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“Adrik?!”
He grabs hold of Josh and drags him off Ben. Josh roars when he’s pulled off his father but Adrik just throws him onto the dirt and pulls out a gun.
Everyone freezes.
“That’s enough,” he says quietly.
He stands just over Ben’s face. Ben looks like shit, covered in muddy, bloody grime. Adrik looks down at him in disgust.
“Beaten by a child. Pathetic.”
“You know what’s even more pathetic?” I snarl. “Kidnapping your own kids and terrifying the shit out of them.”
I back up so that I’m shielding both girls. But Josh is entirely too exposed for my liking. I keep trying to make eye contact with him but his gaze is firmly fixed on his father.
Ben sits up and scowls at me. “You left me no choice.”
“Actually, you weregivena choice. Many of them. You just chose wrong.”
“As much as I hate to break up all the family drama here,” Adrik drawls, “this is getting boring.”
I stare at the man in horror. “How are you even free?”
“You don’t know?” Immediately, I bite my tongue. Why the hell did I even open my mouth in the first place? “Oh, poor thing. He didn’t tell you.”
That old, familiar uncertainty gnaws at my stomach. “What do you want, Adrik?” I stammer out, trying to keep my voice from breaking.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he growls. “I want revenge. We both do.”
My eyes snap to Ben’s. “First, Remmy, and now, Adrik? What is wrong with you? Whathappenedto you, Ben. Were you always a worthless bastard or did that happen after Sienna died?”
I’m so angry that I’m not minding my words. They fly out of my mouth, oblivious to the three children who are watching and listening to everything.
Adrik scoffs. “Judging from the last five minutes alone, the first one is probably the most accurate.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Yeah, well, it takes one to know one.”
He tries to hide his scowl behind a smile. “You’re tired. Let’s get you all inside, shall we?”
“Inside” turns out to be an old house that’s clearly been left to its own devices for too long. There are rotting boards nailed over the windows and a layer of dust that clings to its façade like a second skin. Vines and ivy are reaching their fingers into the house through every nook and hole and cranny.
Adrik gestures with the gun. “Off we go. Hurry up. You first.”
“Stop pointing the gun at my kid!” I yell when the pistol lingers carelessly on Josh. “If you hurt a single hair on any of their heads—”
“Ourdadwill get you!” Reagan practically yells.
“Yeah,” Caroline adds with her teeth bared. “He’ll kill you.”
Ben looks extremely confused. Josh seems to notice the same thing because he scowls in Ben’s direction. “They’re not talking aboutyou. They’re talking about Ruslan.”
Ben’s eyes go wide with disbelief. Then his mouth turns down in anger. “Ruslan isnotyour fucking father.”
“He’s ten times the man you are,” I spit. “Why wouldn’t he be ten times the father?”
Ben shoves himself to his feet and Josh quickly follows, taking up a defensive position, ready to throw himself between me and Ben if he needs to. It’s all freaking wrong.Ishould be the one protecting him. Not the other way around.
“Listen, you bitch—”
