Doyle, on the other hand, stares blankly ahead. A strand of limp hair falls in front of his right eye, obscuring it from view. He doesn’t move, doesn’t struggle, doesn’t do anything but gaze at the wall directly behind his father.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Dominic demands, stepping around me, his eyes intent on his father and half brother. A tiny furrow manifests between his brows.
I know his relationship with these two has been strained, even before it was discovered that they’re members of POP. Dominic grew up under the care of two amazing women who love and cherish him. He only recently rekindled his relationship with his father, after the bastard bothered him incessantly for months. And Doyle? It’s complicated. He’s an asshole, but he helped us not once, but twice.
Unless…
Unless he merely pretended to be on our side.
Why are they here?
What sick game is Aria playing this time?
“I’ve been lenient with you, daughter,” Aria says, stepping forward, her robe sashaying around her legs like a midnight-colored waterfall. She purses her lips with distaste. “But my leniency only extends so far.”
My rage from before sweeps over me yet again, loosening my tongue. “You murdered those people.”
“I killed a few useless sheep,” she corrects. At her side, her hand curls into a fist, her nails biting into her palm. She takes a deep breath and simultaneously loosens fingers. “I did what I had to do.”
“How can you possibly justify that?” I don’t expect an answer from her. After all, you can’t reason with crazy.
But she surprises me by saying, “Sometimes, a few must be sacrificed for the good of all.” She takes another step closer, those ice-blue eyes never straying from my face. “What you need to understand is that the Paragons of Prosperity is more than a cult or secret society or religion. It’s a…lifestyle.” A wistful sigh escapes her. “Our members join because they have urges that only we can satiate. In return, they help us.”
“And how exactly do they help you?” Zane’s jaw ticks.
Aria barely spares him a glance. “We have some very powerful people in our organization, as you’re well aware. We allow them to…partake in their more primal urges, and in return, they look the other way. Help lead investigators down a different path. Stop laws that will harm our members’ businesses. And more. So much more.”
I swallow down the bile rushing up my throat. “You’re sick.”
“I’m practical,” she says. “And, more importantly, I’m a businesswoman.” She reaches for something on the bedroom desk, and my heart drops to my feet when I spot a gun in her hand. “I don’t like when others fuck with my business.” Those icy orbs of hers narrow nearly imperceptibly, the crease between her brow becoming more prominent.
“Wait.” I move immediately, instinctually, putting myself between my mother and my men. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt us.”
“Did I?” She cants her head to the side, and a strand of hair catches in the artificial lighting, making the color appear almost silver, like the moon gilding half of her face.
“Aria…” I warn, trying to hide the way my hands tremble. “If you want me to be your prodigy or whatever the fuck you have planned, you can’t hurt them. Any of them. If you do, I won’t stop making your life a living hell.”
“Ellie.” Both Zane and Beckett reach for me, trying to pull me behind them. I struggle against their grasp.
“I could just kill one.” Aria shrugs a slender shoulder. “Then I’ll still have two more as collateral.”
“I’ll kill you,” I vow, and I mean it. I wonder if she can hear the sincerity in my tone, see the truth in my eyes. “If you hurt any of them, I’ll kill you. Fuck the consequences.”
Aria laughs then, the noise light and lilting. An undercurrent of darkness laces the almost musical sound.
“You allowed Reece to escape,” she tells me, the smile diminishing from her face.
My heart begins to pound even faster, relief threading through the panic.
Reece…escaped?
Is that why she’s mad?
I’m so fucking relieved, I actually almost sag forward.
Reece escaped.
He made it.