“Hello, princess,” he says, and his voice is exactly how I might’ve imagined my biological father’s voice to sound. Smooth, confident, adoring. He gazes at me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen in his life. “A hug for your old man?”
I hope you’re excited for tomorrow.
My mind goes completely blank right then and there. I mean, like really. I see stars, and I can barely remember my own name.
Is this seriously happening right now?
“What are you doing here, Justin?” Tess asks, looking like she’s about to hyperventilate. Justin barely flicks his gorgeous blue eyes in her direction before turning back to me. He fixates on me with this … this horrible stare. He’s looking at me like I am the be-all, end-all of his existence.
Just like Tess does.
I consider vomiting onto the toes of his shiny dress shoes.
“Well, Mrs. Vanguard,” he purrs, managing to make the greeting sound both sincere and mocking all at the same time. He gestures loosely with one hand, an expensive watch strapped to his wrist. “May I come in? I’d like to discuss the fact that you found our daughter and didn’t think to contact me.”
For an entire minute, there’s nothing but silence.
It’s broken only by the distant murmur of reporters at the end of the road, and the buzz of the lawn mower as the landscaper meanders around the edges of the property.
“You … you’re not supposed to be in Medina,” she whispers, but Justin comes inside anyway. Tess scrambles to close the door behind him, looking like she might be sick. There’s too much going on for any of us to even give a second thought as to how Justin managed to get past the front gate and the pair of police officers on either side of it, without anyone noticing.
“Yes, well, extenuating circumstances,” he says, still looking at me, still smiling. “Hello, Mia.”
“Do not talk to her,” Tess growls out, stepping between us. Justin doesn’t seem at all concerned by the move, looking up and into her face. I see something flash there that, oddly enough, reminds me of the way Chasm and Parrish look at me. And Maxx. Him, too. But I won’t think about that. “And get out my house before someone sees you here.”
The sound of footsteps on the stairs draws my attention around. Chasm, on the other hand, is just staring at Justin like he wants to kill him. He’s quick up on the uptake, that boy. He’s already figured out who this is: Justin Prior, my biological father, Tess’ ex-husband, the embezzler, the cheater, the … serial killer.
As nice as he looks, as handsome as he is, as pretty as his words are, I can feel it.
This is a very, very dangerous man in a very, very expensive dress shirt and slacks.
This is the man that’s keeping us both from Parrish Vanguard.
“Oh, Paul,” Justin calls out, smiling even prettier than he was before. He’s like, almost disturbingly handsome, but in the same way an artifact looks behind glass, like it isn’t meant to be touched, only observed. He doesn’t seem real to me. Just a figment of a perfect person. “I was hoping we’d get to see each other today.”
My stepfather is now the one staring at Justin Prior like he’s a ghost, a mystical monster come to life out of the pages of an epic fantasy novel, a multi-headed nightmare who grows more heads each time one is chopped off. That is Justin Prior.
“What is he doing here?” Paul chokes out, reaching up to adjust his glasses. If I’m not entirely mistaken, his hands are shaking. “He isn’t supposed to be here; we have a restraining order.”
Justin just laughs, this good-natured chuckling that gives me the chills.
Chasm and I exchange a look. What if we just, I don’t know, stabbed this guy right now? Would that save Parrish? Would we be able to send the FBI after him and get there before Mr. Volli did? Or, with this man dead, would Amin Volli abandon this endeavor altogether?
I have no idea.
But I do know one thing: this is the same man that I’ve been speaking to for two weeks. Via text. Through Parrish. Through Mr. Volli. This is him. Justin Prior. The Seattle Slayer. Parrish’s kidnapper. All one and the same.
“No, I don’t think you do have a restraining order anymore,” Justin suggests, looking Tess over while he waits for her to move out of his way. “I made some calls.”
“You son of a bitch!” Tess snaps, and then Paul’s right there and he’s physically pulling her back.
I kid you not.
My stepdad is physically restraining my bio mom right now.
Mind blown.
“Tess, don’t let him get to you,” Paul is murmuring, wrapping his arms around his wife in a way that reminds me of his son. My eyes flick back to Justin. He can see me now that Tess is out of the way, and he’s studying me all over again. He takes a step closer to me, and the smell of spicy aftershave tickles my nose.
