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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CYRUS
Islow the SUV to a crawl at the end of Carmen’s driveway, giving her a moment to take everything in. Although she won’t admit it, I know she’s worried. Finding out your dad really isn’t your dad and how he hired someone to murder your mom isn’t something anyone could take lightly. Add in the jacked-up circumstances, and I know she’s ready to detonate.
“Are you ready for this?” I know I already asked her, but I don’t know what else to say.
My life has always consisted of giving no fucks and taking lives, but this is different. I’ve never cared for someone other than Carter, but Carmen managed to demolish all the walls I put in place around me and sit herself in the rubble. She was determined to make herself a permanent fixture in my life, and I let her. And now I regret it. I could have saved her—been the knight in shining armor she didn’t ask for—but instead, I kept her around for my own selfish reasons.
“I’ll never be ready, but I don’t have much of a choice right now.”
I put the car in park and turn in my seat. As she looks out the window, staring at her house, I begin to talk. “You could run and never look back. I’m the only one Ghost wants.”
A statement has never been more honest coming from my lips. At this point, I brought her into this mess, so I will fix it too. All she had to do was ask because she’s the type of woman to take no orders from any man.
As she turns to me, I see a tear rolling down her cheek. “We both know why I won’t do that, and you’re not the only one on his radar now.”
I shake my head. I know she’s determined, but this is more than that. This is life or death. If she walks in those doors, there will be no turning back. I thought I was okay with that at first—letting her do as she pleased—but now I’m not so sure.
“Hey,” she says, reaching over the console and grabbing my hand. “Don’t look so glum. I’m the one who gets to confront the man who lied to me all my life and killed my mom.”
She’s right. My life is child’s play compared to all the bullshit she’s had to endure within the last week, me included. “I’m sorry” is all I can manage to say.
“For what? Showing me I’m not alone? Or making me feel validated in my fucked-up feelings?”
I let out a breath and reach for her face. Gripping her cheeks in my hands, I pull her lips to mine.
So soft. So sweet. I never want to forget them.
I break our kiss and press my forehead against hers. “I was going to say for dragging you into this.”
She gives me one more peck. “Shut up.” She pulls away, putting the fake mask of confidence she wears so well back into place, but I know her now. I know what lurks beneath the surface. “Let’s do this.” She exits the car without another glance in my direction.
I grab my gun from under the seat, then step out and follow her up the drive. The light drizzle from before is getting heavier, sending fat raindrops down from the sky like missiles. I try to ignore the shiver each one sends down my spine as they hit me and focus on the soft tapping of her steps on the concrete instead. It’s something I’ve grown accustomed to. Listening to heartbeats, waiting for them to end, or any other steady rhythmic sound. It helps control my adrenaline and steady my hands.
Before she makes it to the door, she pauses for a split second, like she’s trying to gather her bearings too. After a deep breath and a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure I’m still there, she goes up the steps and opens the door.
I follow closely behind her, keeping my hand gripped around my gun and my finger on the trigger. Everything is eerily silent when we enter, and no one is in sight. It doesn’t feel right to me, but then again, I don’t even know what’s normal.
She looks around the same way I do as we stand in the entryway. For her, she’s probably just looking for things that seem out of place, something to give away where everyone is. But for me, I’m on high alert, taking mental notes of everything I see. Only there isn’t much to see. The entire place is immaculate, but I do see a few cameras positioned in each corner.
“Does he watch you?” I ask, pointing to the one closest to us.
She nods. “Yep. They’re everywhere. The only place without them is my room and the greenhouse.”
“So he probably knows we’re here by now.” It’s a statement, not a question. She nods and starts moving again, but I stop her. “Let me go in front of you. Just tell me where to go.”
“Straight.” As we walk, she tells me where everything is right before we get to it. “On the left is the dining room. We only use it when he’s here.”
I peek through the threshold, keeping my gun raised just in case. There is a huge table in the center, but nothing else. I take a step back and continue down the hall.
“On the right is the kitchen. Through there is the garage.”
I look around, noting the knife blocks on the counter but nothing else. Nothing even seems out of place. “What about upstairs?”
“I have the second floor, and Alexander has the third. William has an apartment on the other side of the house.” She points her thumb behind her.
“Does anything seem weird?” ’Cause it does to me, but I don’t say that.
