Chapter 60
Aurora
“Desire, my father would never hurt me!” I blurt out as soon as we cross the threshold of Alistair’s forest cabin.
Without answering, he strokes the barrel of his gun in a familiar gesture. He walks to the window, draws the curtain tight, and stands against the wall, peering through a narrow gap.
He’d been texting someone the whole drive back while I sat in silence, lost in a daze.
Zack’s dead face still haunted my eyes …
Zack, whom Desire wrapped in a tarp and, with my help, loaded into the trunk right next to Chloe’s body.
Zack, who’d hired a killer to murder my husband.
That bastard deserved every bullet I put in him.
I asked for the gun myself. Because if Desire is destined to burn in hell for all his sins, I want to be taken there with him. He saved me and never hid his true face. As a sign of gratitude, I chose to step into his darkness.
“Sit down, Aurora,” Desire says. He glances at me, then returns to the window, scanning the street.
I sink into the armchair by the fireplace, covering my face with my hands. My heart pounds against my ribs; adrenaline still burns in my veins, refusing to let me breathe.
“You don’t know Arthur at all, Rory,” he states, not turning around.
I chuckle. “I don’t know my own father? Desire, what kind of nonsense is that?”
He hesitates, weighing his words so as not to crush me completely with the truth. His silence is heavier than a scream.
“Say it straight!” I jump up, planting my hands on my hips.
Desire finally turns. His gaze bores into my eyes.
“Arthur Vance is an elite killer, Aurora. Just like me. Officially, he’s retired—he hasn’t needed to get his hands dirty for money in a long time; he has wealth.
But there’s no such thing as an ex in our line of work, and he still has a chokehold on part of the criminal world. They know him as Strangler.”
My heart skips a beat, then plummets into icy emptiness.
“No …, that can’t be …” Images of my father flash before my eyes: carefully fixing velvet ribbons in my hair when I was a child, laughing … “What the fuck do you mean?”
“It’s the truth.” He steps close, hauling me against him with one arm while the other grips the gun handle. While holding me to him, his gaze is fixed on the window. “He’s a dangerous psychopath. And now that man has learned his life was a lie.”
I’m silent, unable to utter a word. Desire promised not to hide his darkness from me, but I didn’t even notice myself sinking to the bottom, plunging into my own.
A screech of tires and the roar of an engine outside the window make me flinch. Desire, not at all surprised, gently but firmly pushes me back into the chair.
“Whatever happens, trust me.” He runs his knuckles along my cheekbone and barely touches my lips with a brief kiss. Then, straightening up, he raises his gun and presses the cold barrel to my temple. My heart races in panic.
“Desire?!” I breathe out, unable to believe my eyes.
At that moment, the door bursts open with a crash. In the doorway stands a gray-haired man in an expensive suit—the one I saw at Savannah. Robert. His face is twisted with rage, and a pistol is clenched in his hand. The moment he sees the gun at my head, his eyes fill with rage.
“Sterling!” he barks, barely restraining himself from pulling the trigger.
“Drop the gun, Jefferson. Don’t make me repeat myself,” Desire commands in a flat, icy tone.
Robert’s gaze darts between us, but realizing Desire isn’t bluffing, he drops the gun to the floor with a clatter and kicks it toward us.
“On your knees, hands behind your head,” Desire commands.
Robert complies. Only then does Desire lower the gun from my head, pick up the guest’s pistol, and tuck it into his waistband.
“W-what’s going on?” My voice trembles.
“Now, I think we can talk.” Desire turns to me, his free palm cupping my cheek, making me lift my head. He covers my lips with a deep kiss. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I had to disarm your father before he did something stupid.”
His kisses usually ignite a fire in me, but my mind is overloaded with information.
“My … father?”
“Your biological father—Robert Jefferson.” Desire nods toward the prisoner.
The gray-haired man glowers up at him. “So it was a bluff? A setup? And those photos of her in chains?”
“Let’s just say”—Desire’s lips twist into a predatory smirk—“Aurora and I like to have fun.”
“Young people.” Robert sighs heavily, a strange mix of relief and bitterness in his voice.
My face flushes. I remember him filming me in the basement. So he sent those pictures to this man? I was naked in them!
“Don’t worry, Rory,” Desire reassures me, noticing my shock, “I cropped the photos. He didn’t see anything he shouldn’t have.”
“Reassuring,” I hiss, crossing my arms over my chest. And what infuriates me is that I still don’t understand anything. “Can you explain this madness?”
“Of course.” Desire moves to the window, keeping his distance from the kneeling man. “Robert Jefferson is my client and family’s partner. He came to rescue you as soon as I sent him the location of the cabin and your cropped photo in chains.”
“Rescue?! You said he was furious because I was alive!” I shoot back, looking from one to the other. “I’m a witness to Alistair’s murder!”
“What?!” Robert jerks on his knees.
“That’s what I thought until this morning,” Desire says, looking down at Jefferson. “Until my brother sent me the DNA comparison results. It turns out, Aurora is your daughter. That’s why you lost it at Savannah. You realized I was having a relationship with your daughter.”
Robert sighs heavily, his shoulders slumping. “I thought you were breaking her. Torturing her. You’re a fucking psycho, Sterling. We all know that.”
Desire smiles—the characterization doesn’t faze him in the least. “Speaking of news: we got married yesterday.”
“For fuck’s sake!” His gaze darts between us and finally lands on my wide pupils. “You … Aurora, do you really love him?”
I don’t even know what to say to a man I’ve only seen twice in my life. Actually, I do. “Excuse me, does that concern you?”
