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I jerked back to reality and a slow, cold poison seeped through my body. Everything stilled until there was nothing but the two of us, looking each other in the face.
“Please, God,” he begged under his breath.
“There’s no God here tonight, no heaven, no hell. I’m not a forgiving man when it comes to Clara,” I said softly. “I have no mercy to offer you.”
His mouth parted, shaking. Speechless.
I took a slow step towards him, not tearing my eyes away.
“How could you?” I whispered.
He gasped, sweat pouring down his forehead.
“Answer me. How could you do that to her?”
“It was an accident,” he panted.
I shook my head, unperturbed. “I’ve been angry many times, but I’ve never struck a woman in the face. It was no accident, you’ve done it before.”
The expression on his face confirmed my words. I faltered, the world shifting around me.
Was that what it had been for Edwin too? Just a sick habit? Or had he calculated, carried it out, and reveled in it, all while lying to my face about what kind of man he was?
How had I never looked at either of them and saw what they were capable of?
I’d been deceived by them, made to believe they were both good men.
And in both cases, Clara had borne the consequences.
Without warning, rage erupted behind my eyes like a migraine flashing through my skull. My hand went up, training on Rhys. He drew back against the door, every fiber of his body taut.
“Give me your son. I’m owed his blood,” I spat. “Or I’ll kill you, I’ll kill your father, your brothers, their sons. And I’ll burn your bodies right here where you stand.”
Osian turned to flee back into the house, but Rhys’s arm shot out and he gripped his forearm. His gun came up, pressing to his son’s temple. Pure panic and fear rippled behind their eyes.
My work here was done. I knew Rhys had gotten my message loud and clear. I let my gun sink down to my side.
“I’ll return his body,” I said.
The look on Rhys’s face was haunted, trapped like an animal looking down the barrel of a rifle. I turned on my heel, heading for the car. As I passed Yale and Caden, I jerked my head back.
“Take him,” I said. “Put him in the back seat.”
Caden seized my elbow and I swung around, adrenaline pumping. I could smell the cigarettes on his breath, inches from my face. He put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
“Let me just shoot him here, Merrick,” he said.
“I love her,” I breathed. “She deserves revenge.”
“I won’t have you hate yourself in the morning.”
I reached up and gripped his wrist, tearing it from my shoulders. There must have been something truly evil in my eyes because he shrank back like I’d burned him.
“I am your Brenin,” I said, my voice hoarse.
“Jesus, fuck,” he swore under his breath.
“Take him,” I said, pivoting and striding across the gravel. “Now.”
