Sins of Mine - Mary E. Twomey Page 0,46
even more than he belongs to me. I didn’t know it would feel like this—so out of my control.”
“Being in love is like that,” I comment, sounding wise about the thing I’m only just figuring my way through for the first time, too. “We’ll find her, Rafe.”
The faster Gray drives, the more his shoulders relax. Rafe settles marginally when he knows Gray is doing all he can to get to our girl.
It’s odd sharing affections for a woman with Gray, though not terribly so. But sharing a girl with Rafe is an adjustment. The animal isn’t as easy to reason with, or to calm down.
“Just up there,” Gray finally informs me, slowing the car to a stop. “What do you think: park here and get a sneak attack going, or drive up to the house so we can make a quick getaway if we need to?”
I survey the grounds, checking for multiple cars or suits scouring the area. “I don’t think they have much backup. I vote the quick getaway option. It might just be Conan and his guard with Arlanna. There’s no point in trying to be sneaky; I’m too recognizable, and you’re too big.”
“Sounds good.” Gray drives up to the front of the house and parks at an angle in the driveway, making sure no cars in the garage can drive away, escaping with Arlanna.
He’s a smart one.
I jog up to the front door and try the handle, unsurprised to find it locked. “Open up, Conan,” I call, hoping my voice carries. I’m not wearing my sunglasses, and I hope the knowledge that I could light him on fire strikes fear into what’s left of his soul.
Around us are too many trees, thick with unbothered foliage.
For the first time, I begin to understand why the Valentine family would choose this spot for a vacation home. It’s buried back in the woods with no other homes in sight.
When I spot a collection of shovels by the side of the house, I realize this may have been Arlanna’s childhood vacation site, but it’s most likely the burial ground for all of Conan’s dark deeds.
“Go home, Paxton,” Conan says from the other side of the door. “This is bigger than you’re ready for.”
I loathe the insinuation that I am soft or unready to take on the world. I’ve been bred for too much of everything, but I’ve been kept at bay because I don’t believe in taking the ruthless path, like my father.
“Conan, that was my warning for you to hand over Arlanna. What happens next is on you.”
I don’t think; I just do. My glare is fueled by all the times I stood up to Father and it went nowhere. He taught me to be silent, which was really a lesson in controlling my temper. My fury must be precise as I glare at the front picture window, shooting a stream of fire out at the glass.
“Rafe can take it from here,” Gray assures me, moving toward the window and bending his knees, as if he means to take a running leap through the glass.
But I’m not finished. “Wait. It’s bulletproof glass. It takes heat, not just force.”
Gray swears, panting as he tugs his shirt over his head. “I can’t keep Rafe locked up for much longer! Hurry, Paxton!” He runs to the car and throws his shirt, boots and then his pants into the back. I assume his boxer briefs go next, but I can’t let my periphery steal my focus.
The line of heat that I draw across the top of the window gives off enough smoke, letting me know we’re nearly there. Brute force wouldn’t be able to break the panes, but as it turns out, I am the right man for this job.
This is what my ancestors knew I could do, and though I’ve let my father down, I haven’t let them down. I come from a long line of rulers, who would roll in their graves if they knew the oppression the great King Regis has wreaked on the people with his terrible laws. He’s focused only on the treasury, and not on the futures of the people funding it.
Conan is no different, seeing what advantages he can take in life, sacrificing even his own daughter if it gets him what he wants.
My glare sharpens when I think of all the times Arlanna has been required to close her mouth, keep her good ideas from the world, and hide her true self away, all because it