Page 68 of Where He Ended

- Chapter 25 -

Dominic

The sun moves behinda smokescreen of clouds, the grass soaked with dew droplets that have yet to dry. It's the coldest December morning of the season, but even with my bare feet freezing on the grass, I'm not thinking about that.

The helicopter is lowering slowly towards the flat section of ground we've used as a helipad in the past. The wind whips up as the blades spin, sending leaves in a cascade of mini tornadoes.

Several security guards have come to stand near me in the yard. They give me wary looks, and it's obvious they have no idea what's going on. My miserable frown tells them I'm just as confused. Who the hell is visiting us in a chopper?

“Sir?” Theo asks beside me.

I don't even glance at him. I'm busy squinting at the helicopter as it settles safely on the ground. The blades swing to a peaceful halt, the air clearing of the deafening sound. The door opens, folding down as a set of stairs. When I see my uncle walk out, perching on the bottom step, I'm more lost than before.

He stares across the field at me. Even with the distance between us, I can read his distaste. But this time there's something else—a sort of eagerness that makes his dark eyes glint like a vulture's as it soars over a rotten meal.

I start across the grass with Theo following behind me. Two other guards join us, my entourage and I approaching Vahn. He's wearing a heavy brown coat, one hand in the right pocket, the other holding his phone to his ear. “Vahn,” I call as I get in ear shot, “What's going on?”

He glances past me at the guards. “I'm calling your mother. She should be here in a second. Tell your goons to go away, we're about to have a very private conversation that's not meant for them.”

Turning around, I notice Theo's arched eyebrows. He's not a fan of these instructions. “Relax,” I say, my eyes darting towards the estate. I see a figure hurrying down the slope—it's Annie. “Private talks are all this family does. Go on, get everyone out of here.”

He nods curtly, and with a swipe of his arm, the men follow him up the hill. I watch as they pass my mother. She doesn't waste a second looking at them. She has eyes only for Vahn and the helicopter.

“Why Annie, but not Silas?” I ask uncertainly.

“This has nothing to do with him,” Vahn answers. He's put his phone away, his smile growing as my mother gets nearly upon us.

“Dad has everything to do with our business.”

“This isn't about fucking business,” he snaps crisply. “It's personal.”

My hackles go up just as Mom stands in front of her brother. She's breathing a little fast from rushing here. “Vahn,” she says, shooting a sparse look at me, acknowledging me at best. “Did you really do it?”

“Do what?” I say, looking between them. My unease is mounting by the second.

He grins at her and flicks his fingers. “Come and see for yourself.”

My mother pushes by me, hurrying after Vahn into the helicopter. There's definitely something strange going on here. I know the answer is up the steps, so I follow them inside, ducking my head as I pass through the tiny door.

Straightening up, I start to glance at the pilot sitting to my right in the cockpit. Before I can, something more pressing catches the corner of my eye. It makes my blood run cold, turns all of the air around me into smothering walls of cotton. The distress inside of me is so immense that I grip the roof's railing to keep myself standing.

Laiken.

She's at the back of the chopper, strapped in a seat with her arms bound in front, a gag stretching her lips over her teeth. Her once lusciously long hair has been cut. It frames her glistening, terrified eyes.

Her panic is tangible. It runs straight from her and into my body. The buds on my tongue harden from the metallic tang in my mouth. I cantasteher goddamn fear. “Vahn did this?”I wonder, processing his proud grin. In a split second I become enraged.

I take a step forward and something clicks loudly next to my head. “Easy there,” Miles says. He's turned around in the pilot's seat with a handgun pointing straight at me. I move nothing but my eyes, just enough to see his sickening smirk.

I fired him the night he tried to stop me from getting Laiken and Kara off of the property. My father hadn't argued, and my mother had become so disconnected from everything going on in the house that she hadn't pleaded his case, either.

I hadn't expected to see him again. Especially not likethis.I'm more confused than ever, but still, I know neither of these men have my best interest at heart, or Laiken's.

Annie is standing in front of me beside Vahn. She's acting like she wants to clap her hands, only barely restraining herself. She leans towards Laiken. The young woman stares at my mother, making a muffled cry for help. The noise cuts through me. “You actually brought her back,” she says.

“What's going on here?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at my uncle. “What did youdoto her?”

“Think less about what I've done and more about what I've yet to do,” he says.

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