drops to the ground as I ease him down. I pick it up as Bear scrambles toward the closed door and starts barking. I tuck the paper into Shepherd’s pocket, praying he finds it.
I rush over to the bedside table and grab Shepherd’s gun before shoving it into Dave’s hands. “You keep him safe, got it?” I ask as I push him into the closet.
“Killian, try to run.”
“No, they only want me. If they take me, they might leave you guys alone.” Maybe Dave is right… well… not right because I’m still pissed. But maybe this is the only way to get through this without Shepherd being shot.
I slide the closet door shut and move away from it. The bedroom door swings open as Bear barks at the person standing in front of him. The last person I ever want to see.
He gives me a huge smile as he opens his arms wide for me, as if I’m going to dash into them. “My beautiful son! I’m so happy to have finally found you,” he says as he walks toward me. I glance over at my gun, but it’s on the far side of the bed where I sleep and I’m nowhere near it. I have no time to rush for it before my father grabs my wrist and drags me into a hug that I don’t want.
“Just be a good boy or you won’t like what I do with this cute little puppy dog you have,” he says, voice steady and sharp.
I glance down at Bear who seems uncertain. The man’s not hurting me, so in Bear’s eyes that makes him a good guy.
“Come along,” Father says as he wraps a hand around my wrist and starts dragging me.
Bear whines, unsure of what the hell is going on, but he decides to follow after me. I don’t even see Dave, just my father’s officers as I’m led out of the house and to my father’s car. He pulls the back door open and pushes me in as Bear squishes past him to try to get in.
“Shoo, now. Go fuck off,” Father says to Bear but Bear is determined and squeezes his way inside before climbing onto my lap. I wrap my arms around him as Father grimaces. But after a moment, he gets in next to me as an officer takes the driver’s seat.
“I’m so relieved to have finally saved you, Killian,” Father says as he smiles at me in the dim light of the car. “I was so scared what Tony might do to you.”
“Father, please just let me go. I won’t speak a word of any of this to anyone. I’ve been away over a month and I could have told Tony everything, I could have done so much but I kept it all to myself. Please. I just want to be out of it all.”
He just hums to himself as the car begins to move, so I hug Bear to me, glad my father is too fucking self-absorbed and stupid to look for Shepherd. Maybe Dave didn’t tell him Shepherd was there. Maybe drugging Shepherd wasn’t my father’s idea, but Dave’s idea to keep Shepherd out of it.
Either way, I just know that I need to take this opportunity to find more on my father to ruin him.
Father looks over at me as I hug Bear tightly. The dog’s unsure why I’m upset, but he’s pressing hard into me and I take so much comfort in it, especially because I don’t have Shepherd here to draw comfort from.
“Killian… you were my greatest creation and my greatest mistake. Isn’t that funny?” He leans toward me, like he wants to make sure I’m paying attention.
“Hilarious, really,” I say dryly.
“We could have gone so far together. With your brains and my power, we could’ve ruled this city. But you were weak. You let your emotions get the best of you. You let yourself get swept up in lies. Did you know that man you’re infatuated with killed your sister?”
“No, you killed my sister,” I say, voice sharp. “He never would have pulled the trigger without you making him.”
Father just smiles at me, face unreadable. The issue with this monster is that even after years, it’s hard for me to understand him. Hard for me to judge what to do and what not to do. But I’d gotten so fucking used to him ruling and dictating my life that now that I’ve spent time away from him, I realize more