Page 201 of Nanny and the Beast

It’s taking every ounce of control inside me to keep myself from ripping this man to shreds. It would feel so good to have his blood on my hands. It’ll make me feel like I was born again.

But I hold back.

Because he has something I need.

“I know you’re not a complete idiot,” I say. “You know there’s only one reason you’re alive right now. Tell me what I want to hear.”

“Your friend is the one who tried to kill me,” he says. “He’s the one you should be questioning, not me. He wanted to have Sera all to himself.”

I throw the knife at him this time. It slices into his abdomen.

It must hit a major artery because he passes out within seconds.

“I told you not to say her name out loud,” I whisper, watching the man bleed out. The spot of blood grows on his shirt, spreading quickly.

I hear footsteps from behind me.

“Dude, I was gone for ten minutes,” Alaric says. “Did you kill him?”

“He’s just taking a nap,” I say.

“Okay, we’re going to do this my way,” Alaric says.

“And what is your way?”

“We give him the truth serum,” he says. “After we get the answers we need, you can do with him as you please. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Every word from that diary is imprinted in my head, Alaric,” I say. “I want to take my time with him.”

Alaric stares at me for a moment and then at Richard.

“I suppose he’ll wake up from his nap soon,” he says.

I look at my friend for a moment. For a brief second, I float the idea that he’s still hiding something from me. Something that has to do with my sister.

“What?” he asks.

“He said something about you,” I say. “He said that you orchestrated all of this because you love Sera.”

“I do love Sera,” he says.

“He said you wereinlove with her,” I say.

“She’s like a sister to me,” Alaric says. “You know that.”

I don’t know what to think.

The people I love keep letting me down lately, and I don’t know what to believe anymore.

But I know in my heart that Alaric would never hurt me on purpose. He did something behind my back, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to discredit our entire friendship.

“I know,” I say. “I know.”

“And I felt terrible about keeping that secret from you,” Alaric says. “It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life.”

“What were you thinking, though?” I say. “You could have gotten hurt.”

“It was an impulsive decision. If I only knew then what I know now...”

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