“No, I killed him.”

“You can’t go to prison for this. Listen to me, Laura, they'll take the kids away from me. They’ll put them in state homes. Please, just go and hide with the kids. Come out only when you hear nothing. No matter how long it takes, Laura, you have to stay down until it’s over, and if someone sees you, you tell them you don’t know what happened; you were hiding the whole time. Laura?” Sutton shouted. “Are you listening to me? Do you want to lose the kids?”

She shook her head violently. “Then go and hide.”

“But—”

“I’ll say it was self-defense. They’ll believe me. But remember, you didn’t see anything. Understand?”

The sound of a car pulling up startled them both.

The cops were already there.

Sutton hugged her sister. She had no idea when she would see her again; she didn’t know what was going to happen to her.

Just when she thought everything was going to be all right, it turned out to be the absolute worst.

They were never meant to be happy or at peace. It was just never in their destiny. They were going to continue the cycle of their parents. Living in a rut, consumed with violence, poverty, and sadness.

Once Laura escaped to hide with the kids, Sutton quickly ran her hands over the ax.

It amazed her that she felt nothing. There was a dead man in the middle of their living room. But it was Carl, and no matter what, the relief she felt that he was dead surpassed her fear of what was going to happen to her.

Because her heart was already broken. She was never going to see Ezra, Jensen, and Maxim again… they wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her now.

Her lip quivered, and tears rushed to her eyes. She could hear two car doors open and slam shut. It was over now.

She was doing the right thing, wasn’t she? Laura would not survive prison. But now she had to take care of her kids by herself. Maybe with Carl dead, she’d be able to realize her potential. This was the best solution. The kids needed their mother, and it was time their mother took responsibility for herself and them.

As for her, Sutton numbed her body and her mind, disassociating from the situation so she could get through it.

“Police.” The door swung open.

Two police officers took one look at the crime scene, drew their weapons, and called backup.

As if she were drowning, she heard herself admitting to the murder. She was put into handcuffs. But then the door was almost broken off its hinges.

The last three men she wanted to see took a full second to analyze the scene. The policeman who had been leading her out dropped his hand from her arm as if he’d been burned.

“Release her at once,” Ezra thundered.

“Yes, Sir.” The officer visibly trembled as he fumbled for the keys to unlock the cuffs.

“Clean this up,” Maxim ordered them. And both the officers chorused, ‘Yes, sir.’

The instant she was released, Jensen scooped her up and carried her to their car.

Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe it was wishful thinking that they had come to save her like dark knights. It had to be because the police officers had obeyed them as if they were their bosses, not to mention how terrified the officers were of them. How could that be possible?

But their presence felt too real. The effect of their nearness was too blatantly raw to be anything but real.

“Did he hurt you?” Jensen asked from the front passenger seat. He had placed her in the passenger seat at the back. Maxim got in beside her. Ezra drove the car. She shook her head. He didn’t.

She hadn’t seen this side of them before. They were thunderously mad and deadly, and it looked as if they wanted to kill Carl again and again.

Deep frowns, riddled with immense fury, lined their handsome faces. Half of her was still in shock; the other half just wanted to fall asleep in their arms.

Chapter Fourteen