Page 96 of Liam
At Eleanor’s question, she nodded quickly…maybe too quickly. “Yes. Of course. I actually feel like juice instead of cider. I might go and grab some from the fridge.”
She felt Violet’s gaze on her as she set down her cider. She’d almost made it to the door leading to the kitchen when the click of a gun sounded.
“Stop. Or I shoot.”
Nylah’s lungs seized. Violet’s voice was different…harder.
Eleanor gasped. “Vi! What are you doing?”
Slowly, Nylah turned to find Violet holding a pistol, pointing it right at her chest, features blank.
“Really?” Nylah said quietly. “All this time, it’s been you?”
Her brows rose. “Surprised?”
“Yes.” She hadn’t suspected Violet for a second. She was too kind and sweet.
Violet cocked her head. “Because a woman couldn’t do this?”
“Because it was amanI fought off at the engagement party shooting, and people suggestedhewas Hawk.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. And yeah, I knew I needed help. Someone with resources. But my partner isn’t the person behind everything.”
“No…Vi…” Eleanor shook her head, voice trembling. “Tell me this is some sick joke!”
“Afraid not.” Violet never took her eyes off Nylah. She took several steps, almost closing the distance between them. “You think I don’t know what they are? What they can do? Guess what? I’mintimatelyfamiliar with the depths of their inhumanity. Because I dated one of them.”
Nylah frowned. Who did she—
“His name was Carter. And he was normal. Until Project Arma stripped him of every goddamn moral he had.”
Nylah’s throat closed, recollection hitting her like a ton of bricks. Of Liam talking about a Carter. The man who was a monster, who worked alongside the Project Arma leader, Hylar.
“No,” Nylah said quickly. “These guys aren’t like Carter. He was everything they were fighting against.”
“But they could beexactlylike him!” she yelled, her composure suddenly crumbling, the hand on the gun trembling with her words. “He thought he could do whatever he goddamn wanted! Hurt me whenever he felt like it! Kill whoever pissed him off. He wasdangerous, and he scared the hell out of me!”
Nylah shook her head. She had to get through to this woman. “Violet—”
“When my father discovered how Carter had treated me before he died, he was outraged. He used his connections to get close to the Blue Halo team. But he decided they were good men!” she barked with a laugh. “That they could never possibly turn. He didn’t seem to understand that even if just one of them did, the consequences would be devastating.”
“Your father…Steve…he’s not part of this?”
She scoffed. “No. Although, he’s been frantically trying to get in contact with me since you did your little sketch of Trey.”
“Trey?” Nylah breathed.
Violet’s watch beeped. She glanced at it before looking up, a small smile on her face. “He’s here now, actually. Ready to watch this all come to a perfect fucking finale?”
The door opened, and Nylah stumbled back a step. It was the man from the event center…the one who’d fought her in the closet.
Violet smiled wider. “Hi, honey.”
He approached her and leaned down, kissing her on the cheek. “Hey, baby.”
“What did you do to Jason?” Nylah demanded, anger and dread rivaling inside her.
“He won’t be helping anyone tonight,” Trey said, voice cold.
