Page 60 of Cruel God

I slowly moved closer, and she pressed her back against the wall, watching me like prey would a predator. It was the first time I ever saw genuine fear in her eyes while looking at me. I hated it.

Within the span of a few minutes, I lost her trust. I just prayed to God I didn’t lose her—not after she told me she loved me.

There were no words that would appease her. Nothing I could say would convince her that it was never my intention to hurt her. We didn’t have time. We needed to leave before anyone else realized what had just happened here.

As I straightened, I kept her gaze, pinning her brown eyes with mine, and slowly brought my hand to below my ear, reminding her of the tattoo inked on her neck.

She bit her bottom lip, hesitantly reaching and touching her tattoo. It was when her eyes widened that I knew…she knew.

A single tear trickled down the side of her face, and I moved closer. “You’re mine, Butterfly. That tattoo is a promise I made to you years ago that you are mine, and I would always protect you.”

She sucked in a breath, choking on a soft sob.

“I know nothing makes any sense, but you have to trust me when I say we need to get out of here now.”

Her hair fell in disarray around her shoulders as she glanced at the dead girl and then at Anatoli’s body—my dagger still lodged in his eye.

“Hope,” I snapped. “We need to leave. Now.”

Jesus. We were out of time, and Hope just had to trust me.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room, dragging her behind me as I rushed down the stairs. My white dress shirt collar and sleeves were splattered with blood, but I moved fast, hoping like fuck everyone would be too lost in a frenzy of lust and drugs to notice.

The obedient Piper stood by the end of the stairs just as I had instructed her to. Without uttering a word as she fell in step behind us. The music was loud, and the number of guests seemed to have tripled since we arrived.

We rushed out the front and across the cobbled walkway to where the limo was parked.

“Get in on the other side,” I barked at Piper, opening the back passenger side door and forcing Hope inside before I got in and slammed the door shut. “Go. Now.”

The tires screeched as we pulled off, racing down the driveway and out the large gates that welcomed us when we arrived.

I pulled out my phone and dialed. Colton answered on the first ring.

“Where are you?” I barked.

“On my way to the mansion now.”

“You have the recordings?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Anatoli is currently bleeding out on Lilith’s rug. Wait for me in my office with those tapes. If anyone tries to take it from you, shoot them.”

I hung up and wiped a palm down my face. Hope sat silently next to me, not moving an inch. It didn’t even seem like she was breathing. Without thinking, I reached out and took her hand. “Hope, are you okay?”

A tear dripped from her cheek and onto the torn chiffon robe barely covering her. For the first time, I didn’t like that she was half-naked, exposed—so I shrugged out of my jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

I burned to explain more, but Piper sat across from us, and everything I needed to say to Hope was nothing Piper had to hear. So, I leaned back in my seat as we drove back to the mansion in painfully deafening silence. One would think now that I had finally gotten rid of the man who remained a threat to me for so long, I’d feel relieved. But all I felt was…guilt. Guilt over what I had to do to Hope to bring this plan to fruition and eliminate the threat which could have cost me more than I would ever be willing to pay. Her.

Now, I only had one more thing to deal with. Colton Riggs. The big brother who dedicated his entire fucking life to finding his little sister.

As we drove through the gates of my estate, I called out to the driver, “Take us around the back.”

“Yes, sir.”

The last thing I needed was running into Colton by going through the front entrance with Hope.

The limo stopped just as the soft pitter-patter of the rain fell on the car’s roof. “Piper, you need to go to your room and stay there until I say you can come out.”

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