“No, no, no, no. Stop it,” I shout, as I cover my ears, not wanting to hear where he’s going with this, although I already know.
He grabs my wrists and pulls them away, but he doesn’t let go, and I realize he’s no longer holding the gun.
“Thirteen was our first target. We thought if we could frame Emmet, then we could get rid of him without having to risk ourselves actually killing him. Unfortunately, no one was buying it. Bradley never left your room that night, but unlike him, no one cared where I was. It was almost too easy to slip inside that maze and strangle the life out of her. I watched as the light faded from her eyes, and I felt nothing. She was so callous towards you, she deserved it.” He strokes my face, and I try not to recoil. “Every girl we targeted was someone who was a danger to you in one way or another. Someone easy to get to, but far from innocent. D was never supposed to be a part of it, but Bradley lost control when he left her a note pretending to be Jake, and she turned up. He thought he’d just add her to our list.” He sighs deeply, as though he stole candy from a store, and didn’t try to kill his ex.
“But, y-y-you attacked m-me,” my chin trembles, and I can barely get words out.
“So you would leave. I thought Tom would offer you a pass, but he didn’t. What do you have to go through for them to realize that the Academy is no place for you? Seriously, you could have died and yet, nothing. Yeah, they really care about you.” He rolls his eyes, before he cups my face.
“Ms. Vanderbilt?”
“Just as bad as Sir, a cold hearted bitch with no soul. She deserved it and more some. Don’t you see it now? I was doing the world a favor. No one is going to miss them. I did the right thing. It was mercy. Maybe not to them, but to everyone who would have to suffer through their shit later on. Luna, tell me you…”
A loud bang sounds, and Cole gasps, before he drops to the floor, I seize up as I stare down at him. My head shoots up to see Darius and Matthew standing in the doorway, with Sir behind them. It’s Matthew who has the gun in his hand. He just shot him in the back.
“Miss Carter, you’re okay now. You’re safe,” Sir speaks carefully, as he slowly makes his way towards me.
“He’s… he’s… dead.”
“Yes, he can’t hurt you anymore.” He wraps his arm across my shoulders before slowly leading me towards the exit.
“Darius, Matthew, stay here until the police arrive. They will require your statements,” he orders, and they both nod, even though Darius doesn’t look happy about it.
“Shouldn’t I stay, Sir? They may need to speak to me.”
“They will, but not here. You have been through a lot it seems. I think it will be better if we got you out of here. You’re lucky that Aeron was able to find this place in Cole’s name, otherwise we may never have found you.”
I shoot a look at Darius, and he discreetly shakes his head. He doesn’t want Arthur to know about the tracker, okay. I trust him more than I do Sir, if he wants it to be a secret, then it will stay that way.
“Are we going back to the Academy?” I ask, as I start to shake, I think I’m in shock, and he holds me tighter.
“Yes, my dear, but there’s something I want to show you first. Something I think you need to see.” He leads me away and I take one last look at Darius before I numbly go wherever he wants me to.
“Okay, but...”
“No buts. Look, it’s no secret that I had harbored feelings for your mom and I did a lot of things because of it. There are a few that I wish I could go back and change, but maybe I can fix one of them now. Come with me, Luna, let me check that he hasn’t done you any harm and then I will take you to see your father. I know where he is, and then we’ll go straight to the police and you can tell them everything.” He offers me his hand and I don’t know what to do.
I mean, on the one hand he could order me to do this but he isn’t. On the other, it’s Sir. Everyone has warned me away from him, but he wasn’t the one who kidnapped me.
In a world where my choices mean nothing, the only thing I can do is go with him and hope that the police will listen to reason. Darius didn’t do anything, and I won’t let him get into trouble for this.
Besides, he said he knows where my dad is, can I really miss up the chance to finally learn something about him?
52
Sometimes People Lie
Darius
“Any idea how long it will take the police to get here?” I ask, as I look down at Cole. Can’t believe he shot him in the back, the cowardly fuck. Always knew he was spineless, this just proves it.
“E.T.A. is ten minutes. Don’t worry, Darius, it’s not like you did anything wrong.”
“No, I didn’t. You’re the one who shot him in the back. He didn’t even have a weapon, Matthew. What were you thinking?” I turn to face him and almost laugh when I see Cole’s hand twitch, the fucker is still alive. Somehow.
“I was thinking of keeping her safe. Clearly, he was deranged. Who knows what he was going to do to her. Now, hand me your phone.” He holds his hand, palm up, and I roll my eyes before passing it over.
“Emmet is more likely to listen to a text from you than me, seeing as you were hired to keep his little toy safe,” he laughs, and my fist clench.
It’s strange, the car left ten minutes ago and I still can’t hear any sirens, not even the sound of a car coming closer.
“The police said they were on their way, right?” I ask, staring at Matthew and wondering why Arthur suddenly trusts him.
“That’s right, brother. They’ll be here in no time,” he replies with a carefree smile, as he looks out of the window.
Something doesn’t feel right, not just with the way Sir lured Luna away but the way this guy is acting.
“So, you’ve been with Emmet for a while, huh?” I say. I’ve worked hard at controlling my voice and making it sound the way I need no matter how I’m feeling. I sound so fucking relaxed and sure of myself, even if I am a jittery mess inside.
“Yes and no, I was around a few years back but had to step back for a while. Now, I’m just called in to watch Emmet or when my special brand is needed.” He looks at his nails and his sleeve rises up.
His tattoo tells me everything I need to know, I saw plenty of them back when I was in prison. The kind they get when they’ve gotten away with murder and are fucking proud of it.
“The cops aren’t coming, are they?” Statement or question, it doesn’t matter. I already know the answer.
“Oh, they’re coming. They just don’t realize it yet. You see, Sir can’t have you turning up unexpectedly until he does what he needs to. It’s easier to just kill you. Don’t worry your little pet will never even know she’s supposed to mourn you.” He laughs out loud as he pulls out a gun, cocks it, and levels it with my head.
“Turn around and put your hands on the wall.”
“No. You want to kill me, you can be man enough to meet me head on.” My eyes flick to Cole and Matthew tuts.
“Not going to happen. I know what you’re like, Darius. Given half the chance, you’ll find a way to get out of this. Now, turn around, or I’ll make sure it’s your little pet who’s staring down the barrel of my gun next.” He laughs a cold, cruel sound.