EPILOGUE
KILLIAN
I signed into the jail, my pen scratching across the visitor log, a grin splitting my face as I handed the clipboard back to the guard.
The guard, a grizzled guy with a badge reading “Hanson,” looked at me with pity.
“Sorry, kid. I worked for your father for a bit, and it’s terrible to know he’s responsible for this.
I can’t imagine what it was like for you to find out. ”
I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting a laugh as I followed him down the corridor.
The irony was delicious—Dad behind bars, framed for our chaos, and me playing the innocent son.
Hanson led me to a small room and gestured inside.
“You need anything, just knock on the door. He’s handcuffed to the table so you’re safe in there. ”
I looked inside and there was Dad, his face pale, eyes red and hollow from rotting in a cell.
He leaned forward as I took a seat, finally getting to see the man who had let my mother die on her own.
“You bastard! I did everything for you and your mother, and this is how you treat me? How did you even get them to believe your lies?”
“Dad, you’re here because you cared more about your image than taking care of your family. I wouldn’t have fucked with you if you didn’t…”
Dad laughed, a bitter, broken sound falling from his lips, his hands jerking against the cuffs.
“Son, seriously? You’re evil, through and through.
You would have done all of that and more regardless of what I did.
You need a reason, so you blame me, that’s fine.
But that’s not why you did all those things.
” He stopped, his eyes narrowing as he searched my face. “Wait, you’re not Runo.”
“Bingo! I’m Killian. See, Runo hated you for his own reasons. The therapists. The long hours alone at the house. Having to watch our mother slowly lose her mind alone. But for me? All I wanted was someone to love me, to love Mom the way you used to. All I wanted was a father.”
Dad’s face crumpled. “Where is Runo?”
I laughed, the sound echoing in the small room. “He already said goodbye to you. This is my turn.”
Dad cleared his throat, his voice settling into something that sounded like acceptance. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing with those guys or the voices in your head. Without me there, you’re going to get caught.”
“That’s what I have Samael for.”
His eyes went wide, his face paling further, a tremor running through his cuffed hands. “No, you killed him.”
“Dad, oh, you poor old soul. He’s not dead.
I’m in love with him. We all are. Why would we ever kill him?
Besides, he’s going to be a daddy, and I can’t quite do this all on my own.
” I reached down, rubbing my belly, wondering how he was going to take that revelation.
One of Samael’s guards had sent me a picture of Jade shopping for maternity clothes.
I made sure to send her a few dollars but addressed it as if it had come from a neighbor.
Dad’s jaw dropped, his voice a hoarse whisper, confusion twisting his features. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You didn’t hear? You’re going to be a granddaddy. Jade’s pregnant with a baby girl.”
His hands jerked against the cuffs, his voice rising with panic all over again. “You can’t have kids. That’s… DMD…”
“I know. Technically, the kid is Finn’s, but that’s splitting hairs. Look, I just came to say goodbye. Runo and I had the same goal, so this isn’t just a goodbye to you but to this life.”
“Your goal?”
I nodded, my grin softening, but the thrill pulsed through me, a dark heat. “Yes, you suffering. A goal that’s now accomplished. However, Runo did say this night was mine; excuse me.”
I patted the table and stood, ready to take on my new life.
I waited for Dad to scream more or tell me that I couldn’t leave him again.
I even had the speech ready, falling into it without him even prompting it.
“It’s going to be fun leaving you here. You see, Tyrone was really adamant that he thought it was me and my men.
I couldn’t have that, and unlike you, I’ve been collecting information for years, piling it up to save my ass should it ever come to it.
And now Tyrone was wholly convinced that it was you, and it’s overshadowed everything about the Three Terrors.
I wanted to keep playing, and so I offed him like I did the rest. You needed something to keep you in your seat, and now you’re behind bars.
Primrose is now in shambles, confused, unsure of what to believe and I’m free to go cause chaos somewhere else. ”
Dad leaned back in his chair, his shoulders falling in defeat. I waited for those last words of his to give me satisfaction but instead, I realized I had missed something.
A slow, sinister smile spread across his lips as he met my eyes, triumph flooding his features. “You definitely played to win, Runo. I thought I had you but damn. Good game, son. Good game.”
My smile disappeared as horror flooded my expression, a quick knock on the door bringing Hanson back to retrieve me. I dashed toward the front door, not even waiting for the right protocol before stuffing myself into my car, confused and terrified.
I’d won, but his words suggested he’d been pulling strings too, and the realization chilled me as I walked out, leaving him cuffed and broken.
In the end, though, he was still behind those bars and I would make sure he stayed there.
It didn’t feel right that he had been playing me the way I had been playing him.
But it made sense. I couldn’t have gotten all my crazy from Mom.
I hated it but I wasn't going to dwell on it.
I wanted nothing to do with the man after tonight, I wouldn't ever have to see him again. But, he wasn’t wrong.
It had been a good game. And I had won. I just wish Mom had been around to see it.