Page 27 of Broken Minds

Chapter Twelve

Even before I was fullyawake, I knew someone was standing over my bed. I sensed I was being watched, filled with a certainty I was not alone.

For a moment, I thought my dream had blurred into my waking life, and it was either my father who was there, or Hayden, but somehow, I knew it was neither.

I was awake, but I hadn’t yet opened my eyes. Instead, I continued to lie there, as though I was still sleeping, hoping I hadn’t altered my breathing or done anything to alert the person standing over me that I was awake. Every muscle in my body tightened, and I could feel the way my visitor radiated hatred down at me. It was a strange thing to sense someone’s emotions before I’d even seen them, but the air crackled around me with tension. I was frozen, pinned to the bed by the vitriol of whoever watched me while I slept.

I’d woken from one nightmare straight into another.

Unsure what to do, I remained in one spot, hoping the person would simply go away. I felt as though I was suffering from sleep paralysis—my heart racing with fear but unable to move to do anything about the perceived threat.

“I know you’re awake.”

The voice was female, and that did nothing to ease my fear. Cringing away, I opened my eyes.

Loretta was like a ghost at midnight, eerie and threatening. I shouldn’t be frightened of another woman, but I was.

I sat up and dragged myself to the other side of the bed. “What do you want, Loretta? What are you doing here? Does Hayden know you’re down here?”

I could tell from the twitch of her lips that he didn’t.

“You’ve messed with Hayden’s head, just like your father messed with the heads of the women he murdered. He made them think he was a good man, that he was their friend. He made them like him, right before he raped and killed them in cold blood. You’re doing exactly the same thing to Hayden. He might not be able to see it, but I see it, Jolie. You can’t fool me. You’re going to make him like you, and then you’re going to hurt him, just like your father hurt so many women.”

Her words sent ice through my veins. I glanced up into the corners of the room, my eyes wide, wishing I knew exactly where the hidden cameras were and that I could use them somehow to signal to Hayden for help.

She caught my line of sight and must have guessed what I was thinking. “They won’t be any use to you. Hayden is sleeping now, and he has no idea I’m here. He thinks I’m safely tucked away in bed as well.”

“What are you doing down here?” I asked again.

My gaze flicked up and down her body. Though she jabbed one finger toward me, her other hand was behind her back, as though she was hiding something from me.

But she didn’t answer my question.

“You’re poison. Your father’s blood runs through your veins. You use and manipulate, just like he did, and I can’t allow you to walk away from this.”

“What are you saying?”

My gaze flicked to that hand behind her back. What was she hiding?

“That you need to be taken care of.”

“I’ve never hurt anyone, Loretta,” I said in a sickening rush. I didn’t think there would be much chance of changing her mind about me. She was crazy. I didn’t know if it had been the loss of her daughter that had caused the madness, or if she’d always had a screw loose, but I could see it now, in the cold anger in her eyes. “What my father did was horrific. I would never excuse him, ever.”

“But you did. You lied for him. You protected him.”

“I didn’t know what he was. I was his daughter. I loved him, and I didn’t want to believe him capable of such horror.”

Tears filled my eyes—tears for what I was going through now, and what I’d been through then.

She jabbed her finger at me. “Yes, you’re his daughter. You’re born of his loins. You’re fifty percent his DNA. I can’t allow you to go forth and spread his sickness. I saw you with Hayden. What if you end up carrying his baby? The genes of his mother’s murderer mixed with his own. It’s sick. Sick!”

I recoiled at her vehemence.

Her grief had driven her mad, and I was the person she chose to direct her pain toward.

What was behind her back? What was she hiding from me? I was sure I wouldn’t like it.

“Please, Loretta, there’s nothing between me and Hayden. He kidnapped me, remember? He knocked me out with chloroform, tied me up, and brought me here against my will.”

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