“Agony Hollow.” Another smile, this one tinged with sentiment. “Reminds me of Cinderhart, but in all the good ways, you know?”
“That your old place?”
There’s a faint smile on Thatcher’s lips, but he doesn’t answer me, instead scanning the kitchen like he’s wondering if there’s another earth-shattering question he forgot to ask.
“Pie Palace, you said?” He nods again. “Think I’ll try them on my way back to the station.”
Chapter 26
Bastian
I weigh my Beretta in my palm, stroking the grip with my thumb as I peer through the peephole in my front door, watching Kai and Haven’s Uber retreat down the winding road.
How easily power shifts. Me pressing this muzzle to Haven’s temples last night. Her using it to force Kai to his knees this morning.
And yet, how different things would have played out this morning if Haven had tried a second warning shot, with the single round I kept in the gun lodged in the front door.
My mouth twists when I glance down at the hole drilled into the thick wood.
God knows how much it’s going to cost to repair that. I might even have to buy a new door.
This morning’s little power play was fascinating. When I sent Haven into my bedroom for her keys, I never expected her to return with the gun.Neverexpected her to turn it on us and demand retribution.
Every time I put that damn girl in a box, she claws her way back out again.
Christ, I enjoyed it as much—perhaps even more—than both of them. I know exactly what it feels like to hold the power after being denied your entire life, and that’s what I saw in Haven’s eyes this morning.
Power is a strong drug. Instantly addictive, like methamphetamine, or heroin.
I’ve just given Kai and Haven their first taste, and they’ll both be chasing that high the rest of their fucking lives. It’ll become more important than school, sex…the shiny and bright future they both so desperately crave.
In Haven’s case, the tightly held control she’s forced on herself will start to unravel, laying bare the hot mess that is Haven Lee.
Best of all, I’ll be right there to witness it.
MeandKai, because he’s not going anywhere without Haven. That poor boy is so lovesick, scientists will never find a cure.
Not that I’m complaining. He hassucha soft mouth…and those angry, soulful eyes? Jesus, I’m getting hard just replaying the confused glare he gave me when I hit the back of his throat.
I chuckle, toying with my split lip as I step into my study, intent on returning the Beretta to my gun safe. Opening the top desk drawer, I feel around for the secret compartment beneath the surface of the desk, slipping out the key hidden inside.
I keep the Beretta for home protection, but I rarely feel the need to have it close at hand. No idea why I put it in my nightstand.
Paranoia, perhaps.
The discretely positioned door inside my study opens on silent hinges. I’m hit with the familiar scent of stale, musty air and a sharp chemical stench that rises from the deep like Melville’s white leviathan.
No need to go down the stairs, into the inky darkness below the house.
Soon, maybe, but not today.
I open the safe buried in the wall just past the doorway and put the Beretta inside.
As I’m about to return the key to its hiding place, my eyes are drawn to the Northern Blue butterfly preserved inside the crystal paperweight on top of my desk.
A slow, deep breath fills my lungs as I lay the key on the table and pick up the globe instead.
So much heavier than the gun.
