At first it was hard to believe her, but she started to tell me stories of the things that my father and brother did. It’s the reason I wasn’t allowed in the basement. That’s where they took the people that wronged them in some way or broke loyalty. She made me wonder if some of my memories weren’t what really happened. I never recalled them being cruel to me, but she’d pepper me with stories that had me questioning my own thoughts.
She said Connor was turning out to be worse than my father. I saw him snap at one of the guys that came and went from the home, and his whole demeanor changed. In that split second he became unrecognizable, but it was never directed my way. In fact, when he realized I was there standing on the stairs, it was as if a mask fell back into place, and he gave me a smile before releasing the man from the hold he had around his neck. The guy dropped to the floor but quickly got to his feet and bolted from the house.
“Oh!” I gasp, sitting up straighter when I see a white kitten alone and huddled up against a trash can across the street. It’s snowing out and below freezing. Without thinking, I pull on my boots and slip on my long coat. I’m only in my pajamas, but I’ll be fast. My mom will be pissed that I went out of the house alone, but I’m not going to leave the kitten out there. Aaron took her out, and I’m alone for the night in our townhome.
After disarming the alarm, I open the front door and grit my teeth when a gust of frigid wind hits me. The snow is turning to ice now, so I grab the rail when I almost slip on the stairs in my haste to get down to the sidewalk. My glasses fog up, and it takes me a second to see, but once I do I glance both ways to check for cars. Making sure it’s clear, I dart across the street to save the kitten.
“Hey, baby, are you okay?” I say as I lean down and pet it. “Are you stuck?” I see a small hook connected to the kitten’s collar at the base of the trashcan. “Why would someone clip you here and leave you?” Unhooking the kitten, I pull him closer to help warm him up. He doesn't seem malnourished and appears to be a healthy baby kitten. “Who would do such a thing to you?”
“Me,” a deep voice says, and then an arm wraps around my waist from behind.
My whole body stiffens right as a needle pricks my neck. That’s when the whole world goes black.
Chapter Two
CONNOR
She looks so peaceful stretched out on the bed as I sit on the edge of the mattress. I didn’t want it to have to be this way, but I didn’t have a choice. Not anymore.
When I reach out and brush her hair away from her face, my hands tremble. It took so long to find her that I was beginning to get worried that I never would, and that wasn’t a possibility I was willing to entertain.
As soon as we planted Aaron, things fell into place. That’s all it took to get Vivian’s attention and force her to climb out of her hiding hole. Aaron created elaborate events with connections to places we thought Vivian might go. Eventually she showed up to a party with a ring on her finger, but once Aaron stepped in, that was over.
Today’s plan has been building for weeks, and he finally got Vivian out of the house and away from my Bunny. Vivian is going to have a rude awakening when she shows up for her getaway with Aaron only to discover my father waiting for them. She’s got lots of explaining to do on the money she took and the secrets she sold. James would have given her anything she wanted, but selling secrets to our enemies broke his trust, and there’s no going back.
Whatever happens with the two of them doesn’t matter to me, because all I wanted out of this deal was Bunny. That’s why I worked so hard to catch Vivian, so that Bunny would be my reward. She was always meant to be mine.
She breathes evenly as I stroke her cheek and let my fingers trail down her neck. The place where I gave her the sedative is pink, but it shouldn’t hurt when she finally wakes up. This is how it used to be when she would crawl into my bed. On nights I knew James and Vivian were going to argue, I would give her a special night time tea to help her sleep. Then I would wait for the sedative to kick in so I could hold her all I wanted.