Already, the walls were closing in on me, and this time, there was no chance of escape or Angel to save me. The estate sat alone on land that stretched for miles, and the house was a maze. I’d never make it to the front door before I was caught. I was willing to bet it was heavily guarded after Victor’s daughter, Eliana, so easily kidnapped me from Art’s home. Angel, Lucas, and Z weren’t men who needed to learn a lesson twice. I didn’t often see the men Angel used for protection, but I guess that was the point.

I gazed down at my son, whose cries had stopped. He stared back up at me with trusting eyes. The day he was born, I knew I would give my last breath to protect him. A tear slipped down my cheek at the reality that it just might come to that.

It was only a matter of time before Lucas and Z came to kill me. They had to know it was me who killed Angel. Water had washed his blood from my hands but not the feeling. I’d never stop seeing the blood.

Caylen mercifully drifted to sleep just as night fell. I had finally decided to give in to my own body’s demand for sleep when the door slowly opened. I thought I might already be dreaming until someone stepped into the shadow of the room. I quickly sat up just as the light flickered on.

My body tensed even when my head screamed to hide my guilt. Maybe they didn’t know anything. Maybe they’d never know.

“Princess?” The voice, soft and hesitant, was one I recognized.

“Z?” I quickly scrambled from the bed. If I had to fight, I needed the advantage of being on my feet. He looked completely burned out as he moved closer. The black shirt he wore was wrinkled and discolored with the stain of blood that likely belonged to Angel.

“Are you okay?” I could hear the fatigue in his voice.

I’d never be okay again. “Are you?” I questioned, instead, while managing to mask my confusion. I should have been fighting for my life. Instead, I was pulled into his arms.

“I don’t think I’m going to be okay for a long time.”

I don’t know why. Maybe it was the way he held me or the pain we shared, but I found myself crying against his chest. My tears mixed with Angel’s blood as I poured my soul onto Z’s chest.

“We should have never let him go in alone. Angel wanted us to hang back, and we just followed his orders like we always do,” he admitted bitterly. “He’s been up against worse and survived with barely a scratch.”

I didn’t speak as Z carved out pieces of my heart with his pain. For the barest of moments, I considered asking him to end my misery forever.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” I heard myself say. It was the truth even if I had been the one to end his life. I felt his body stiffen just before his arms fell from around me. When he took a step back, I did the same. It was the frown on his face, however, that set my heart racing.

“He’s not gone, princess.”

It was my turn to frown. “What are you talking about?” My voice was steadier than it should have been.

His face relaxed. “Angel’s really fucked up, but the doctor said he’ll live. They’re keeping him sedated for a few days while he heals through the worst of the trauma.”

“H—how—” I cleared my throat to heal my broken voice. “How can that be? I—” I stopped short at the genuine confusion in Z’s gaze. Suddenly, I was more certain than ever that Z had no idea it was me who tried to kill Angel.

“What?” he urged when I continued to stare with my mouth open.

“I really thought he was dead,” I whispered instead.Chapter ThreeMIANEVERY STEP FELT like a step closer to the guillotine. I focused on keeping my breathing calm when reasoning with myself had failed. Angel wasn’t going to have me killed in a hospital, but it didn’t make facing him any easier.

“So, what did you do with the bodies?” I questioned once the elevators doors closed.

“We took care of it,” Lucas curtly answered. He stabbed the button to take us up and didn’t elaborate. A hospital wasn’t exactly the place to ask these kinds of questions, but it didn’t stop me from voicing them.

“And Bea?”

They glanced at each other, the silent exchange saying enough when they didn’t answer. The implication sent a shudder through me. “Oh, God.” I held Caylen tighter to my chest. If they could be so callous with Bea’s body, what mercy would they have for my son and me?

“We didn’t have a choice, princess. The cops would have asked too many questions.”