“Please, please, please come home.” I wasn’t beyond begging, apparently.
The sweat cooling on the back of my neck reminded me of what we’d just done. A gnat wouldn’t fit down my throat. Tension crawled through my body.
“Only if we can kill Goldie together.” He squeezed my hands.
There were a million reasons for me to say no. Two killers were way more likely to get caught than one, for starters. After we did it, perhaps the guilt would get to him. Perhaps he would eventually hate me.
No, I wouldn’t allow any of those bad endings for my boy.
“You will follow my orders precisely. You have to prove to me you’re Daddy’s good, rule following boy. It’s the only way we will stay safe and make sure Ginny has two people to love and adore her while she grows up. She deserves that.”
He nodded once, tears I was sure he would never admit to glistening in his eyes. “Anything you say, Daddy.”
“Let’s get Ginny.”
He leaned down to kiss me, and the love I felt for this man made me feel bulletproof.
Hand in hand, we walked to the motel room. The second he opened the door, Bernadette started barking, clearly not herself from being in this strange place with unknown smells and people. She was a one-dog riot.
“Hush, Bernadette,” Ginny yelled, the cadence exactly the same way Keaton would say it. They were so much alike. She bolted upright, staring around the room. Her attention landed on me. She scrambled as if the blankets were trying to murder her, shoving them aside. She flung herself at me in the cutest pony-dotted PJs imaginable. “Zayn! You did come to stay with us!”
“This was a fun adventure, but you’re going back home with me.” The words sounded gruff, but I couldn’t help it.
She hugged me tight, and Keaton groaned. “She had anap.” He widened his eyes, looking so woebegone that I had to laugh.
“How about we go get some ice cream?” I waggled my eyebrows at her.
Ginny whooped and threw her fist in the air as if she’d just won a lifetime supply of ice cream instead of one trip to a soft serve stand. She flailed in exuberance. Bernadette danced around barking. But Keaton? He blushed when I leaned over to kiss his cheek.
These two wereminenow, and I just had to figure out how to keep them.
I also wouldn’t rest until I got anI love youout of Keaton, one of the most emotionally constipated men I’d ever met. That had to be easier than staying out of prison while being a serial killer, right?
19
KEATON
A week swept by too fast. During that time, Zayn hadn’t mentioned killing the drug dealer who’d sold Mom meth, and I hadn’t, either. We fell into a strangely normal routine. On days she didn’t go to kindergarten, Ginny was babysat by Mrs. Carmine, who Zayn had started to pay like a regular employee. He paid for her Uber to the house and set up a room for her in case she wanted to stay the night. It was nice. Cozy.
Zayn and I went to work like normal, except a few days after the motel adventure, he’d insisted on buying me a car. I’d argued, not willing to accept an expensive gift from him, but he pulled the Daddy card. I was weak when he ordered me around in that tone. I’d only agreed if it was on the cheaper side, but in the end, he got me a bright red Nissan Pathfinder. He’d argued that it was a vehicle big enough for a family, and we could even go camping in it if we wanted. The moment Ginny heard that, she’d screamed in excitement, and I couldn’t say no.
“What do you want for breakfast, pumpkin?” Zayn asked from where he stood behind the kitchen island, hard at work pouring Ginny a glass of apple juice. I sat on a stool beside theisland, eating the eggs and bacon he’d already placed on pieces of toast for me. It was delicious, and it was strange to think of how much a dad and boyfriend Zayn had become so quickly.
Ginny yawned as she climbed onto the stool beside me, Bernadette right behind her and heading straight toward her bowl, where she had dog kibble for whenever she wanted a snack. Her crunching filled the kitchen. I couldn’t help but grin at how comfortable she’d become in Zayn’s house. Though, I supposed we all had fallen into a relaxed space.
“Chocolate?” Ginny batted her eyelashes up at Zayn.
I snorted.
“Perhaps tonight if you eat your dinner.” Zayn bopped her gently on the nose with his pointer finger. “Try again. Something more nutritious.”
She pouted and shrugged. “What about Cheerios?”
I frowned. “You’ve had them all week, Buggy. Don’t you want something else?”
She shook her head. “Nope, I want Cheerios.”
I sighed. Ginny could be stubborn when it came to food, and she ate the same thing until she got bored. Mom had been fine with it, but I wanted her to try something different. Ginny refused.