Such bitter, raw pain flares in his eyes that I feel uncomfortable. It’s completely illogical, but I feel sorry for him.
“Did you order Alistair’s hit because you knew Aurora was his prisoner?” Desire asks, steering the conversation back on track.
“Yes. But you weren’t supposed to come across her,” Robert states.
“I gave you the lead on his city apartment and the clinic parking lot. You were supposed to put a bullet in his head in the city! My armed team was waiting for Alistair’s death signal to raid the cabin safely, with zero risk to Aurora.
” Robert clenches his fists. “I had no idea you’d ignore the lead, track him all the way to the woods, and start a shootout right where my daughter was being held!
I planned to take her myself right after the city operation. ”
“And you sent me to Africa for the same reason? So I wouldn’t see her again?”
“I knew right away you’d touched her, even though you lied to my face. You were supposed to die in Africa,” Robert admits. “It was a one-way ticket. But you single-handedly slaughtered a bunch of people and pulled off the impossible.”
Desire shoots me a triumphant glance, his eyes glowing with victory. “I wanted too badly to get back to my girl.” His tone makes my cheeks flush. “I suppose a warm welcome waited for me in London too?”
“It did …” Robert drops his head to his chest, resigned. “The surprise was ready. You weren’t supposed to come back from London alive.”
“My family would have gotten to the truth anyway,” Desire notes. “And then you’d be in trouble. Nothing would have been left of your organization, not even ash.”
“I was ready to risk everything for my daughter.”
Those words burn me like a slap. I jump up from the chair, protest inside me. “Enough! You’re not my father!” I cry out. Robert looks at me so dejectedly, with such raw pain, that my heart clenches. “How long have you been watching me?”
“A few years ago, I accidentally saw a photo of Eleanor’s daughter.” He finally looks up at me. “The resemblance to my mother was striking. Later, my people obtained your biomaterial through a clinic where you’d had tests … DNA confirmed everything.”
The world around me starts spinning too fast, so I step back toward Desire, pressing against his side. His hand settles on my waist, bringing me closer. In this moment, I want only one thing: to fly away with him so far, none of these secrets catch up to us.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Robert?” I ask, my voice breaking.
“I couldn’t put you at that kind of risk.” He looks at the floor again. “Arthur Vance was never supposed to find out the truth. He’s ruthless. His revenge for your mother’s deception could have fallen on you.”
“Strangler already knows,” Desire says, and his tone sends a chill down my skin. “This morning, Zack Thornton sent him a letter with the test results and an explanation.”
“What?!” Robert jerks his head up. In the eyes of this almost-stranger, I see real, wild fear for my life. His gaze makes me unbearably uncomfortable. “That’s very bad.”
“That’s exactly why I lured you here,” Desire cuts in. “To deal with you. I don’t need you breathing down my neck while I’m trying to save Aurora.”
“I want to help!” Robert exclaims.
“Wait!” I jerk away from Desire and shake my head, looking from one man to the other. “Whatever you’re planning, you won’t dare touch my father! Neither of you!”
Desire sighs and gives a short nod, telling Robert to get up. Robert removes his hands from behind his head and stands, but I barely notice him. My gaze is fixed on Desire.
“Aurora, listen to me.” His voice is steady. “I’ve studied Arthur for years. He’s a predator who perfectly mimics an antelope.”
“Studied?” An unpleasant chill runs over my skin. I remember Desire seeking out Arthur in my parents’ house, craving a meeting with him.
“Strangler is a legend in the killer world.” Desire steps toward me. “I’ve been inspired by his methods. But he chokes his toys to death, Rory. He knows no mercy.”
“Toys?” A sickening pit forms in my chest. My fingers go cold. “And me? Was I just a toy to you too? You said so yourself. A toy to fuck! Were you planning to kill me too?”
“No.” He shakes his head, reaching for my hand, but I pull back.
“I’m going to my father,” I state. My nostrils flare, my breath ragged. “He’ll understand. He loves me.”
“That won’t help!” Desire grinds his teeth, his jaw clenched so tight the muscles twitch.
“And killing him will?!” I shriek.
“You’re not going to him!” he roars, the sound slamming against my eardrums. “Not with my baby inside you!”
The world freezes, and my ears start ringing.
“What baby? I’m on the pill!”
“No.” He stares at me point-blank, no trace of remorse. “I replaced your birth control with vitamins. Your morning sickness isn’t stress, Aurora.”
The blood drains from my face, leaving me deathly pale. I recoil from him, feeling a primal black rage boil inside me.
“You … What did you do?” My whisper is more terrifying than a scream. “You took away my choice? Again?”
I spin to face Robert, nearly losing my balance from dizziness. “Can you give me a ride? Take me away from here!”
“Aurora, listen …, I wouldn’t advise going to Arthur.” Robert steps toward me, concern in his eyes. “Let me take you somewhere safe. You need to breathe.”
“Anywhere!” I hiss, not looking at Desire.
Desire is instantly in front of me, blocking my path. His powerful body blocks the exit, and a real fire blazes in his dark eyes—a mix of rage and the instinct to hunt. “Aurora!”
I raise an eyebrow, looking up at him, even though my knees buckle.
“Unless you’re planning to chain me up and hang me naked over your club again, go to hell. We're done. Do you hear me? Done!”
I brush past him, my shoulder grazing his.
“I’ll take care of her” comes Jefferson’s low voice from behind me.
I’m not listening anymore. I burst out the door, gulping the cold air, and practically run to the car, burning, angry tears roll down my cheeks.