22

22

STACEY

Silence falls between us, and we can hear the faint voices from Ewan and everyone else walking towards us. Tobias or Aria must’ve called Ewan. But he doesn’t go into the trees. Neither does Barry.

We all wait, and nearly two hours later, Aria and Lu walk out of the small patch of woodland, and Base rushes towards them and hugs Luciella. Tobias and Jason have Kade’s arms over their shoulders. His head is down. Ewan goes towards them, and Aria tells him that we need to get Kade back to the lodge.

I swallow harshly, and we follow them all the way home. Every now and again, Tobias looks over his shoulder at me, mouthing, Are you okay? He winks when I nod.

We get Kade into the lodge, and Jason and Tobias clean him up, get fresh clothes on him and settle him into his own bed. He falls asleep pretty fast, and I want so badly to go to him, but I don’t want him to start freaking out again, thinking I’m a figment of his imagination.

It’s breaking me standing back, but right now I think he needs some space.

Aria makes us all hot drinks, and I walk to my own room to get changed, catching a glimpse of Base sitting on Lu’s chosen bed, her standing between his legs, crying again.

The only thing I catch before I keep walking is him saying, “Come on. Don’t be upset, princess. Don’t say goodbye like this.”

I shower quickly and pull on fresh clothes, heading to the main sitting area where Barry has screens set up on the dinner table, studying them.

“Everything is almost too quiet. Her buildings are empty.”

Tobias leans down on the table and stares at one of the screens. “Whose car is that? It’s the only one there.”

“Greyson’s. He’s working from the inside. He’s not given me updates all day, and I fear he’s been caught.”

“Shit,” Tobias mutters. “When was the last time—” He stops and narrows his eyes at one of the other screens. They both swear at the same time as four black SUVs pull into the small road that leads up to this lodge.

“Fuck!” Barry slaps the table as he shoves away and radios all his men, but people open fire from the cars, and the guards on patrol are downed one by one.

Base and Lu run down the stairs, asking what’s happening, and Jason appears in only a pair of shorts, still wet from his shower.

“They’re here,” is all Tobias says, and everything changes.

Havoc erupts in and around the lodge.

“I want as many bodies as possible guarding my son, right now,” he orders, bellowing at people to hurry as they grab their guns, him taking one as well and tucking it behind his back, into his waistband. “Aria, take Luciella and Stacey to one of the rooms and stay there.”

But it’s too late – the cars are already outside.

Surrounding the lodge.

“Ewan’s in the room with Kade,” Barry says. “We need to keep them as far away from him as possible.”

“And my girls,” Tobias says, glancing at Base. “You, go with them.”

Base grabs Luciella’s hand and leads her upstairs, even as she yells at him to leave her alone, but Aria and I stand our ground.

“Go with them,” Tobias barks at us, and we both shake our heads. “Goddammit, go with them now!”

“Now, now, what do we have here?” a voice says as the door opens, and my skin crawls, my blood going cold at the tone of it. I turn around to see Bernadette in a black trench coat and heeled boots, gun in hand as she smiles gleefully at us. “I thought everyone would be excited to see me?”

Aria grits her teeth, Jason grabbing her arm as she goes to pounce at her. “Go to hell, you cruel bitch.”

“Hmm,” she replies, her eyes snake-like and evil. “So, you’re his mother. I should shoot you right now.”

“You will not,” a deep voice says.

Bernadette’s eyes land on the man beside me. It’s like the world around her vanishes as she stares right at Tobias. She falters, but something flickers behind her eyes as she looks him up and down.

She visibly blushes and licks her lips. “The famous Tobias Mitchell. I’ve waited a very long time to meet you.”

I peek at Tobias, who looks like he’s about to punch her in the face. But he’s remaining calm. His kids are here, and if he loses it, he dies, and then he can’t protect them.

“I’d say it was nice to meet you, but it would be nicer to see you bleed to death. The fuck do you want?”

A wicked grin takes over her face. “I want a lot.”

Aria moves to stand closer to him and takes his hand, trembling with rage and fear but unwilling to be intimidated. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage, Bernadette? Can’t you just leave us all alone?”

“No,” she replies, grinning. “Talking of damage, where is my boy? I miss him.”

“He isn’t yours,” I snap, rage injecting into my veins and making my head throb. “He never was. You’re an old, decrepit whore who needs her head checked. He was nineteen – nineteen – when you preyed on him. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Bernadette rolls her eyes and huffs. “You must be the most annoying person in the world. Why won’t you leave Kade alone? He doesn’t want you. You’re used trash. Where is Kade?” she asks again, and when Barry reaches for his gun, metal presses to the back of my head; one of her men has sneaked in behind us. “Anyone tries anything, her brains will be on the ground.”

They all watch me – Tobias looks like he wants to blow up. Jason raises his hands. “Don’t shoot her.”

“Don’t fuck with me and I won’t.”

But no one tells her where Kade is, and I try not to breathe with the gun pointed at my head.

She glances at Tobias again. An idea comes to her – I can see it in her expression. When it clicks, her face lifts. “You love your son. You’d do anything for him?”

Tobias doesn’t deign to respond, but he does push Aria behind him.

“I’ll give your son his freedom, destroy all evidence of his crimes, and he can walk free. But in return, you’ll be mine.”

Aria steps forward, and we all tense as Bernadette points her gun at her. “Do not test me,” she snarls. “You hold no importance. I will shoot you and take him either way.”

Tobias yanks her back behind him again, scowling at Bernadette. “Don’t you ever point a gun at her again. You hear me? Lower your aim on Stacey too.”

She nods to the person behind me, and my lungs fill as I gasp when I feel the metal slipping away from the back of my head.

