Page 94 of Torment
My heart slams against my chest.
“And?”
Karson’s hurricane eyes search mine.
“Do you remember the man who jumped off the top of Abaddon?”
Cold dread fills my veins. I stare at him, shaking my head.
“I had them run a DNA test at the hospital. Ashlynn…” he pauses. “That was him.”
“He…found…” I whisper before it all comes crashing into me like a tidal wave and a guttural sob escapes me.
“Nnnnoooo.”
My heart splits in two. My chest cracks wide open, and I fall apart. My vision blurs through the flood of new tears. If he was here, that means he found me. That he never gave up on me. That he wanted me. Years of loneliness, anger and grief come out all at once. A pain I thought I already knew all too well, but it didn’t compare to this. He was alive. And they kept him from me.
Karson stands and moves to sit on the chaise lounge behind me, his arms carefully wrapping around me as he tries to hold me together. He doesn’t speak, just gently rocks me back and forth while the sobs and pained screams rack my body. Unable to hold myself upright any longer through the emotional and physical pain, he gently lays me down on the cushion.
He never moves. Eventually, the sobs slow. My head feels like it’s being split in two, and my lungs burn. I close my eyes, and let the pain swallow me whole.
When my eyes open again,the streaks of sunlight are gone and the moon glows softly around the curtained window. The TV is still on, replaying the coverage I saw this morning. Karson breathes evenly from behind me, his arms still draped around me. I carefully turn onto my back to get a better look at him.
His lips are slightly parted, and messy sandy colored strands fall across his forehead. I reach up to brush my fingers across his strong jaw, and his eyes open.
“You’re awake,” he says groggily. I’m not sure when the last time was that he slept, but I’m glad he finally did.
“Karson,” I say softly.
“Yeah, doll?”
I chew on my lip, already knowing the answer, but needing confirmation.
“Do you think they’re the reason you could never find me?”
He nods immediately.
“I know they are.”
His jaw clenches and he tightens his hold around me carefully.
“They erased you. I’m not sure how, but it was like you never existed.”
I exhale softly, determined.
“Then we burn it all down.”
Karson reaches up, twirling a lock of my copper hair between his fingers.
“Anything for you, doll.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
The Steele empiredoesn't collapse overnight. Turns out, even when the federal government freezes your accounts and the media starts circling like vultures, it still takes time for the dynasty to bleed out.
Three weeks to be exact. Three weeks of headlines. Three weeks of investigations. Three weeks of watching Jack’s perfect little kingdom start to rot from the inside out.
I sit in a chair at the back of the security booth, my shoulders pressed carefully against the back of it as another news clip plays across the TV mounted in the corner. The anchor's voice cuts through the low hum of monitors and radio chatter.
