“Sohelp mefind her, kid.” He slams a magazine into his Glock and raises the barrel to the sky.
With a nod in the direction of the middle one, I lead Ace toward the doors, but he stops short. “I’ll go for the one to the left. You check there. If you find her? Shoot, so I know. My men are on their way, but I was the fastest to get here.”
“Got it.”
Teeth-aching groans carve through the silent winter air as I slide open the rusted metal door, entering a painted cinderblock-lined, narrow hall. I leave it open to the incoming snow for an easy escape. The building is dark. And tunnel-like. I blink, letting my vision adjust while proceeding to a split in the path, taking a left to venture deeper inside.
Office doors line the walls, closed tight.
It seems this place is a bust, and I think about heading tothe next in the line. But a faint melodic rhythm interrupts me. It sounds like a high-pitched voice speaking.
The sound bleats through a pair of locked double doors. Solid and made of steel. Impenetrable. Grated steps lead to a second-story balcony, where a smaller entry stands open.
As I venture carefully up each metal tread, it clangs and sways in response to my weight. On a scaffolded landing, I peek through the doorway, where a solitary yellow bulb hangs from the ceiling. Beneath a cone of light is a chair.
Tied to it is my love, Ashlyn. Bound and gagged, but she’s not afraid. No, she lookspissed. And the person looming in front of her…
Hailey Twinston.
forty-seven
This bitch.
She’s pathetic. I’ll indulge her shabby setup so I can extract what I need…and then I’ll destroy her.
The memory of Rowan, glassy-eyed and sad, tossing back a handful of pills, hits me hard when I come to. Sobbing, he said he was going to join Julien. I tried to stop him, but it was too late. Even before I could enter his room, Talon had me in his arms, carting me outside theBetaHouse like a sack of meat.
My teeth grind, remembering him holding me down on the frozen ground while Hailey drugged me with something in a needle. Maybe with the same type of medicine she used on Julien. Once I get some strength in my arms, I’m busting out of these ropes. Then, she’s deader than dead.
The metal chair cuts into my thighs, and blood pounds inside my skull. Eyes dry. Nose runny. And mouth stuffed with Talon’s dirty handkerchief. I’m about to make her pay for ever thinking she could hurt me.
Hailey’s hands tremble as she paces on the concrete in front of me. Probably regretting what she’s done. Becauseshe’snot a killer.
But I am.
I spit the filthy fabric out of my mouth and wind my wrists to loosen the binds while she’s distracted. “What was the point of this, Hailey? What are you evendoing?”
Her eyes flash with something between hate and hysteria. She leans over me, breathing coffee-scented sneers into my face like she’s auditioning for a role she’s not built to play.
“Aiden’s mine.He’s alwaysbeenmine. The appointment, the status,him.Especially now that he’s gotten rid of my father. I know he did it for me—because helovesme. Because he knew how much I hated that man.”
At the end of her sentence, her voice splinters. The confidence doesn’t last. She’s spiraling. Delusional. Watching it surface this openly is what troubles me.
Points to Aiden for ending her father. With every kill he’s made, I think I fall deeper in love with him. That’s probably wrong.
But that’s us.
“And Talon? Where did he fit in?”
She seems so proud. “You werehis. And he was more than happy to help me by getting you away from Aiden.Permanently. He’d had enough of your shit. You have more than one person wanting you dead. How does that feel?”
I shrug. “I’m used to it.”
But did Talon really plan to leave Aiden alone? Because the moment Aiden finds out…he’s as good as dead.
“So your plan,” I ask, quiet and razor-edged, “is to kill me and force him to marry you?”
The grandiosity falters. Breath hitching, she steps back. “Yes?”