Page 72 of Wildling

“Say something,” I whisper. Regina always has something to say.

Regina sighs. “Your mom doesn’t pay me nearly enough.”

I swallow hard and try not to bark out a laugh. “Where is Beth?”

“She’s still at the hospital with Gabe, trying to do damage control. He lost a lot of blood. He may not live through the night.” I’m quiet for a moment as her words settle in. I dig down to find any compassion…I don’t have any. “Where’s my dad?”

She frowns as if he doesn’t matter, then waves her hand. “The mill, the bar, I don’t know. He took off when Beth got the call from Gabe. She’s going to bury this, you know. No one will know about it. She’s already working on the cover-up. If he lives, she’ll end up paying him off. If he dies, she will pay off his family. The sheriff is already under her thumb. This will cost her though.”

“He deserved it. He put his hands on me.”

Regina pinches the bridge of her nose and leans back in her leather seat. “You’re missing the point, Layla.”

“What’s the point?” I snap. “That our town is corrupt, and clearly you are too. That she’s not a good person. That she might be responsible for all the terrible things that have happened to me, or that she’s already covered up murder?”

Regina purses her lips as the wind kicks up outside. The trees wrap around themselves. “We all live in your world, Layla. This is your reality. Beth does whatever she wants, she always has. But so do you.” Her eyes flash, and I lean my head back against the seat, closing my eyes. “Except you’re so much worse. There isn’t a single thing your mom wouldn’t do for you, which makes you exceptionally more dangerous than she is.”

Her words stun me to silence, not because of how sharp they are, or that they cut me like a knife, but how accurate they are. I’m starting to believe it. Nick said the same thing.

The Archer only kills bad people.

There is more to it than motherly love. There has to be. “She’s mad at me about the will. He cut her out.” For the first time I see Regina differently. A victim. “What does she have on you?” I ask. “It’s bad, isn’t it? Sarah Crawley is right about her.”

Regina’s pupils darken, and she exits the SUV, slamming the door behind her. I follow her into the house. She pulls off her coat and drops her purse at the front entrance.

“Answer me. Not as a doctor, but as my friend. I need to know. It’s killing me inside.”

“Layla, you already have all the answers. Telling you wouldn’t help.” She blinks…but her eyes are dead now. My mom has her completely and utterly brainwashed. It doesn’t matter what words come out of her mouth—they will be lies.

“I killed Natalie Cross.” Regina freezes, though she doesn’t look surprised. “I knew the exact moment she would be driving, so I waited and drove into her lane and pushed her off the road. It was so easy her car went careening into the ditch. I kept my hands and my Mercedes clean. Everyone thought it was an accident, even I started to believe it.”

Regina’s stone-cold face turns deathly white.

“Let this go,” Regina whispers as I snap my head toward the garage door right as Beth walks in. The energy in the room shifts. We stand in awkward silence as Beth takes off her jacket, keeping her eyes on me. She doesn’t seem surprised to see me. No one seems surprised about anything when it comes to me.

“What are you two talking about?” Beth asks.

Regina reverts into doctor mode even though I nearly made her unravel moments ago. “Layla was explaining to me her thought process before hurting Gabe.”

Beth’s eyes are smoldering as she stomps in and sits on the leather couch. “I need a moment alone with my daughter,” she says calmly.

“Beth, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Now…” she says with the precision of a sharp knife.

Regina grabs her coat and purse, barely even making it into the house. She can’t get out of here fast enough. “Of course. I’ll go. I’m only a phone call away if you need me.”

I’m unsure which one of us she’s talking to.

Beth recovers quickly. “Thank you for everything. But I really need to speak with my daughter.”

Regina gives me a quick look, leaving me alone with Beth. My father’s nowhere in sight, and neither is my shadowy boyfriend.

I was concerned about the Archer, but it’s Beth I need protection from. And myself.

“Mom…”

She raises her hand to stop me. “I’m not going to ask you what’s wrong with you. Clearly, you’re more depraved than I ever imagined. But tell me, Layla, how could you forget the one lesson I taught you? The only thing I ever wanted you to remember.”