Julian
“Why wouldDetective Ridgeway do any of this?” Wynn’s brow scrunched. “It makes no sense.”
I wanted to answer his questions, but there were too many things currently in play. Bear was dead, and I had to get him into the container; Corey was alive, and keeping him that way appeared to be Wynn’s main goal. Wynn…he finally met my eyes, but I felt him slipping away. Would letting Corey live make him see me a little less like a monster?
With all of that, I had Wynn to worry about. How to get past this but at the same time have him accept this part of me. It was complex—I got that. My family knew—they feared me but at the same time would defend me to the death. I wanted Wynn to love me; I needed that.
“Julian, why is Ridgeway doing this, and can’t you tell Henderson?”
I glared at Corey before giving my attention to Wynn. “I found out recently that Ridgeway was the governor’s cousin.”
Wynn tilted his head. “Okay, that’s a big conflict of interest. However, it doesn’t explain why he’s causing mayhem.” I jolted away. “Is this because he thinks I killed her?”
“He…he told me to tell you or the lady that the prince was a bad man. It d-didn’t seem like he was angry with you,” Corey answered, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.
Did Ridgeway know what I was…what I did?
“It’s so confusing.” Wynn sighed.
I looked at Corey and contemplated what to do with him. “If I let you live, you do what Wynn said. I’ll give you enough money to live and set up somewhere. Eventually you’ll need a job.” I inched closer. “But if you ever speak of this. If you ever return to the islands, I will kill you.”
He shook his head frantically. “I promise, I won’t talk. I’d love a fresh start. Thank you!” Beads of sweat dripped down his face.
I turned away and pulled out my cell phone to get instructions to my assistant and to loop Edward in on everything that had transpired tonight and what I’d learned. He wasn’t happy and said he had news of his own.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I read the message.
“What is it?” Wynn didn’t come near me, but he wore a concerned expression on his handsome face.
“Corey, I’m going to take you out of here through a back exit. There will be a car waiting and a driver. He will take you to the airport. From there, the royal jet will take you to your new destination. Paper work and money will be handled before you step off the plane.”
“Uh, ok, thanks.” His gaze slipped to my right, where Bear’s body was.
“That’s not why you swore, Julian.” Wynn lifted a brow.
“No, it’s not, but I need to get Corey out of here and Bear handled. You don’t have to stay for any of this. I can bring you upstairs.”
Wynn pursed his lips, and he stared at me intently. Then, to my surprise, he walked over to Bear and glared.
“He was a despicable person.”
“He was.”
He folded his arms across his chest and faced me. “You have only ever killed horrible people like him?”
“Mostly.”
He blinked rapidly. “Mostly…what’s that mean?”
“You write for a psychology magazine, you’ve studied mental health and learned things, right?”
“Mostly.” He smirked.
“What do you know about psychopathy?”
He slipped his hands into his pockets. “The textbook answer to that would be: Psychopathy is a personality construct characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, or egotistical traits.”
“That’s actually exactly what the textbooks say. But have you ever met a psychopath?”
