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“I’m sorry, it’s my fault,” Nathan says. “I was careless.”
“Yes, you were.”
CLICK!
The noise alerts me.
He’s got a gun.
I immediately step in front of the three boys, unafraid of the bullets he’s threatening them with. “Don’t.”
“Lana!” Felix growls. “Don’t do it!”
“Tell me why you choose to protect them,” my father grits, incensed.
Seconds feel like hours.
“Because I love them!” I’ve never felt something so fiercely in my heart.
But now that it’s finally out in the open, I feel relieved.
“And we love her,” Kai says, stepping forward to grasp my hand and lace his fingers through mine. “And if you want to kill me for loving your daughter, then fucking kill me now because I will never,ever, stop loving her harder than the day before.”
My heart almost jumps from my chest because of his unabashed devotion.
“I’ll take a bullet for you. I already did so once, and I’d do it again and again,” Nathan says, stepping up to grasp my other hand. “I’m the one responsible. Kill me if you must.”
“No,” Milo says, stepping in front of all of us. “I will not let you hurt the people I love.”
My father’s jaw tenses, but his body relaxes just a little bit. “Love…”
“Yes. Do you remember what that felt like?” I ask.
His lip rises in disgust. “No. I’ve not felt the love of a woman or for a woman since your mother destroyed it with her bare hands.”
The pause that follows feels like it lasts an eternity.
CLICK!
The gun’s safety is put back on, the sound making me feel like I can breathe again.
He puts his gun away. “But I love my kids, and I’d do anything to protect you.” Tears well up in my eyes as he approaches. “If you still want these boys, despite the fact they hurt you … then I’ll accept your choice.”
My father places a hand on Milo’s shoulder. “You’re a brave guy.”
“Thanks,” he gulps.
“That body in that picture, did you clean it up?” he asks like it’s no big deal.
The boys all nod in silence, all stupefied by how easy he makes it sound.
“Good.”
“Wait, you’re not mad?” Nathan asks.
“Of course, I’m mad. But that doesn’t stop the killings because if it did, you wouldn’t be doing it in the first place,” he retorts.
“I thought you summoned us here to expel us,” Milo mutters.
