE DOVE

Paloma

I hug my knees in tighter, resting my face between them.

Last night after Dad and his security guard brought me back to the house, they locked me up in the cellar. I believe him when he says I’m staying in this room until I decide who I want to be to him… the doting daughter or the daughter who sees him for the monster he is. But I can’t worry about that right now. Not until I know what happened to Archer.

“He can’t be dead.” I repeat the mantra I’ve been reciting like a prayer all night. “He can’t be dead.”

No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the images of Archer’s body in the middle of the road from flooding my mind. I glance down at my own hands and the dry blood on them. If Archer was gone after Hunter went looking for him last night, that means someone helped him. My only hope is that Fisher or Jacob came with him to the Hamptons. They saw what happened and were able to get Archer to a hospital.

But what if Archer got up and walked off on his own? What if Hunter found him after Dad sent him to clean up his mess? Archer could be in some ditch right now. I keep wracking my brain for more accurate memories of last night. But I can’t remember if Archer had a pulse when Hunter yanked me off him. My hands were shaking so bad, I couldn’t feel anything.

How is this even possible?

Hunter shot Archer point blank. As if taking a life didn’t matter. And Dad wasn’t even shocked when I told him what Hunter had done. As if Hunter went around shooting people all the time. Is that what Hunter does for Dad in exchange for me? Does he go around killing people who stand in Dad’s way?

I stare at the red streaks on my hands. All night, I’ve tried to rub it off, but it’s stuck to me, and the more I mess with it, the stronger the stench of it gets—or maybe it’s just my dress that reeks of blood.

The outer door to the cellar creaks open. On instinct, I jump to my feet and hide behind a rack of wine. My breathing is so heavy, I’m sure whoever is out there can hear me. After a few beats, I peek around the rack to find the cellar glass door also open.

“Hello?” I step out to an empty room with my heart racing.

I dart up the stairs to the kitchen. To my surprise, no one is there either. I don’t have time to figure out what new game Dad is playing at. I need to find out what happened to Archer. The chances of his car still being out on the street are slim, but I decide to go there first. The high noon sun blinds me as soon as I open the front door.

Blinking fast to adjust to the bright light, I step out onto the driveway. The street is empty, the way it always is around this time of year. My heart drums in my ears as I approach the scene of the crime five houses down. Except, there’s nothing there when I arrive. No car. No blood. No Archer.

I look up and down the street. All the limos are gone. It’s like the party never happened, like Archer was never here—just like Dad wanted. Numb, I trudge back to the house. I can’t think straight. I need to talk to Freya or Fisher. If anyone knows what happened to Archer last night, it would be them.

I head back to the kitchen to find the landline there. I pick up the receiver then realize I don’t know anyone’s number. Jesus, without my phone, I don’t know where to start. I can’t even call the hospitals in the area.

A woman’s voice in the other room catches my attention. I hang up the phone and amble back to the living room. Then I realize the TV is playing in Dad’s study. A cold shiver runs down my spine. Dad is the last person I want to see right now. But it’s obvious, he let me out of the cellar for a reason. His door is open, which it rarely is.

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