It’s all leading me back to this place where I know I need to face my dad once and for all, destroy what he’s built, take every precious thing from him for making us suffer.
“You know this won't end well,” she says, jolting me from my thoughts. Her eyes lift to mine. “Then again our track record isn’t exactly winning.”
The wind shifts around us. I squeeze her hand harder as the city lights glitter around the observatory. For one impossible second everything feels the same. But it’s gone as soon as it comes, the feeling of rightness.
“Jude.” My name sounds different, feels different when she says it.
“Yeah?”
A tear slides down her cheek, her lower lip wobbles. “I really did think you were dead. Gone from this world—and I haven’t been okay for a really long time.”
“Because of the guilt?”
“Because you took my heart with you.”
Another tear falls.
And I can’t take it anymore.
I swipe both of them with my thumbs and pull her into my arms. “A gentleman would give it back.”
“Good thing you’re the villain.” She wraps her arms around me tight.
I hold her close. “Admit it, you’d be bored with a hero.”
18
“He had built himself from ruin. Stone by stone. Lie by lie.”—The Count of Monte Cristo
JUDE
The observatory sits above the main event space, hidden behind a winding staircase most people don't even notice. The higher we climb, the quieter it gets. The music below becomes nothing more than a dull pulse vibrating through the floorboards.
The dome overhead is open.
Stars spill across the sky.
For a second I forget why we're here.
Forget the list.
Forget my father.
Forget prison.
Forget all of it and hold her. I don’t remember her being so small in my arms, I suddenly want to protect her and keep her safe from the nightmares I’ve already experienced, not becauseshe isn’t capable on her own but because she shouldn’t have to deal with the fallout.
The city stretches beneath us in a sea of lights while the telescope points toward a moon so bright it almost looks fake.
"Well." She shoves her hands into my pockets, maybe to stay warm. "This feels significantly less criminal than I imagined, and dare I say also scandalous?"
I laugh, loving that she’s comfortable enough to keep her hands warm. “It’s because you’re not naked yet.”
She jerks back. “I missed that laugh.”
“Me too,” I admit.
“So, Mr. Mastermind villain, what next? I take it we’re up here trying our best to get caught?” She looks around. “Are you thinking the birds will report on us first or the stars?”
