Chapter 46 – Lily #2
He blinks, running a hand along his jaw. “I think… I think it means you can go home?”
“Violet?” Liam’s unsteady voice pulls my attention to him standing slack-jawed in the doorway.
His gun is at his side, eyes looking past me like he’s seen a ghost. That makes two of us.
I guess I don’t need to ask if Liam knew she was alive, because given the heart-shattering expression of disbelief on his face, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance he was left in the dark too.
“Hey there, stranger,” she says, her voice cracking, and he rushes to her, touching her face, then pulls her into his arms, hugging her tight. How is he not freaking out?
“Violet?” Aster repeats, and I nod. “Okay, well, might I suggest we relocate this reunion elsewhere? The fire department will be near here”—he checks his watch—“any minute now.”
“What the hell did you do?” I ask, voice shaky, and his eyes meet mine.
He slides a hand into my hair, pulling me close. “I told you I’d burn down the whole damn world to give you one extra breath. Seems I started with the Westerfords.” His mouth is on mine, and by the time he pulls away, I’m breathless and have almost forgotten about the shit show around me.
“Let’s go,” Liam says, rushing us out of the cabin, and we race off the porch. Jackson’s truck is there with Aster’s motorcycle, and Liam’s cruiser is parked beside it.
“We’ll meet you at the house,” I tell them.
“Lil,” Liam argues, and I hold up a hand, rushing to the bike, mounting it behind Aster.
“We don’t have time for this. See you at the house.”
We’re racing down the road a moment later, and it doesn’t take long for Aster to lose them.
While part of me wants to keep Violet in my eyesight, afraid she’ll vanish like a ghost, I also need a minute to breathe after the bomb they just dropped on me.
Just, like, ten damn minutes before we’re standing in my kitchen, pretending nothing ever happened.
As if it’s not completely insane that I was kidnapped by my brother’s partner, my best friend’s alive, oh, and my boyfriend just murdered a millionaire and possibly burned down their entire mansion.
My hands shake on Aster’s stomach, and he places one of his on mine, steadying me. He veers off the road onto a familiar dirt path, and a minute later, we’re at the spot on the lake where he told me he loves me. The second he parks the bike, we dismount, helmets yanked off and thrown to the side.
Our eyes meet, and his lips are on mine once more. Fuck, I missed him. His tongue slips in, and I allow it willingly.
“I thought you died,” he says, planting kisses on my face, in my hair, on my neck, then returning to my mouth.
“I’m so sorry about that.” Kiss. “I don’t know—” Kiss. “What they were thinking.”
“Baby.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, his head falling in the crook of my neck as he breathes me in. “I thought I lost you.” His voice cracks on the last syllable. “For real this time.”
“Hey.” I pull away to hold his face in my hands. My usual strong man’s emotions are on his sleeve. “I’m right here.”
His hands wander my body, touching and squeezing as if he still can’t quite believe that I’m real. “You’re right here.”
I bring his hand to my neck. “I’m alive.”
He nods, thumb finding my pulse point. “You’re alive.”
Taking his chin between my fingers, I tilt his gaze to meet mine. “I love you.”
He rests his forehead against mine. “I love you, too.” He releases a warm breath against my lips. “So damn much.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and he huffs a laugh. “I went a little crazy there when I thought you’d—”
“But I didn’t,” I remind him, and he nods.
“I know…” We stand there embracing each other until our breathing is in unison and our heartbeats follow a similar steady rhythm.
“Anything you’d like to share?” I ask, eager to know what string of events led to a bonfire at the Westerford estate.
“Well, I killed Jude.”
I can’t find it in me to feel bad for the guy. Especially knowing he was keeping me from Violet. “Anything else?” He fights a smile. “Aster…?”
“I may have personally lit his body on fire on top of that desk in his office.” He grimaces.
“Are you serious?” My nose scrunches. “That’s dark, bro. Even for you.”
“Hey.” He places a hand on his chest. “I was in a very dark place. My girlfriend had just supposedly been murdered by an infamous serial killer.”
“What?” I blink at the new information. “What do you mean?”
“They made me think Kodak killed you,” he says, and my mind whirls.
“Why?”
“I think they were hoping to lead me to Jude? He asked me to work for him in exchange for your life.”
“So my best friend used me as bait?” My lips part, and I glance out at the water, stomach sinking. “Fuck… And we still don’t know who the real Kodak Killer is.” I drag a hand through my hair. “Do you think it was Jude? Or did he just use their M.O. to disappear Violet?”
“I mean, it’s an easy explanation,” Aster says. “If you pin someone’s death on an existing serial killer, no one will suspect otherwise. And people really did think she was dead…” He bites his cheek, hesitancy in his features.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
He rubs the nape of his neck. “I have a hunch.”
“About?”
“That Jackson could be the Kodak Killer.”
“Why?”
“He was able to fake your death and make it look like a Kodak killing. The photos were very convincing.”
My heart stops. “He also drugged me.”
Aster’s entire body tenses. “He did what?!”
“I’m as pissed about it as you are, trust me. But for some reason, I still don’t think he’s the Kodak Killer. Besides that, he didn’t try to hurt me at all. He looked so… sorry.”
“Jackson was working for my father.” His face tightens. “He might have put him up to it.”
“Your…” I bring a hand to my temples. “He what? How’d you find that out?”
Aster paces, shaking his head. “My father just personally informed me.”
“He’s in Cleosville?”
“Yep. He showed up right after I blew Jude’s head off. Oh, and get this?!” Aster throws his arm in the air, theatrics forcing my heart rate to a thousand. “Jude was also working for my father.”
My jaw is on the floor. “So, do we think your dad is the master mind? Is he Kodak?”
Aster shakes his head. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“You and me both.” I drag a hand down my face. “So, what should we do now?”
“I think we go to the house and talk to them. See what happens,” Aster suggests. “We won’t get answers sitting here and speculating.”
I nod, forcing bravery I don’t possess. “Let’s do it.”