“Of course you meant it,” Caretaker barked. “You poisoned her tea. She was vulnerable, lying there only hours after giving birth, and you brought her that drink. Forced her to take it.”
“I didn’t?—”
“Come here, Violet,” he snapped, pointing to the floor beside the chair. “On your knees.”
My hands shook, rage coiling tight in my chest.
But after a moment, with a shuddering breath, mum obeyed. She crawled. Each movement tearing at the raw, broken skin along her back, blood trailing in thin lines as she inched closer to his side.
When she reached the chair, she sank back on her heels, shoulders curled inward like she could make herself smaller.
Caretaker looked down at her with a smile that made bile rise in my throat.
“You always were a jealous little thing,” he mused. “Fighting with the others whenever they got more attention than you. It’s why you were sent to me not once, but twice. Pathetic, really.”
Baring her teeth, mum reached up for the same knife he’d used to cut his steak and drove the blade down in a frenzy. Caretaker barely raised his arms in time, the steel slicing across his forearm as mum screeched like a woman possessed.
He had her disarmed and pinned to the table in seconds, his hands around her throat.
This time, I didn’t stay sitting. I lunged at him, slamming my shoulder into his side with every ounce of strength I had. Caretaker snarled and struck out blindly, pushing me back until Jürgen grabbed me from behind and hauled me back.
“STOP IT!” I screamed, thrashing against Jürgen’s hold, but he didn’t budge.
Caretaker’s fingers tightening around mum’s throat as she scrambled and fought.
“PLEASE!” I begged, but I could do nothing but watch as Caretaker strangled mum until she was limp, her head rolling to the side and her arms falling lifeless on the table.
I let out a sob, unable to keep it back. “Mum…”
Caretaker glared down at her for a moment, before turning to me with an expression of thunder. “Lock her in a room,” he snarled, lifting his arms to try and stem the blood flow. “We’ll leave for the airport in an hour.”
Chapter 58
Ryder
Placing my helmet on the grass, I stared at the white van parked beside the massive, derelict manor. From a distance, I would’ve assumed the place was abandoned.
The curb appeal was non-existent, all aggressive fencing and boarded-up windows. The driveway looked like it had been through a war, crumbling in chunks and overgrown at the edges. Honestly, if Hen hadn’t given me the exact satellite coordinates, I’d never have found this place buried out here in the woods.
Two men leaned against the van, smoking and muttering to each other in low voices. Neither looked armed, and neither bothered to scan their surroundings.
Either the Caretaker was stupid, or he was very,veryconfident.
Desperation clawed at me, begging me to storm the place, guns blazing, consequences be damned. But instinct held me in place. The reason I was such a good thief was because I had patience.
Rushing in got you killed.
Rushing in would getherkilled.
So, like the good boy I was, I crouched in the bushes andwaited. Watching to see if any more surprises crawled out of the woodwork. This needed to be clean. Silent. In and out, just like I’d done a hundred times before.
Only this time, I wasn’t the one who’d pay for it if I fucked up.
When I was confident there were only the two guards, I snuck around the side until I found a door. It was keycard access, which was pretty standard and becoming increasingly popular. It was a bit annoying because I preferred the classic pin lock; less flashy and more predictable.
Still, electronic didn’t mean impenetrable. People liked to think digital meant secure. But I was a man of many talents, and breaking into things just happened to be one of them.
Exhaling through my nose, I checked my watch while fighting the urge to just kick the door in. Because I was a professional. I wasn’t simply a meathead brute, and I had fuckingpatience.
