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“She’s in class, being cleansed of her family sins. The boy was to join them, but he wouldn’t stop crying.”
“Where?” I demanded.
She finally looked me in the eye. “Father Byron has her.”
33
LYRIC
“I’m going to be sick.” I doubled over, putting my head between my knees, trying to ward off the vomit feeling that swirled in my stomach every time I thought of what that monster might be doing with my daughter.
From behind the steering wheel, Zeph glanced over at me. “You’re not. She’s going to be fine. We’re going to get there in time.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, holding tight, trying not to fall apart. We zoomed down the road that led to the mental institute, passing cops on their way in, hopefully to arrest Zeph’s mother and reunite Toby with his. Lleyton had stayed behind to restrain Suzanna, and Kelly had promised not to give Toby up to anyone until his mother got there.
“I should have let you kill him,” I muttered. “This is all my fault.”
Zeph shook his head. “This is no one’s fault but my mother’s and Byron’s. Don’t you dare blame yourself, even for a second.”
But I couldn’t get the image of him hurting her out of my mind. My sweet little girl. Suzanna had been right. Amelia was tainted by who I was. I loved her and sacrificed for her, but I was still raising her in this town, where bad things happened to good people. It wasn’t what I wanted for her, and yet the dangers she was currently in were because of two people from Providence with money and influence.
Nowhere felt safe. This world was cruel, and no matter how I tried to shield my daughter from it, it just kept creeping in, dark shadows blocking out her sunshine.
Zeph’s face was a storm cloud. Full of anger and hate but still so stunningly beautiful. I hated that I’d pushed him away.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered.
He looked at me sharply. “What for?”
“The things I said to you.”
He sighed. “They were warranted, Lyric. I’m not the good guy, even when I try to be. I don’t know how.”
“I don’t either.” I raised my head and watched him speed through the back streets of Providence. “What your mom was doing back there…is that what they did to you too? Took you from your mother? Brainwashed you into believing she was bad and God was the light or some shit?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t remember any of it. Nothing except…”
I waited for him to go on.
“My mom…my biological mom, I mean. She used to sing to me. At night before she left the house. She would tuck me into my bed and lie beside me, singing while she brushed back my hair. She would wait for me to fall asleep, then leave me alone in the house. I know because a couple of times I woke up and she wasn’t there.”
“She was working?”
“I guess so.”
My heart squeezed at his pained expression. “I think she loved you. Those aren’t the actions of a woman who didn’t care. I think she loved you enough to give you up, thinking you would have a better life without her.”
He shook his head. “I think my mother convinced her I was better off without her.”
“We can look her up?” I reached over and stroked my thumb down the back of his neck. “We can find her. Let her know that we know she tried her best.”
He glanced over at me. “You’re a fucking amazing mother, Lyric. You need to know that. Don’t let anything my mother says get to you. You are the only person who can raise Amelia into the woman she is supposed to be.”
I nodded, buoyed by his heartfelt praise. I wanted to believe it. I wasn’t sure I could. Not until I had my daughter back.
Zepherin pointed at a mansion looming ahead of us. “We’re here. That’s his place up there. I haven’t been inside but I’ve driven him home before.”
I squinted at it. “It’s huge.”
