Page 129 of Bad Seed
“I did what I had to do. You belong here, with us, but that damn man wouldn’t let you even meet with me. Son—”
“Don’t…!” I hold the gun with both of my hands. There’s no way I’ll miss, but I’m terrified of letting go. “I am not your son.”
“Aubry.”
Fingers drop onto my forearm, shaking and pale, but warm. “You don’t want to do this.”
“He murdered my Lolo!” I sneer, pressing in on the trigger. “You ruined my life! I was happy before—”
“Lie to her all you want, but never to me,” Mr. Ato interrupts like it’s not his life she’s begging for. “You were miserable, serving a bunch of bigoted assholes who’d have left you to burn in that house beside him. No one came to put out the flames. I had nothing to do with that.”
They hated me. They hated what I was, what I am.
Sadie presses a cool palm to my shoulder, then she lays her head down. “Aubry,” she whispers, a name for a man who doesn’t exist. A kind man with a cat who was once a bouncer, then met a woman that changed everything in his life. “Please…”
I stare down the barrel into Mr. Ato’s eyes. Still wheeling, trying to find his way out of this. How much blood is on his hands? How much is on mine because of him?
Brave Sadie runs her palm up my locked arm.“Let’s get out of here.” She brushes against the back of my hand, her voice pleading. “Let’s go home.”
The gun slips, twisting around my finger as my hold fails. One of Brassica’s men grabs it before it falls more than a few inches, but I don’t care. I turn and wrap my arms around her. Pressing her beautiful face to my chest, I run through her hair, telling myself that she’s safe. And that’s all that matters.
“Take Mr. Ato to our…deluxe suit,” Mr. Oli says. The two men nod, then quickly tie and bag him up.
From under the velvet, I hear a muffled, “You should have killed me,” before he’s dragged toward the door.
I need to pick up Astin, my clothes. Find a car. Get away. Keep running. Sadie stares up at me and my panicking heart calms. Take her away from here. Do everything I can to keep her safe and make her happy.
Go back to Loomis.
A hand clamps onto my shoulder. Mr. Oli smiles wide. “Mr. Talong and I have much to discuss.”
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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
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SADIE
I stare at the door, watching it close once again. When the latch catches, I leap on my feet. Aubry pats my arm like he’s trying to assure me everything is fine. But the guy who just cut off an ear is still here. Still has us trapped. And is rooting through the drawers.
Knives, ropes, and everything a person would need to play Clue in real life fall onto the desk. The gun spins around in place and my body takes a full step back.
“Talong?”
The scary old man stares first at Aubry, then his gaze slides to me trying to leave my body. Aubry notices and slips a hand behind my waist, pulling me back to his side.
“Yes?”
Mr. Oli braces his knuckles against the desktop, then leans over. “I have a…proposition for you.”
Uh… The freaky weird, geriatric mobster is not trying to get a threesome. Right? Today’s been weird enough already, but I don’t know how to sayno, thank you,without losing a kidney.
“I’m listening,” Aubry says.
“Tom’s work was always sloppy, but ambitious. I suppose that sums up the man himself. It’s frankly a miracle he kept anything running. I’m beginning to wonder how much of that was thanks to your influence.”
“I was just a grunt,” Aubry says, but his eyes shine as he trails Mr. Oli’s every move.
