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Perkins nods his head in confirmation. “She had a shadow.”
“Who did he have watching her?”
Our dad makes his way down the porch, stepping around us to stand at Perkins’ side.
The four of us turn to face him.
He licks his lips and says, “His son.”VictoriaI swallow the last drop of water from the bottle I’ve been sipping on for the last hour right as the door opens, and in he walks.
“I’ve gotta say, I’ve missed your lavender scent, Garden Girl.” His smile is soft, and I don’t doubt his words for a minute. “It’s been three days,” he says gently. “Ready to talk to me yet?”
“You left those gloves for me, didn’t you?” I ask him. “The ones in the planter’s box at the park?”
He nods, eyes bright with pride. “You should never have to dig in the dirt like that again.”
“You built the wall, did you kill Maria, too?”
He tenses. “Man, straight for it, huh?”
When I say nothing, he gives a curt nod. “I’m sorry, but I promise she didn’t feel a thing. I needed you to know I was here, that I was waiting for you, but it took you longer than I thought it would to realize.”
I eye him a long moment, and in the end, I have to look away. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Confusion drives his voice. “I’m here for you. You said you needed time to save the little girl, I gave it to you. Time is up.”
“Don’t be a fool.” I shake my head. “I told you I was staying. Get out of here before they find you.”
His chuckles have me turning toward him. “Nice try. I know you’re on the outs. Don’t forget, I exist to watch over you. From the start, my life was spent protecting you.”
I push the hair from my scalp, raising a brow as I force him to look at the small gash the fore-end of the gun left, and shame covers his face.
Suddenly he’s on his knees in front of me, gripping my hands in his fists. “I never wanted to hurt you, but I knew if you yelled, they’d come running, if for no other reason than to know why.”
“You didn’t want them to spot you.”
His brows lower in a deep scowl. “I’m not afraid of them.”
“You should be. They’d cut you into pieces and fry you up for the wolves if they knew who you were.”
“I heard what he said, what they think of you.” His animosity toward Captain is front and center. “He told you to go. He doesn’t care.”
“I didn’t say they’d do it for me.”
He shakes his head. “Another reason for us to take off now.”
My head tugs back. “I’m not leaving.”
His forehead tightens and then he nods. “And I’m not leaving without you. Victoria, he didn’t choose you.”
“He’s angry.”
“He doesn’t deserve you.”
My shoulders fall. “And I don’t belong to you.”
His eyes harden, his grip on me following, but I don’t show him the sting it causes. “We came into this together. For years, they overlooked you, and then she came in and became God. She didn’t even have to work for it, Vee.”
“You have no idea what she did and would do for them, but this isn’t about her. This is about me, what I want. You’ve known from the minute you followed me here I had every intention to stay. Nobody asked you to come back.”
“I came back for you! Everything I have ever done has been with you in mind.” His lip curls, his hands trembling on mine, and I wince when a bone in my knuckle cracks. “I have loved you all my life.”
“I wasn’t yours to love.”
“You were supposed to be. When I found you, when I lead him to you, he promised you’d be mine, and she’d be his. But he took you as his instead.”
“He manipulated us, both of us.”
He throws my hands away, shaking his head as he stands and begins to pace. “I want... I can’t leave you here. Mero is gone, I’m here. We have the money, what you didn’t give Mallory anyway. Let’s go.”
“You’re forgetting, I’ve had the money all along. I don’t want it.”
“Come with me.”
“You don’t need me. Just… go.”
He shakes his head, dragging a hand over his mouth. “I never should have allowed things to get this far.”
My eyes narrow and he steps closer, his hands sliding along the base of my neck, eyes falling as he runs his fingers down my shoulder before flashing to mine.
“He doesn’t want you,” he whispers, flicking my hair. “But I do, we’ll help you see.”
My muscles freeze, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
His smirk is slow, and my pulse hammers out of control.
“We.”
His arms wrap around me, pulling me against him, and I’m too shocked to stop him. “Don’t look so nervous, baby. I’ve got it all worked out.”
