Page 100 of Poisoned Promise
One releases me and steps forward to open the door, but as he pulls it open, a blast echoes from the stairwell, and both the door and the guard fly backward.
They collide with the opposite wall and crumple to the floor just as gunshots fly.
Wrenching my arms out of the grips of my captors, I immediately duck and throw myself against the wall.
The last thing I want to do is get caught in the crossfire between Caterina’s men and whoever’s dumb enough to launch an assault on her Manor.
A handful of gunshots pop above me as I cover my head with my arms, then two solid thumps echo as bodies land. Then… silence.
Someone clears their throat next to me so I slowly lower my arms and look up.
Toph’s face floats above me with a lopsided grin, but just as dread coils in my gut, he spins the gun in his hand and offers me the grip side.
“Hey boss, you mad at me?”
29
DOVE
I feel… lighter.
All the secrets I’ve been carrying for fifteen years are finally out in the open and there’s nothing left to hide.
Not that it’s done me much good.
Telling Felix the truth was my last attempt at ensuring Alex’s safety.
Caterina is never going to let me go.
I’ll die here at her hands when she grows frustrated enough with my silence, but with Felix knowing the truth, maybe there’s a chance he’ll be able to escape.
Finding Alex without my help will be near impossible but if anyone can do it, Felix can.
Then he can take my son…ourson… and go somewhere far away where this life can never touch or taint him ever again.
Slumping against the cold wall, I close my eyes and play it out in my mind.
Felix’s anger was somewhat understandable.
A man with only half the story can only react in limited ways, and what he does with the truth will be a mystery to me.
But the look on his face?
That painful realization that I had my reasons for murdering Nico and that he’s actually Alex’s father?
It has to be enough.
Alex is the only thing in the world I care about. Nothing comes close, not even my complicated love for Felix.
Is it enough, though?
Is it enough to show Felix that he’s been manipulated for over a decade, kept under a heel that doesn’t care for him and prevented from flourishing because he’s nailed to the memory of a monster?
I pray it’s enough. I pray it’s enough to save my ba?—!
A sudden explosion erupts in the hallway, closely followed by a second.
They’re both loud enough to leave my ears ringing even as I cover them with my palms and draw my legs up to my chest.
