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I snorted. Like that was going to happen.
Looking back at the photo, I realized that Kenzi would have had to be right out the front window of the solarium to get this shot. Had she been close by or was this using a telephoto lens? Either way, she had been there for me. Again. Watching from the shadows.
Typing a message, I pressed send and tossed the phone into my bag as our car came to a stop outside of the small, private airport. I wasn’t giving up on her, and I wouldn’t stop looking.
Fola roimh gach ní eile.
Blood before all else.
This war was far from over, but right now, I would take the win and be happy for what it had given me.
A loving family and a man I couldn’t live without.
EPILOGUE
Ducking through the alley, I pulled my hoodie high over my head to obscure my face from the cameras. Ava would have Mark scouring CCTV footage for my face. The bag in my hand was heavy, filled to the brim with the supplies I would need to make this work.
I couldn’t risk putting them in harm’s way again.
It had been a fluke that Caesar’s trigger phrase hadn’t worked properly. Something I still didn’t understand. The sudden urge to slaughter had slid into my mind like a shadow, twisting until all I saw was the walls coated in red. Then I’d taken a swing at my sister, intending to crush her skull with my hands, but the moment she cried out in pain, the urge to kill had dissipated.
Be a good girl, Kenzi.
Fucking bitch. I was going to wrap my fucking hands around her throat and strangle her until her eyes popped out of her fucking head. I was no one’s fucking puppet, and I would make sure it stayed that way.
The lock of the hotel room door clicked when I pressed my key against the sensor. I pushed my way inside, bypassing the main room in favor of the bathroom.
Shutting the door, I got to work, and by the time I was done, I barely recognized myself.
My long brunette hair was cut short, ending just below my chin in a layered bob, and now a dark emerald green. I slid a pair of colored lenses into my eyes, turning my blue ones a soft brown. Mark’s program identified variables such as hair color and eye color. It wouldn’t completely fool his system, but it was a start and would give me the time I needed to find the woman who called herself Caesar and hang her by her intestines.
My phone beeped.
Fuck. Ava was a persistent bitch, and normally I loved her for it. Not right now, though. Not when those texts and calls could be traced.
Damn, I missed her so much. I felt like I had finally had my life back. Until that one moment that ruined everything. Things were supposed to get better. I was supposed to be free. Now, I was just a ticking time bomb.
A deadly explosion waiting to happen.
The timer on my watch beeped.
Shit, I was going to be late.
I hurried out the door, still being sure to keep my head down and away from the cameras, but I didn’t want to appear too suspicious. I’d spent years learning how to be a chameleon, but this was different. Those targets never knew who I was. How I thought and moved. Mark and Ava did. Caesar too. She was the one who had created the program, after all.
Taking the bus out to where Matthias had dropped the pin was easier said than done. I ended up Ubering it the last few miles. Tipping the driver, I stepped out of the car, stopping to admire the view. Fuck, that man had gone all out.
The outside looked Victorian, but the construction looked too new to be truly vintage. Not that it would matter to Ava. She had always wanted the aesthetic without all the issues that went into owning an actual Victorian. Not to mention that I doubted Matthias would move into a house that couldn’t accommodate his state-of-the-art security system or his fancy coffee machine that no honest Victorian would be able to handle without burning down.
Tucking my chin, I followed the flow of guests toward the front door, slipping around to the back before anyone could notice. The lawn was fucking immaculate. Lucky too, because Ava did not have a green thumb to try and make these garden beds herself.
I found the perfect spot to watch the ceremony, perched on a small bench just far enough away that no one could see me, but not too far that my camera wouldn’t be able to catch the action.
Hopefully, this wedding went down better than the last.
Sorrow weighed down my heart when I thought about Libby. I tried not to think about her too often because the pain in my chest always seemed to grow immeasurably when I did. My sweet Libby. She would be so happy to see Ava getting married in the way she had always dreamed of. An Ivory dress, flowers, and a groom who looked at her as if she was the world.
We had our weddings planned out by the time we were thirteen years old. Our plan was to be each other’s maids of honor. Dad would walk us down the aisle with a smile on his face and give us away to the men of our dreams.
