Page 2 of Redemption
This is all because of me. I did this. All of this.
The magnitude of the nightmare I’ve created seeps into every fiber of my being. The bullet in his brain didn’t fix anything. Nothing can fix this.
Nothing.
I did this. I brought death and darkness to the ones I love the most. The ones I would die to protect.
But I didn’t protect them. Not even the purest innocence I’ve ever seen—conceived from my own essence.
I failed her. I failed all of them.
The Devil incarnate didn’t come for me. He came for my soul. He came for my heart. And he ripped it out of my chest and showed me just how powerless I truly was.
All the bullets, all the blood, all the leverage, all the money, all the men—none of it could protect my daughter from being kidnapped or save the life of my best friend.
Tears of grief soak the rug for V. He died a hero.
It should have been me.
“And then I had to send my wife in to get her,” I whisper into the carpet as disgust and helpless rage mix with the tears, becoming an amalgam of my failure, suffering, and horror.
What kind of man am I? Not worth the name or the breath it takes to speak the word.
God should strike me dead, but the pain keeps coming. He won’t let me escape so easily. I wouldn’t either. I deserve this. I created this. This is my nightmare. My living hell. My monster.
It can’t be escaped—only slayed.
I failed.
I failed everyone.
My fingers dig into the pile of the rug, gripping the strands like they might hold me together as everything I am—everything I once believed—slips away like a ghost from my grip.
My strength. My confidence. My certainty.
My very identity.
And there I lie, prostrate with grief and the knowledge that Lachlan Mount must die.
Chapter Two
Keira
“Lachlan? I thought you were in the library?” I stride into the courtyard with Aurora snuggled in my arms. I still haven’t been able to put her down. I keep breathing in her scent like it’s the most precious perfume in the universe. And it is.
My baby.
Our scare rocked me to my core. The horror of seeing the blood and V’s body …
An involuntary shudder ripples through me.
The weight of the world feels like a crushing mink stole around my shoulders. I have no idea what we’re going to do next or what this means for our future. But Lachlan will have a plan. He always has a plan.
But he doesn’t answer or turn to face me.
“Lachlan? Are you …” I stop myself before asking if he’s okay. I know he’s not okay. None of us are okay—except the sweet-smelling princess asleep in my arms.
I pause a few feet away and reach for his broad, suit-covered shoulder with my free hand. Before my fingertips make contact, he spins around. I freeze as I take in his face.
