Everything clicks into place. Each event, everything he’s done and how he’s played each piece.

I take a careful step forward, so aware of how close he is to her and the gun. Too close.

“Mason,” Jules cries out. God I want to go to her, I desperately want to hold her, but as I take another step closer, my only goal is to get between the two of them. To keep him away from her.

This all ends tonight. I won’t let him live to breathe the same air as us. His greed is deadly. If he did it once, he’ll do it again.

“Stay behind me,” I say as I rip Jules away from my father, grabbing her hand and forcing her behind me. I kick the gun behind me as well as I keep my gaze on him. His cold gray eyes darken and narrow at me.

“You can’t pin this on me,” he huffs. Naturally he’d think I was trying to save her and destroy him. It’s all he’s ever thought. Everyone’s always out to get him. This time I am.

“Stay away from her.” I swallow and say, “It was you.”

My father’s eyes dart to the gun behind me and I take a step to the right, keeping my arms out as Jules grips onto me. “Mason,” she whispers desperately, her cries waning as she realizes there’s still reason to be afraid. That this isn’t over.

“Jules,” I say although I stare straight ahead, keeping my eyes right where they belong. “He’s the one who wrote the note. The one who set me up to meet your husband. He set Liam up and used all of us. All for a fucking payout.”

All over a chunk of property in New York City that Anderson bought out from under him. One corrupt man upping the ante in a game he couldn’t afford.

“Now, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” my father says easily. “It wasn’t meant to turn into this, Mason.”

Jules releases me, letting out a gasp from behind me. I can’t feel her, I can’t see her, but I can’t turn around. I have to keep my eyes on him. On the liar and murderer and sinner I was born from.

He raises his hands defensively, as if giving up the fight and says, “I swear to you, it wasn’t supposed to end like this.” All the lies, the spinning of a delicate web woven with manipulation and deceit.

“I don’t believe you,” I tell him. “I think you didn’t care how many people had to be sacrificed.”

The corner of his lips twist into a wry smile. “I certainly didn’t intend for this, Mason.” He shakes his head and adds, “Never.”

“And Mom?” I ask, feeling the rage come back to me. Knowing this isn’t the first time. I don’t know how many lies he’s told, or how many people he’s killed. “Did you intend for her to die, or was she just a casualty of your games?”

The mention of my mother gets a rise from him, his eyes heating and his expression morphing into a snarl. “Your mother was a whore,” he sneers. It’s all I can take.

I heave in a breath as my body lunges for him. No punches, no hits. I wrap both of my hands around his throat. The weight of my body makes us topple over, both of us crashing to the ground as my blunt nails dig into the thin skin around his neck. I grip him with everything I have in me. My teeth clench and every muscle in my body is tight as I squeeze the life from him.

He tries to slam his fist into me at first, but he’s not the young man he once was. I lean forward, balancing my weight as he tries to buck me off. I have him pinned.

Finally, he reaches up to his throat, desperate to pry away my fingers. His nails scratch at my skin, but I have no intention of letting go. All the desire in me focuses on leaning my weight into his throat. But the victory is stolen from me.

Bang! Bang!

My body tenses with the shock and fear. Two bullets have been fired. The noise rings in my ears as my father stills beneath me. His eyes are wide and lifeless, staring at nothing. His nails no longer digging into my hands.

Jules shot him. Once in the forehead, the other just an inch from his nose on his left cheek.

I stare at his face, the vision distorted by the blood dripping from the bullet holes down his weathered face and onto the carpet. Even knowing he’s dead, I can’t relax my grip around his throat.

Tell me! I scream in my head as tears prick the back of my eyes. I just want to hear him admit it. I want him to tell me to my face how he plotted my mother’s death. How he hired someone to make it look like a suicide. My body trembles as I come to terms with the fact that it will never happen. His secrets will never be told, and my fingers loosen as I take in an unsteady breath.

It takes a long moment for me to glance up at Jules, who’s eerily quiet only to see that she has the gun still pointed at him.

“He’s dead. It’s over, Jules.”

Something in her seems to snap at my words, and she drops the gun as if it’s burned her hands. She backs away, shaking and covering her mouth with horror.

The blood drains from her as the realization sets in. “Don’t scream,” I tell her.

“Look at me,” I tell her and she does as I command. “It’s okay.” I swallow down every insecurity. For her, I’ll be strong. I’ll take care of this. “It’s okay,” I repeat and hold her gaze until she nods back although she’s still on edge and drenched in terror.

I wipe the gun off on my shirt, getting rid of her prints and trying to think straight. The cops will be here soon. There’s no doubt in my mind. She needs an alibi. “Run, Jules.” I set the gun back down where it fell and rise to take a step closer to her. She’s still trembling and can’t take her eyes from the bodies on the ground. I reach out, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly to get her attention. “Go to the Westin. You left me last night. Everyone knows that. I came here to get you, but you weren’t here. I’ll call the owner of the Westin.” I nod as I speak, as if reassuring myself and her. I know for a fact the owner was in my father’s back pocket and now he’ll be in mine since I have my father’s little black book. “He’ll do what I tell him to if anyone asks. You checked in last night and that’s where you’ve been.”

Jules shakes her head, the implication of what I’m saying setting in. “Mason,” she says and sucks in a breath. “No. You can’t.”

“I can and I am,” I tell her, staring deep into her eyes. My beautiful Jules, my sweetheart. I should have known it would end like this. It’s how it should have started. With me killing my father and letting everything else go.

“I love you,” I tell her, “even if you can’t be with me. I love you.”

She stares deep into my eyes, and I can see how much it tortures her. We were never meant to be. It was my mistake. I deserve this pain. She parts her lips, I’m sure to explain, I know her so well and I’m certain that’s what’s coming. But I don’t need it. She doesn’t have to explain it to me; I already know. I press my finger to her lips, silencing her and then giving her one last kiss.

She leans into me as I pull away and it makes the pain in my chest grow that much deeper. I look down at her with the tears soaking her lashes until she finally peeks up at me.

We share a look, but it only makes her cry harder. We both know it’s over.

I hold her, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her hair until she’s able to calm herself down. The clock is ticking, and the time we have is already up.