26. Sebastian

26

Sebastian

The night air was cool against my skin as I stepped outside, the hatch closing beneath me with a soft thud. I needed to clear my head, to escape the suffocating glass cage where Rose sat; her presence simultaneously a comfort and a torment.

She’d been my captive for two weeks now, and it was all falling apart because I was too blinded by lust and hubris to see where things were heading until it was too late. Now everything was crashing down around me, and I had no one to blame but myself.

I’d lost control. Let the lines between enemy and lover blur until there was no longer a line left at all.

Rose was once a mere source of information for me, but I no longer saw her that way. Instead, I saw her as a real person with her own fears, her own beliefs, her own pain, and an inner strength I couldn’t ignore. A woman I wanted to protect, guide, and cherish. A woman I could fall in love with.

And shit, maybe some part of me already had fallen for her.

That was never my intention—she was only ever meant to be a means to an end—but I’d let these feelings develop anyway, burying my head in the sand and pretending that it wasn’t happening.

I still wasn’t sure exactly when it started to happen. All I knew for sure was that Rose had seriously changed something in me. Before I met her, I’d been cold and numb for so long that I’d forgotten what it was like to feel truly alive. Forgotten what it was like to experience any emotions other than hatred and fury. But not anymore. When I was around Rose, holding her in my arms and tenderly stroking her hair, I felt a flicker of hope and warmth deep inside, and it was almost enough to make me believe that I wasn’t a monster.

But I was.

I had to remember that. I’d taken this girl from her life and held her as my prisoner. I’d hurt her, tortured her. Driven her so mad with terror that she’d forsaken her vows and tried to kill me just to escape the hell I’d dragged her into.

To her, I was worse than a monster. I was the Devil himself. And she was right to feel that way. I didn’t deserve a woman like her.

But fuck, I wanted her anyway.

“Shit,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand across my face.

I couldn’t have these feelings for Rose. It was a betrayal of everything I believed in, everything I’d fought for. She was part of the extremist fringe group that murdered my mother, for fuck’s sake, and she knew all about the incident and refused to breathe a word of the truth to me out of loyalty to her fellow Covenant members. We could never be together based on that alone.

But still, when I looked into her eyes, I didn’t see a crazy cult member who happily participated in human sacrifice rituals and blood magic. Instead, I saw an innocent young woman who was a victim of circumstance, born into a life of brainwashing and caught in the crossfire of the vendetta that had consumed me for decades.

The conflict was tearing me apart. I wanted to hate her, wanted to see her as nothing but a pawn in my quest for justice. But the truth was: I couldn’t. Not anymore. She’d brought light into the darkest parts of my soul, and I had no idea how to let go of that.

I knew these feelings were a total betrayal of my mission to get justice for my mother, and that made me feel like fucking shit. Worse, I was still no closer to discovering what happened to her that awful night. No closer to finding the evidence I needed to put the Covenant leaders away for good.

On top of all that, I knew I would never get the answers I needed from Rose without hurting her… but I never intended to hurt her again.

That left one option. It was time to ramp things up and move to stage two of the plan.

I exhaled deeply and walked around to the front of the property, mulling over the exact wording of the messages I needed to send. Then I turned and stared up at the house, eyes narrowing as my mind raced through its dark history.

What started here all those years ago wouldn’t be over until someone forced it to end. That was my job now.

My boots crunched against the gravel as I turned and faced away from the house. I yanked my burner phone out of my jacket and composed a text to Augustus. He always pretended he didn’t care for modern technology, but I knew he checked the phone every day and night. He was a fucking liar and a hypocrite, just like the rest of those Covenant bastards.

I briefly let my eyes shutter, thinking of Rose again, down on her knees with those big, soulful eyes shimmering with tears. Christ, she was so beautiful. How could someone like her, someone so pure and sweet, spring forth from a guy like Augustus Trudeau?

My eyes snapped open as a flame of rage leapt up inside me. With my jaw clenched and my lips pressed together in a firm line, I finished the message and hit send.

I have your daughter. Follow my instructions, or I’m going to kill her.

Of course, I would never really do that. Rose was perfectly safe with me. But Augustus didn’t know that.

As I expected, he replied almost immediately. Who is this? Where is my daughter? If any harm comes to her, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

My lips twisted into a wicked smirk, and I tapped out a much-longer text.

Our names are irrelevant. All you need to know is that we are a group of people from Pinecrest Falls who have had enough of your cult and the corruption you spread in our corner of the world.

You have seventy-two hours to comply with our demands. Failure to do so will result in severe consequences.

We demand the names of your leaders, along with photographs for identification purposes. These will be handed over to the authorities.

We demand a comprehensive list of all assets owned by the Covenant. We are aware of the wealth you are concealing from your followers.

We demand your complete banking details, including account numbers, passcodes, and financial statements, along with tax records for the past ten years. Your tax evasion and illicit wealth accumulation will be exposed.

We demand answers, with irrefutable proof, regarding the missing persons cases involving the following children: Emily Harper (1984), Jacob Wang (1995), Sophia Bennett (1996), Noah Mitchell (1998), Olivia Carter (2004) and Ethan Brooks (2011). These children disappeared within a thirty-mile radius of Alderwood, and we know you must be responsible for their abduction.

We demand answers, with conclusive evidence, regarding the murder of Miranda Thorne in 2004. It is common knowledge that your cult was involved in her death, and you will be held accountable.

Failure to meet these demands within the given timeframe will result in Rosamund’s death. Tick tock, Mr. Trudeau.

Augustus’s response was almost instantaneous. These accusations are insane. How dare you? Send me proof of life right away. I want to see my daughter!

I sent one last message.

Proof of life coming soon. Fear not, though. Rosamund is perfectly safe… for now.