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He pinned Lyric with a disgusted look, holding his daughter tight while she trembled. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but this whole thing is messed up. Our daughter is terrified, and the two of you clearly have some shit to work out, that is if Zeph isn’t in jail tonight.”
Lyric only had eyes for her daughter. “Amelia. I’m so sorry, sweetie.”
Amelia only buried her face in her father’s neck, her little body shaking.
I wanted to vomit. Knowing it was me who’d scared her like that…I doubled over, hands to my knees, trying not to be sick.
Lleyton’s voice softened at Lyric’s distraught expression. “I’m taking her tonight, okay? I need her with me, and I think she needs it too.”
Lyric trailed after them as they moved toward Kat’s car, parked in the lot.
Kat got out of the passenger seat, her eyes wide and full of concern, flicking between Lleyton and Lyric. “What’s going on?”
Everyone ignored her.
“Lleyton, please. Just give her to me. Let me talk to her,” Lyric begged.
But Lleyton was firm, his voice gentle. “Not tonight, okay? She’ll be okay. Just let me take this one. We can sort this out tomorrow. Or in a couple of days. However long you and Zeph need to work yourselves out.”
Lyric’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded. “Okay. You’re right. You take her tonight, but tomorrow…”
“I’ll bring her home when everything has settled down. Go take care of yourself.”
She nodded, but I could see the heartbreak on her face when Kat took Amelia from Lleyton and hugged her tight before climbing into the back seat with her.
Helplessness radiated from Lyric as she watched them drive away.
“Lyric,” I croaked out. “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t move when I cautiously approached her. But when I touched her elbow, she flinched, spinning around to glare at me.
“Lleyton was right. We’re messed up, Zeph. Amelia was terrified just now. I was terrified. You’re scary when you lose control.”
“I’d never hurt you. Or her. I did it for both of you.”
She shook her head miserably. “You’ve lost sight of what’s actually right, Zeph. Byron is a creep, but you would have killed him if Lleyton hadn’t shown up.”
Byron’s leering expression while he’d watched me and Lyric on the altar was all too fresh in my mind. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Neither do I. But you can’t murder people, Zeph! I don’t know what you’re doing, taking vows of God and then sinning like you were sent straight from Hell. And I’m not helping things any! I encourage you. We aren’t good together, Zeph. We lie to each other and ourselves. If we can’t even be honest, what future do we have?”
“I killed a man.”
She stared at me. “Say that again.”
“I killed a man. The priest who died a few weeks ago in the city. It was me.”
She held up her hand, closing her eyes. Her tone changed to one of complete exhaustion. “Say less. Fuck, Zeph. Say less.”
I grabbed her arm, desperate to make her understand why I did the things I did. I’d always hated men who hurt women. I hated when the rich took advantage of the poor. Something inside me needed to right those wrongs, and I couldn’t find it in me to be sorry for killing a man who’d hurt a young woman the way he had. I needed her to understand that. “Lyric. I had a good reason.”
She snatched her hand back like I’d burned her. “You always do, Zeph. But you’re toxic. I’m toxic. Together we’re a fucking chemical spill that spreads its poison to everything it touches.”
I shook my head. “Don’t say that.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “It’s the truth. We aren’t good for each other. You’ve just made me an accessory to murder, and I don’t even know what to do with that.”
She was right. I’d been so hell-bent on not losing her I hadn’t even considered what telling her truly meant. “I’ll go to the cops. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”
