Talia raised her head when we came to a stop, her face tear-stained and frightened. “What’s happening?”

“We’re leaving,” I told her, stroking her hair. She didn’t ask more questions. I could tell she was in shock. We left the car and Growl opened the trunk so Bandit and Coco could jump out. I had to support Talia. She was shaking too hard to walk on her own, but Growl, too, had trouble. His limp had gotten worse. He noticed my gaze and gave a shrug, as if it was nothing. I didn’t believe him. I knew he had to be in a lot of pain.

“What took you so long?” Mino asked, then noticed Growl’s limp as well. “Have you been followed?” Worry filled his face.

“Probably. Let’s hurry,” Growl said. The words had just left his mouth when a car turned the corner and barreled our way. “Take the dogs and the girls, I’ll stop them!”

“What?” I cried out, but Growl was already pulling his run and shooting at the car, which jerked to a stop. Four men got out, and the second car shot around the neighbor building. Growl quickly aimed at its wheels and one of them exploded. The car spun around itself, then halted.

“Quick now!” Mino screamed, pulling at me.

“Cara,” Talia whimpered. Her eyes were pleading with me, and that made me move. Mino and I carried her toward the pick-up. Mother was in the back and when Mino opened the locks I realized why she hadn’t been getting out to help us. He’d locked her in. Probably for good reason. Talia got in the backseat with Mother but I wanted to go back to Growl. I never got the chance.

Mino grabbed me and shoved me into the backseat with them, then shut the door. He got behind the steering wheel and activated the locks so I couldn’t get out.

“What are you doing?” I screamed as I watched Growl fight several men. He was crouching behind his car and shooting at them. But how long would he be able to keep them away?

“Let me out!”

Mino ignored me. He hit the gas and the car lurched into motion.

GROWL

Growl allowed himself a moment to watch the car drive away, watch Cara leave. He’d probably never see her again, and that was for the best. She would be happier without him in her life.

He shoved a knife into his next attacker. He would fight and he would die today. But not in vain.

And if he died, he’d die with the memory of Cara’s sweet taste, or her perfect skin, and pretty face. He’d close his eyes with a good memory, no matter what awaited him after.

Cara

I banged my fists against the window, ignoring the dull pain zipping through my arms from the force of it. “Let me out,” I screamed again, even louder. Not that Mino hadn’t heard me the first time. We were barely two feet away from each other. Instead of listening to my request, he drove even faster.

I thrust my arms up and braced myself against the glass. Growl was surrounded by Falcone’s men. Even a fighter like him couldn’t possibly stand a chance against so many opponents.

I cried out. “Please, we have to help him.”

Mino shook his head. “I have strict orders to take you away from here.”

“But the man who gave the orders to you will be dead soon if we don’t help him!”

“Even so. A promise to a dead man isn’t worth less.”

I sank back against the seat. We were too far away. I couldn’t see Growl anymore. He’d survived so much. He couldn’t die, not like this. Not so soon.

“Cara?” came Mother’s soft voice, and I realized I’d completely forgotten about her and Talia. I turned to them. Confusion flickered on Mother’s face, but also a bitter realization. I’d given myself away, but I couldn’t even bring myself to care.

My eyes found Talia. She was staring down at her hands which lay limply in her lap.

I took her hand but she didn’t react. “We’ll be safe soon.”

I didn’t know what she’d gone through in the two months since I’d last seen her. She seemed physically unharmed but that meant nothing.

Mother wrapped an arm around my sister but kept her eyes on me. “Why did that man help us?”

“I suppose he felt guilty for what he did and wanted to redeem himself,” I said.

Mother pursed her lips. “That man doesn’t know what guilt is. He’s a monster. He’s been Falcone’s cruelest assassin for so many years, no one could do that without turning into something less human.”

I couldn’t deny it. Growl had been cruel. He was a murderer. He’d done too many horrible things to count. There was no way I could explain any of this to Mother, because I couldn’t explain it myself.

“I heard the stories,” Mino said. “How Falcone gave you to him as a gift. It was meant as punishment for your family for your father’s betrayal.”

He was watching me through the rearview mirror, a curious expression on his sun-weathered face. I didn’t react to his words. It wasn’t meant as a question.

Mother had paled at the mention of Father but she remained silent.

“What I don’t get is why you are crying over him. Shouldn’t you be relieved to be rid of him? He was a monster,” Mino continued.

I raised my fingers to my cheeks, feeling the wetness. “He was,” I agreed. I wasn’t delusional. I’d witnessed Growl’s darkness, his irredeemable side, several times, and yet I’d come to love him. Maybe because I knew of the other Growl, the person he kept hidden beneath many layers of brutality. That tender and vulnerable side, that caring and loving side. That had won me over. I knew the man in front of me wouldn’t believe me if I told him about that Growl. And it was probably for the best. Growl had always done his best to keep that side of him hidden, to protect himself. I wouldn’t destroy the image he’d worked so hard on, even if I hated the image he’d created for himself. But now that he was gone, it was too late anyway.