Now I wasn’t so certain life hadn’t taken her innocence long before. What I had done was pretend she was nothing but an object. Sadly, there was nothing else left inside of me.
Jaxon’s words echoed in my mind. Shutting down the world had been easy. Necessary. We all had the need to lock downeverything else but day-to-day tasks. But years had gone by. Years.
Indiana whimpered as he attempted to lick away the tears, his paws resting on Josette’s legs.
“I’m okay, my sweet baby boy. Nothing to worry about,” Josette whispered, accepting every lick of Indiana’s tongue, smiling after a few seconds.
She threw me another look and I fisted my hand around the glass, the force in my fingertips able to crush the glass with ease. That’s how crazy the woman made me.
As the credits began to roll, she lowered her head, her breathing ragged. Then she rose to her feet, her wine emptied, Indiana remaining where he was.
When she started to walk by, I eased onto the edge of my seat. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Why not?” she breathed.
It was funny how telling her the truth was difficult.
But necessary.
“Because I need you.”
CHAPTER 22
Sinclair
Josette sighed. “You need me.”
“I do.”
“Why?” She peered down at me with such animosity on her face, yet her eyes were questioning me. Hoping I’d provide the right answer.
One that would allow her to trust me.
“You’re right about me,” I managed.
“What am I so right about?”
“That I’m not really living.”
“Why aren’t you, Sin? You have everything anyone could want.”
The truth wasn’t necessarily going to set me free.
“Not everything. I don’t have my fiancée.” I glanced into her eyes, curious as to her reaction. Her face fell as if experiencing the pain herself.
“What happened?” She was genuinely concerned, which was very much her personality.
I took another swig of my drink. “She was killed. Murdered by an enemy. Her name was Callista. We’d gone out to dinner and I had to stop for gas. She wanted to get something from the convenience store for Sadie. I told her to stay in the car, but she was hardheaded. Just like you are. Anyway, as soon as she came out, a car pulled up. I should have known something was wrong when Sadie jumped out the open window. It was all over quickly. I had my back to them. Shots were fired. I pulled my weapon, but by that point, the gunman and his accomplice had jumped back into the waiting vehicle. I fired shots, but they got away. When I raced around to the other side, both Sadie and Callista were lying in a pool of blood.”
“Oh, my God. Oh, Sinclair. I am… I am so sorry.”
She rested her hand on my shoulder while I tossed back half the glass of whiskey, slowly lowering it to the table.
“Why? Why kill them?”
“They simply wanted to destroy my family. To cause pain. It worked too. For a while I could barely function. But I had my revenge and moved on.”
“Who did it?”
