Page 135 of Nyx

Tears sting my eyes, my mind urging me to let one of the other guys handle this, but I know seeing her this way is my penance for not being strong enough to stop him.

Her frame is different from what I remember from the last time I saw her. She's not rail thin, her own alcoholism having done so much damage to her body.

She's healthier, her hands less wrinkled.

And then I see it, the locks of lighter-colored hair covering her face.

I feel a little more at ease somehow, as if the fact that she was starting to take better care of herself eases some of the pain that had built up inside of me for years, but knowing this only makes what I'm facing all the more tragic in a way.

I crouch, my knees hitting the dirt beside her lifeless body.

I pray over her, hoping that somehow the words, the plea to God to forgive all our mistakes, will be enough for her to have some form of happiness in the afterlife, some relief from the pain she endured while she walked the earth.

I sweep the hair back, pulling the locks away from her face.

And freeze.

"No," I gasp.

The beautiful face looking up at me isn't my mother.

"How many women are you going to fail, Maddox?"

The voice is one I've never heard, but somehow I know exactly who it is.

Then I feel it, the press of a barrel to my temple.

I know this is the end, and instead of fighting, instead of wanting to beg for my life, I accept my fate.

I lower my gaze, my eyes meeting the open and lifeless eyes I've spent so much time looking at lately.

"Juliet," I whisper just as the bullet leaves the gun.

I jolt awake, somehow staying silent although the pain from the nightmare feels so real. I lift my hand and press it to the side of my head, fully expecting to find a patch of blood there.

When it comes away clean, I'm shocked.

I breathe deeply, trying to get my racing heart under control, but it takes longer than it normally does after one of these nightmares.

My hands tremble, the tension in my body doubling with every breath I take.

Failure isn't an option.

Failing her isn't an option.

I will take my last breath on this earth before I let anything happen to her.

Cerberus rules, and the law be damned.

Chapter 34

Juliet

When I wake before the alarm clock goes off, I know better than to believe that it's because I'm excited about what the day might bring.

I'm happy on some level, knowing what this fundraiser can do to help the community.

I try not to focus on what could go wrong as I get dressed.