“Of course, we care, princess. You’re our daughter. We love you.”
“I didn’t want this for you,” Mom says. Strain is etched upon her face, and her eyes are bloodshot and troubled as she silently pleads with me for understanding that’s in limited supply.
Jase harrumphs. “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you married Richard. You were out from under their clutches, for fuck’s sake!”
Mom scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous. No one gets out from under their clutches unless they end up in a body bag. We were still under Luminary control and always will be.”
My eyes pop wide in shocked surprise.
“Ashley was free, and now she’s fucked,” Jase yells.
Yep. I’m beginning to see that.
“This wasn’t the way it was meant to go down!” Mom shouts back.
“What did you think would happen, Pamela?”
“Not this!” Her tone is borderline hysterical. It’s so rare to see her rattled I believe she’s genuine. “She turned eighteen. The danger had passed.”
“How could you be so goddamned naïve.” Jase bundles me in his arms, holding me tight to his chest. His heart is beating crazy fast under my cheek. “If I’d known, I would’ve—”
“You would’ve what, Jason?” Mom snaps, moving closer as I eye her from the safety of Jase’s protective arms. “Done something less foolish than going against a direct Luminary order, breaking into the crypt, killing a bunch of grunts, and trying to steal my daughter away from her fate?”
“We didn’t have time to plan anything because we didn’t know,” Bree says in a clipped tone. She’s been quiet up to this point.
“I literally only discovered the truth a few days ago,” Jase says. “We were told special dispensation was given to my uncle to marry you because of the circumstances under which he lost his first wife. I had no idea you were a Luminary or that Ash was. I was trying to find an angle when I got the call she had been taken.” Jase lifts his gun and points it at my parents, waving it from side to side between them. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t put a bullet in both your skulls.”
“You’re holding it in your arms,” Dad quietly replies.
“You know who I am and what it’d mean for you if you kill me.” Mom bores a hole in his skull while I try to figure out what she’s inferring.
As much as I’m confused, scared, hurt, and angry, they are my parents, and I don’t want them dead. Straightening up, I lock eyes with Jase. “Please don’t.”
A heavy sigh leaves his lush lips as he lowers his gun and puts it back in the holster on his hip.
“I need answers,” I say as tension bleeds into the air.
“You will get them,” Mom replies in a calmer tone. She whips her head to Dad, and he nods. “But first we need to fix this mess before anyone finds out.”
“No.” Jase holds me tighter. “I’m not letting them take her.”
“Jason, be reasonable.” Mom steps forward, briefly touching his arm. “We don’t want this either, but there is no choice. You know there is nowhere you could run they wouldn’t find you.”
“We won’t know until we try,” Bree says. “We know how to cover our tracks, and we’ll move around so it’s harder to find us.”
“I remember wanting to rebel at your age too.” Immense sadness ghosts over her eyes, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such strong emotion on my mother’s face before. She’s an ice queen. Devoid of showing emotion.
Now, I’m beginning to realize that may not be the truth.
Mom has been hiding secrets, and I realize I don’t know her at all.
“From what I’ve heard, you did, and you’re still standing,” Bree says.
“Only because I had a powerful ally.”
“Your brother helped you,” Jase says.
I frown as I stare at my mother. “You don’t have any siblings.”
