“That’s the fun part, isn’t it? I put him everywhere.”
“What do you meaneverywhere?”
Something about my father was off but I pressed forward, knowing I only had a few minutes. “I said I would bring hell toyou. I told you I would make it hurt. You started enjoying it, though. Eager to clean up my messes, I know you did!”
He leaned forward, his face twisting with anguish. “I never enjoyed this part of you. Where is he, Runo?”
“I told you.Everywhere. I scattered him across Primrose. I want you to fear that every time they find something, it could be the man you trusted most and the man who loved me.” I dug around in my pocket and pulled out the other finger I had saved from Brent. It had been my lucky charm for the last couple of days but it was only to serve a purpose. I tossed it across the room, my father catching it and then dropping it on the ground.
I had made sure to steal one of Samael’s rings this morning to make it more believable, although the investigation would discover it was just more of Brent.
Dad’s eyes burned into me. “How could you? That… youlovedhim?
I held back a laugh, a rough knock on the door causing me to slip into the persona I had practiced all week. The door swung open as Tyrone yelled ‘police, put your hands up’.
This is my cue,I told the others and then I screamed at the top of my lungs, a high, panicked wail that echoed off the bloodstained walls. Tyrone stopped just inside, confusion riding his expression as he lowered his gun. “What the actual fuck happened here?”
I dropped to my knees, shaking and screaming, and blubbering through an explanation as I played the scared son to perfection. “I came home to check on my dad and found all this!” My voice cracked as I forced tears down my cheeks, my hands trembling for effect, but inside, the thrill was a dark, sensual fire growing by the second.
Tyrone’s gaze flicked between me and Dad, his gun lowering further as he called into his device for backup. Then he turned his attention back to Dad. “You’re under arrest. Chief, really,what the fuck?” He stomped over and handcuffed my father before twisting to meet my shriveled form. “I had no idea he was doing all this. No wonder you’re messed up, Runo. God, you’re going into shock. We need to get you out of here.”
Killian: Nailed it.
Finn: 10 stars. Encore. Truly.
Daemon: The tears sold it.
I waited for Dark to weigh in, a little terrified that maybe Dark had morphed into one of the others. And then he surfaced, the same horny bitch he always was.
Dark: We better get some dessert for this. Like two helpings. Double-stuffed. Did someone tape this because I think we should watch it with our men so they can give us the encore we deserve.
SAMAEL
I paced the estate’s living room, the walls closing in after nearly a week of going stir crazy. The chaos in Primrose had waned ever since Tyrone had arrested Chief Matthews and sent Runo for a psych evaluation. Runo somehow passed that goddamn test and was out within a few hours with several pamphlets explaining where he could go to get help. He played the traumatized kid all the way to my fucking house, falling out on the steps as he mourned my death.
He even ended up on the front of The Revival as a mourning boyfriend.
However, after that?
Crickets.
We weren’t privy to any of the interrogations and Tyrone wasn’t sharing the details. He was, however, quite loud in all of the press conferences, crowing about Primrose returning to its former glory, the curfew lifted like a victory flag. It was likehe had convinced the entirety of this little city that the chief of police had manufactured the entire fucking thing.
It would never hold in court but the chief definitely wasn’t getting out.
I’d spent most of my time cooped up here, the estate gifted to my foster brothers, this fortress of secrets now feeling like a cage. Primrose was in shock, the headlines focused on the Chief’s arrest, my “death” barely a footnote, the DNA scam with Dr. Harley’s body fading into the noise. My men had been in and out, unable to stay over since I was supposedly dead, and the isolation was driving me up the fucking wall.
I couldn’t even run my other business effectively, most of my men not trustworthy enough to keep this secret. They all thought I was truly well and gone but there had been a contingency plan for just this moment. Several of my men were in charge of sections of my business and were to run it as such on their own should I ever die.
The only thing we had left to do was leaving this fucking city.
However, Runo kept saying to wait, my other men fully agreeing with him. I just hope thatwaitended today.
My phone buzzed on the table, Runo’s name flashing on the screen. I opened the text, his words dripping with that unhinged spark.
Lover, I have a present for you, can you please make sure Lucy’s bowl is full and then come downstairs.
I snorted and showed the screen to Slash, who was sprawled on the couch beside me.
