“Wait. Wait!” His screams follow us down the hall, rising in volume and pitch the longer he goes without any answer. “Wait! Don’t do this! You motherfucker! You think you can get away with this?” The gasoline in the air tells me yes, I will get away with it, just as I’ve planned so carefully. I’ll get away with it like he’s gotten away with too much for too long.
Ethan waits at the front door, eyeing Aurora, obviously accepting what her presence means. “Are we good to go?”
With a single nod, I grunt, “Light it up.” The girl, whose arm I’m still holding, gasps and tugs like she wants to get away. “Do you want to stay here with him?” That question is all it takes to make her stop resisting.
But it’s not enough to shut her mouth. “What do you think you’re going to get out of this? If you kill my father, who is there to ransom me? Did you even think this through?”
Right. She didn’t hear my final words to him. She thinks this is all a game. “Does any part of this seem like it wasn’t thought through? If I hadn’t thought it through, could I have gotten you out of there?” Now she’s silent, probably asking herself what she got into tonight.
Selina paces the bottom of the front steps, looking anxious until she spots me emerging. When her gaze falls on Aurora, that anxiety hardens into disdain. Her dark eyes narrow before she mutters, “Behave yourself. We could barbecue you, too.”
The world goes bright behind me, and I look in time to watch through the windows as the drapes in one of the downstairs rooms catch fire. The same happens in another room before Ethan marches out. He’ll drive back with us while his guys dispose of the other SUV.
“Let’s roll out,” I announce, pausing for a second to let my captive take one last look at her home before it’s nothing but burned rubble. There’s nothing about her expression to give me a clue what she’s thinking.
Not that it matters. The plan is in motion, but there’s still work to be done. The air behind me gets hot as the fire grows, with Aurora staring over her shoulder with every step I force her to take.
3
AURORA
Ican’t believe this.
I was ready for that dinner to be over, but I couldn’t imagine it ending like this. I guess Gabriel doesn’t want to marry me after all since he obviously had something to do with this.
Now here I am. Next to the man who dragged me out of my home after leaving my dad for dead. The house is quickly becoming engulfed by the time the dark-haired man behind the wheel steers us out of the courtyard.
“Bet you didn’t see your night turning out like this,” the murderer next to me mutters, snickering. “It’s just the beginning, Aurora.”
I hate the way he says my name, like it belongs to him. He has no right to speak it.
My hands are going numb after being tied behind me like they are. What I wouldn’t give to slap this snide, snickering asshole until he loses the taste in his mouth.
The inside of the SUV is illuminated by the flames behind us. My house. The only one I’ve ever lived in, the place where I’vespent most of my life. I’m losing everything tonight. Everything that’s mine. I’ll never look at any of it again.
I’ll never look at Dad again, either. An icy shiver runs down my spine when I remember the way he screamed back there. He wasn’t a good father, not by a long shot. He was ready to hand me over to this asshole without another thought. He only wanted to save himself, and to hell with me. He kept me locked away my entire life—I was hardly ever allowed to leave the house, and when I was at home, I would usually be confined to my room.
Still, he was my dad. I already lost Mom before I could ever know her, and now he’s gone, too. And I’m trapped in an SUV with the people who killed him.
I should feel something, shouldn’t I? All I feel now is numb.
Glancing over at Prince Charming, I notice how his jaw tightens, and he taps his fingers against his thigh. The job is over. Shouldn’t he be relaxed? Then I remember what he said.The night’s not over yet.
“I already told you,” I mutter. “With my father dead, you can’t get anything for me. I don’t know what you think this is all about, but you’re going to be disappointed.”
The woman in the passenger seat scoffs. “You don’t have much of an imagination, do you?”
Was I talking to you, bitch?Careful, careful. My mouth is going to get me in trouble. Granted, I’m already in trouble, but it could get much worse. I’m not in the mood to find out how much worse.
The man with the plan chuckles. “Wait and see, Aurora.” He even pats my bare knee. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
The girl clicks her tongue. “Don’t even talk to her, Liam.”
Liam. At least now Prince Charming has a name. He also has an incredibly large, incredibly hard body. His thigh presses against mine, but it feels more like stone. His hand engulfs my knee before he pulls it away. Powerful hands—I can still feelwhere one of them wrapped around my arm. He could tear me to pieces with them.
Dread trickles through my veins, cooling my blood. Exactly what is this all about? It’s better for me to keep my mouth shut for now, to watch and wait. Even when we hit a particularly big bump in the road, it makes me bounce in the seat and fall back against my bound hands. My arms and shoulders do not appreciate this position, and I can’t hold back a tiny gasp.
“Sorry if you’re a bit uncomfortable,” Liam taunts, like he isn’t sorry at all. My teeth dig into my tongue. I won’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, I watch the road, wondering where we’re going. Are they taking me to some remote location? Some hideout? I’m sure Dad must’ve had allies, right? What if they decide they want to pay these guys back? These people can’t just, like, walk around freely. Right?
