I closed my eyes, humming Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” as I thought about Eddie. Hopefully he’d forgive me.
Ari got in the car after what felt like forever, his grin wide and eyes shining bright. “He woke up right after you left. Hewas pretty out of it. I told him you said hello.” He chuckled, clearly pleased with the entire situation, but all I could feel was cold. I needed to go home, to cuddle with Eddie and tell him everything. “This spring he’ll sink. Maybe I’ll come back to see.”
“There’s no water in the base. Chuck can’t go too far.”
He hummed in interest.
The drive back to Ari’s house was quiet. I didn’t speak, and he didn’t fill in the silence, another thing I enjoyed about him. When we arrived at his house, he got out to grab my Christmas present for Eddie while I waited in the car. I watched from my spot in the passenger’s seat as Jules whipped open the door before Ari made it there, and he shoved Ari against the threshold, his hand wrapped around Ari’s throat. Ari laughed and licked the tip of Jules’s nose, and Jules snapped his teeth at Ari before kissing him hard. The scene was all veryerotic.
My dick twitched.
By the time Jules let Ari go, Ari was bouncing. He went inside with Jules following before he came out again, my bag in hand. By the time he slid back into the car, I noticed all the extra hickeys on his neck and jaw.
“Jules happy to see you?” I teased, feeling a little lighter, since we were far away from the water tower.
“More like jealous I went hunting without him. That’s our thing.” Ari winked. “I’m in trouble later. I hope Master brings out the knife. We’re going to get rid of any evidence at the bar, so don’t worry about it.”
I had a feeling I shouldn’t ask the questions lingering in my head.
When we arrived at my home, I said my thank-you with a big hug, which he returned with an awkward back pat, and waved at him as he drove away.
The present felt heavy in my hand as I stepped up to the front door. Would Eddie forgive me for what I’d done? We could live happily without fear of Chuck now. Would he understand that?
Fuck, I hoped so.
The door yanked open and Eddie stood on the other side with a frown. “Baby, where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.”
I threw myself at him, and he caught me in a tight hug. “I killed your dad, Eddie. I did it and I’m not sorry. Please don’t hate me.”
22
EDDIE
Tyler shivered, and I dragged him into the house and shoved the door closed. He was solid in my arms. Relief wrapped around my heart. I’d been so fucking worried when he took forever getting home. I’d thought he was fighting last-minute shoppers.
“You’re back.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m sorry. Did you say.. .?”
He nodded, eyes squeezed shut. “Yes, I killed Chuck. He’s dead.”
“Are you sure he’s dead?” My heart was going so fast I was about to pass out.
He leaned back to stare at me as if I was stupid. “Don’t you know when you kill a guy?”
Laughter clawed its way out of me and I hugged him. “Yeah, but are you serious?” I shook him a little. “Dad is dead? For real?”
His bottom lip wobbled. Tears glistened on his cheeks, and I brushed them off.
“Hey, I have you.” I peppered kisses across his face until he was taking deeper breaths and seemed a little more like his usual self. “Tell me what happened.”
He snorted. “I was with Ari.”
He still didn’t look okay, so I rubbed his back. “I’m here for you. Just tell me what went down.”
The whole sordid tale spilled from him with a few small interruptions from me—“Where the hell did Ari get chloroform!?”—but other than a couple of details, such as the water tower, I wasn’t truly surprised Tyler had offed Dad or that Ari had helped. Ari didn’t seem to care about dead bodies more than as a passing inconvenience.
But Tyler? He wasn’t cold and calculating. He wasn’t a bad person who hurt others. But he took Dad out anyway. He did exactly what I wasn’t able to do for him. I didn’t know I would feel like swooning for my knight in shining armor until this second. The kiss I planted on him left my head swimming.
“So,” he said, gripping my arms too hard. “Do you hate me?” He shook me, and the spot where his fingers dug in ached.
