“He’s already here.”
chapter forty five
i was your father figure
There had been many times in my life when I thought fear might kill me.
Not the kind of fear that makes you flinch, but real fear. The kind that slips in quietly, coils around your ribs, and squeezes until you’re convinced you won’t survive it.
The first time, I was a kid, standing over the shattered pieces of my mum’s Virgin Mary figurine. I wasn’t afraid of the broken porcelain; I was afraid of the silence that would follow once she saw it. The stillness before the storm. I remember thinking it’d be easier if I just disappeared before she realised it was me.
Years later, it was Lana. Watching, frozen, some asshole’s hands all over her, while I stood useless on the other side of the room. That same cold thing crawled up my spine, sank its claws into my stomach, whispering that I wasn’t enough to stop it. That I never would be.
And now.
Now, as I stood there watching a man pull a gun on my brother, watched him fire, my eyes caught on Cora. Her handswere cuffed, her body trembling, her breath too fast. That thing in my chest came back, sharper than it had ever been. Not just fear. Something worse. A knowing. The kind that told me,this time, you’re too late.
For one heartbeat, I believed it. Let it sink in.
Then I remembered. Fear only won if you stood still and let it.
Not this time.
As I stepped out from the shadows, I held on to nothing but the look in Cora’s eyes. I’d seen flickers of that look before: when I held her in my arms the night we first kissed, when I stole her away from those events, when I found her at the top of my stairs crying her heart out. But this look was different. I couldn’t find her in there. Whatever had happened in the time between losing her and finding her had torn at her, like claws through a tapestry.
“Marcus,” she whispered as I got close enough to hover over her.
My hands moved to cup her face but slid off instantly because of her tears.
Chipped another piece of my heart off as they did.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered, dragging my thumbs underneath her eyes, wiping away the black streaks.
“Looky what we have here. You took your time didn't ya?”
The short man standing behind Cora spat the words, melting every happy feeling of seeing her alive. Anger solidified in its place. I stepped around her, guarding her body with mine, planting my feet.
I looked over him, trying to place him, and it all came back.
I was outside the bakery. Waiting for Cora. He walked in after closing. I caught him on the way out.
Then the texts started, and I forgot all about him.
He stepped forward, and I acted without thinking, pulling my gun from my holster and stretching it in front of me.
His hands shot up, his gun still lazily dangling from his thumb. “Alright, mate. Chill out.” His hands lowered. “I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”
“You.” I sighed, lowering my gun slightly. “Who the hell are you?”
His smirk peaked. “Arthur Holland.” That smug look returned to his face, but now there was an edge I didn’t like. “Or, if we want to skip the formalities, why don’t you think of me as the new CEO of Romano Security?”
My smile was humourless, stretching wide as I shook my head. “And what makes you so confident of that?”
He shrugged, casually. “The fact that in about three minutes I will be.” His head bobbled. “You see, watching someone for as long as I’ve watched you, Marcus, you learn things. Little things. And one of the things I’ve learned is that you’ll do anything to save the ones you love.” His eyes narrowed. “Ain’t that right?”
I didn’t move. Didn’t so much as blink.
Arthur paced, the gun he’d used to shoot Oscar swinging by his side.
