I swung again, putting everything I had into it before he could pull the trigger. The second blow caught him acrossthe face with an almightywhack, and Cedric’s hulking frame crumpled like a sack of shit. Out cold.
“You know him?” Violet asked, her words a touch frantic.
“Sort of.” I kicked him in the side, and he didn’t flinch. Nor did he move when I casually dropped the pan onto his head. Seriously, who’d have thought it would make such a great weapon? “Cedric’s not a nice guy. Much prefer his brother.”
Although his brother was dead. I think?
“Oh my God, what is happening?” Violet blurted, her voice climbing into a thin, trembling pitch. “I just wanted some chocolate from the shops, and now mum’s gone, but what if she comes back? And the washing—shit, I left it in the machine. It’s probably going to smell, and I don’t have time for this. I don’t?—”
Her hands twitched, half-reaching toward her face before falling again. She kept glancing from the fallen gun to Cedric’s crumpled body, her breath coming too fast.
Jesus Christ, her mind was going a mile a minute. Not good.
“Do you have, like, ADHD or something?”
She tried to swallow, but she was too frantic. “You’re not supposed to ask that,” she said, still panicked. Panic made people loud, and that was if one of her neighbours hadn’t already heard the commotion and called for help.
“Hey, hey.” I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Look at me, Violet. You’re okay. We’re okay.” My hand found her shoulder, awkwardly squeezing to anchor her to the room. “Breathe. In, out. That’s it. Good girl, keep doing that.”
Her gaze flicked up to mine, uncertain. I gave her a small nod, like I had everything under control. Whether she believed it or not didn’t matter. The trick was to keep herquiet until I was long gone and she was no longer my problem.
“Grab the ropes,” I said, keeping my tone authoritative.
She jerked, then followed the order without protest.
“No, let me.” I snatched them from her as she fumbled with Cedric’s wrists. “You’re clearly terrible at bondage.”
The joke seemed to work, her eyes snapping back to mine with a flicker of defiance tinged with embarrassment. I would’ve laughed in any other situation, but it seemed I was in a bit of a rush.
“Right.” After making sure Cedric wasn’t going anywhere soon, I scooped up everything of mine including the news articles, photographs, and the damn book before heading for the door. “Good luck.”
“What? Where are you going?” Violet gaped at me.
“Leaving, clearly.” Throwing her a sarcastic salute, and with my backpack over my shoulder I reached for the door, only for a small hand to slam it shut.
Violet
“What do you mean you’re leaving?”
Clearly, I was hallucinating, because no way was Intruder Number One just ditching me with Intruder Number Two like they were doing some kind of criminal relay race.
“So, what… you were just going to leave him here?” I gestured vaguely at the man still sprawled on my floor, a frying pan balanced on his head like a crown.
Ryder exhaled sharply, his usual smirk gone as he looked at me. “Not my problem.”
Not his problem? What was I supposed to do, call the police and explain that two armed strangers had broken into my flat looking for my mum? Or at least some version of her I didn’t know?
And what about the articles? The photos?Shit.
“So you’re just going to tie him up in my flat and walk away?” I challenged.
“Exactly.Yourflat.” Ryder gave the door handle a tug, but I pressed harder against it. “He was clearly looking for your mum, not me. Now, if you’ll politely move to the side…”
“No.” Slipping beneath his arm, I pressed my back to the door, tilting my jaw up to better meet his eyes. “You’re not leaving unless I go with you.”
He laughed, low and husky. But when he realised I wasn’t joking, the grin slid right off his face. “Yeah, that’s not happening, blondie.”
“Look, I need answers, and you’re the only person that can give them.”
