Page 77 of Behind the Shadows
Dope rose halfway from his chair. “Kip, man, wait.”
“I can’t wait.”
“And Kip?” Death’s words caught me, quiet, steel-edged.
I turned, breathless, wired, raw.
“Keep it fucking together.”
A hollow laugh punched out of me. “No promises.”
The cool air hit like a slap as I stumbled into the night, the streetlights gleaming off wet pavement. My fingers trembled as I unlocked the car, jaw clenched so tight it felt like my teeth might break.
She can’t be mine. She’s mine. She’s the love of my life … fucking hell, what if we’re related?
The thoughts tore me apart, again and again, as I slammed the door and twisted the ignition.
The engine roared to life, and I wrapped my hand around my necklace, the cross biting into my palm.
If she’s breaking, I’ll hold her. If she’s running, I’ll catch her. If I lose her, I’ll burn this world to the ground.
Tires screeched as I tore out of the driveway, the city lights smearing past in a blur of red and gold. My heart was a war drum in my chest.
And under it all, a whisper I couldn’t shake, an old, rotted voice I would never outrun telling me this was all my fault.
“You’re not a monster.” Desperation clung to the words I spoke out loud.
But God help me, I was.
And I was coming home to her.
33
HOLLAND
The words slithered under my skin, cold and sharp, cutting places I didn’t know were still vulnerable.
In an instant, my mouth went dry. “Shut up. You know nothing about me.”
Her laugh was a wheeze, a death rattle laced with triumph.
“I’m sick of being nice, you little bitch,” she spat. “You have no idea whose blood runs in your veins.”
The world tilted, and the floor shifted. I staggered back, my gun lowering as bile rushed up my throat.
Her glare sliced through me with a glowing cruelty.
The room faded in and out: a boy in the dark, whispering my name.
I shook it off as my knees almost gave out. I caught myself on the doorframe, the weapon slipping to my side.
Kip’s mother’s fingers twitched under the blanket, but her smile stayed sharp.
“You want the truth? Isn’t that what you came here for?” she rasped. “You were never just some trafficked child.” A wheeze scraped from her throat. “You werehis.”
My stomach twisted. “Whose?”
Her pale eyes blazed with a chilling intensity, mocking me with every glance. “The leader of us all,” she sneered, her words dripping with venom. “The one they all feared. The man who claimed ownership of you before you even took your first steps. The most merciless and infamous serial killer alive today.”