“I’ll fucking go, but you leave the rest of my family alone. Got it?”

My brows furrow. “What?” He’s giving in so easily? What happened to taking the empire down and avenging his kids?

“No!” Aria pulls at his arm from behind, but he’s like a statue. “You’re not going with her! We’ll find another way.”

Bernadette rolls her eyes again and clicks her tongue. “He was always the real prize. I couldn’t get to him, not really. He always wanted you,” she says to Aria, the door opening behind her to reveal more suited-up guards – and her husband. “But I guess it worked out well. Your son turned out to be a really good boy. Isn’t that right, Archie?”

My blood runs cold.

I can feel the horrible vibrations in the atmosphere; the anger between us. Jason’s eyes are bulging as he glares at Archie. Tobias seems to be losing his hold on reality as he keeps blinking, reaching behind him to grab his gun.

“You hurt my son,” he says to Archie. “I’m going to shred the skin off your revolting body and make you eat it.”

Tobias shoots him right in the shoulder, knocking the beast back against the wall with a wail. Guards point their guns at Tobias, but Bernadette huffs. “Lower your aims.” She glares at her husband. “I told you to stay outside.”

The pig stands back in terror, eyes widening on Tobias, holding his shoulder and hiding behind his wife. “You didn’t say he was here,” he whisper-hisses. “He’s fucking standing right there!”

“He’s not a threat. He’s trading places with our Kade. Isn’t that right, Tobias?”

“Are you insane?” Archie asks at the same time Aria yells, “No!”

Tobias doesn’t hesitate to shoot him again, making us jump and him howl in pain and hop on one foot. “You motherfucker! Why are you allowing this?”

Bernadette doesn’t care. I don’t think she really cares about anything but herself. She tilts her head. “Are you done, Tobias?”

“That’s nothing compared to what the fuck I’m going to do to you both,” Tobias spits as Archie hops towards the door. “I’ll kill your husband in front of you, then I’ll make it slow and painful for you.”

“Do we have a deal?” Bernadette asks, annoyed now.

Tobias caresses Aria’s hand with his thumb and nods once, his eyes blazing, shoulders tense, jaw tight. His gaze is darkening, and I know he’s going to close himself off as soon as he leaves with them.

He gestures to the computers. “Delete all evidence you have on my son now, then I’ll go. I want him to be able to walk free and have a normal life.”

Bernadette sighs. “I knew you all had a foot in my system still. Whatever happened to respecting people’s privacy?”

I fist my hand. “We can find another way, Tobias.”

“Please,” Aria pleads.

Once she removes everything, and Barry checks to confirm, she smiles at Tobias. “When we leave, I want you to fuck me in the back of the car. I wonder if there really is a “like father, like son” thing.”

Tobias just stares at her.

Aria’s eyes flash with anger. “You’re disgusting.”

She sucks on her teeth. “Kade didn’t think so.”

Without giving it a second thought, I lunge for Bernadette, ignoring all the guns surrounding us. But someone grabs me by the throat before I can reach her and shoves me back, so I fall into Tobias.

I try to run at her again, but Tobias and Jason are in front of me now, and we stay frozen in place, guns pointing at us from every angle.

“Lower your fucking aim. I said I’d swap with Kade,” Tobias says, reaching back and taking Aria’s hand, squeezing it. “You leave my family alone from now on.”

“Put your dog on a fucking leash then. I’m sick of her dramatics.” She raises her brow at me. “You, missy, need to move on. He doesn’t love you. He loves my daughter.”

“And you need to die just like your daughter,” I retort. “And I hope it’s slow and painful.”

“As I said,” Bernadette says, gesturing to her men to get Tobias, not caring about my comment. “Dramatic.”

He shrugs away from them and turns to Aria, who’s sobbing and begging him to stay, to find another way, but all he does is smile at her, take her face and kiss her on the lips.

It’s more than just a kiss. It’s everything he wants. Everything he had. And everything he’ll lose. It’s a goodbye. A see you later. An eternity of wondering what if.

I know what he’s going to do.

He’s going to raze her empire from the inside, and he’s going to take himself out in the process. Because he loves his family, and he’d do anything to save them.

Kade is free, but Tobias never was. He’s been a prisoner for over twenty years.

When he pulls back from the kiss, he presses his lips to her forehead. “I love you. Every broken part of me has loved you from the moment I met you.”

“I love you too,” she sobs. “I need you to come back to me. Please. Please, Tobias.”

“It was never going to be an easy road. At least now I can do something good for my family. Live your life the way you were supposed to without me, Doctor.”

She breaks down completely. “Please don’t. Please.”

He steps back from her, nods to Jason and Barry, and looks at me. “You take care of yourself and my kids.” He hugs me to him, and I sink into his hold and shake in his arms.

“I’ll make it worth it, little one,” he whispers against my hair. “Just you watch. Heaven and hell will see the flames of their downfall.”

Tobias winks at me as he shoulders into a guard and follows them to the front door. There’s no stopping my tears, or the crack in my chest as Aria begs him to come back to her repeatedly. Jason holds her back as she tries to run after him.

Then he’s out of sight, a door opening and closing, and Tobias Mitchell now belongs to Bernadette.

A guard radios in that he’s in the car. Secured. Locked.

She chuckles as she walks to the entranceway, but she stops and narrows her eyes on me. “One last thing…” She raises the gun, aiming it straight at me. “You’ve been a pain in my ass from the start.”

My eyes screw shut as she pulls the trigger, and there’s a harrowing scream, a loud bang that hurts my ears, and warm liquid hitting my face and arms.

I open my eyes to see Kade’s brother standing in front of me. He drops to his knees as Aria reaches him, but it’s too late.

The bullet is lodged in Jason’s skull.