“You thought you could recreate the moment with her daughter.”
“I’ve kept tabs on you all these years. When your little friends thought they were orchestrating my capture, I was the one plucking the strings. Who do you think tipped off King to my sudden reappearance? Who do you think sold this theme park to Jim?”
“But why my mother?”
Before he has a chance to answer, Kenny lets out an ear-piercing screech and begins flapping his wings. Underneath all that squawking, I hear a familiar voice yell my name. I can’t be certain if it’s my hopeful imagination or a miracle, but I don’t respond. Kenny is louder than I ever could be, and I have to hope Desmond didn’t hear anything.
“Shut that damned animal up!” he yells as he flails his hands toward Kenny. That only makes the poor creature screech more loudly.
While he’s focused on the bird, I lean backward and unfasten the door lock. Now I just have to hope Aven gets here before Desmond realizes he’s on his way. Fighting him myself isn’t an option, and playing hopscotch on that crumbling walkway as I run for my life is not a possibility.
I glance back at the bird. The latch around his leg has come open, but it’s still hooked in place. With a little finesse, I could probably free him.
“Let me handle him,” I say. “He doesn’t like loud sounds, and you’re a fucking bullhorn.”
After grabbing the gun from the table, Desmond steps back with a scowl, and I use my back to block his line of sight as I stretch my arm toward the bird. Kenny eyes my arm, then quiets and steps up.
“Good boy,” I whisper.
“What are you telling him?” Desmond barks.
I roll my eyes and flick the latch away while gripping it so that the chain doesn’t fall to the floor. “The secrets of the fucking universe. He’s a bird, you moron. I’m just being nice to him so that he’ll calm down.”
I place Kenny on the branch, careful to keep the chain draped over it so that Desmond doesn’t realize the bird is free. Whether Aven shows up or not, a plan is forming in my mind.
I turn back to Desmond. “Now answer my question. Why did you choose my mother?”
“You seem to have forgotten who has the control here.” He wiggles the gun in the air, then motions for me to move to the other side of the room. “Get on your knees in front of the camera.”
I step toward the monitor and camera on the floor, then get to my knees. If being compliant can buy a little more time, so be it.
Desmond steps closer and turns on the devices. I fill the screen, though not with my usual glamor. The single dangling bulb above my head provides such shitty light. This is not at all flattering, and my stomach sinks to my ass when I see an active chat pop onto the screen.
EVE: We’re looking for you, honey.
CAT: Don’t give up hope!
I close my eyes. It’s not just me anymore. It’s not just Aven, either. We have friends, and I finally have family, and right now, they’re all hunkered down somewhere, giving me their support. As soon as they save me, I’m telling them everything.
“How touching,” Desmond coos. He kneels behind me, and I want to vomit when he leans closer and smells my hair. “Knowing that your friends will watch me destroy you is icing on the cake.”
Using the gun’s barrel, he pulls my hair to the side. I try to move away, but he brings the butt of the gun down on my shoulder and snatches me back in place by my hair.
“Is there anything you want to tell them before I kill you, you littlebrat?”
Aven should have gotten here by now. I must have wanted to hear his voice so badly that I imagined it. No one is going to find me out here. In case this is the last thing I get to say, I’d better make it good.
“I want everyone to know something about me. I’ve been keeping a secret, and no, I don’t mean my feelings for Aven.” I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Killing isn’t just a hobby I discovered here. It’s in my blood. I’m...a Carter sibling.”
The chat explodes, the words zipping by too quickly for me to read. Desmond starts laughing behind me, and an icy feeling grips my spine. The cold barrel presses against my nape and rakes up my skull.
“Killing is in your blood, that much is true,” Desmond says, “but Grantham Carter is not your father. I am.”
I lunge forward and disconnect the webcam, then rise to my feet and kick the monitor until it hisses. It can’t be true. It can’t, and I don’t want anyone else to hear his spurious bullshit.
“You’re a liar!” I grip the broken monitor and spin around to face him. “You’re only trying to piss me off!”
“Your response is certainly more than I hoped for.” He chuckles again, and my blood begins to boil. “Your mother answered my ad because she already knew me. She’d been dealing with me for years, just as I said. One of my best customers, and the whore to bear my demon seed.”
