“The organization—”
“Mother, the organization? You lived with the head of the empire. You could find evidence, work with the FBI, and get into the Witness Protection Program. Do something! Not live off the business, which used innocent children for the sick desires of the men around you.”
“Those weren't just men from our society. Only Ken, Alfred, John, and—” She stopped, slapping her mouth with her hand, almost saying too much. She knew. I could see it in her green eyes.
Knowledge and fear.
S.
“Who is he, Mom?” She shook her head, went to the window, and lit up an electronic cigarette. “Mom, tell them who he is so they can catch him.”
Her hollow laughter filled the air. “You have no idea how much power he has. They wouldn't be able to stop him.” She exhaled the vapor. “I thought maybe Sociopath could with all the killing he did, but now, even he is gone. S laughs in victory, I’m sure.” She gazed at me with determination in her eyes. “I know what the FBI offered you. Take it and leave. As far as I’m concerned, you are dead. I was never a good mom, wasn't in me. But you still can have a good life. They will never catch him, Sapphire.” She finished her cigarette in record time and threw it in her purse. The anger inside me was impossible to suppress.
“Again, you are a coward who thinks only about herself.”
“No, in this case, I’m saving your life, believe it or not. And yes, I’d like to live a little longer and maybe have some peace.”
“Knowing a man who uses innocent kids is out there and will never get his punishment allows you to live in peace?”
She picked up her purse along with her coat and made her way to the door, but not before replying to my question. “Yes, Sapphire. There are things in this world you learn to live with. S is invincible.” With those words, she left the room.
My mother had lived with my father for the last thirty years, and according to me, he was a monster. But what kind of monster must S be, if my mom considered him the evil of all evils?
Picking up the phone, I searched through the contact list for Connor and dialed his number. He picked up on the first ring. “Sapphire?”
“I agree.”
Connor
I put my cell back into my pocket as I took one last deep inhale of my cigarette and it calmed my nerves.
Sapphire agreed to protection, and I would do my best to shield her and the baby she carried. The last thing I could do for a man who saved my life all those years ago. I never thought he'd reach out to me, but one month ago, he made sure to contact me and let me know about the situation they had at hand. John and his organization were our targets for many years, but we could never find or get enough evidence against them. Not to mention S—no fucking clue who this bastard was.
During our last meeting, which happened two days ago, he made a deal with me. He gave me all the information he had about the organization he gathered through all those years, in exchange for a promise that once he made just as much as a missed call to me, I'd track him down and come as soon as possible. He needed to protect his woman.
''Damian. Are you really fucking dead?'' I asked the cold night, not really waiting for a reply. With a last glance from the balcony, I went back inside the office to set in motion Sapphire's move, along with all the paperwork that needed to be done.
Five Years Later
North Carolina
2016
Sapphire
“Mommy.”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Don’t be mad.”
My hands stopped typing another chapter of my book and I spun around in my chair to face my four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who wore a guilty expression on her face. Her long amber hair tied back in a ponytail had leaves in it as her sapphire eyes—just like mine—widened in anticipation for my answer. The pink dress on her thin body was covered in dirt, and her hands held a small puppy. “What did you do?”
She blinked several times then raised the puppy in her hands to my nose. I came face-to-face with an adorable German shepherd puppy, whose tongue was hanging from his mouth as he studied my face, and then he gave me a quick lick. Wincing and cleaning my cheek with a nearby tissue, I glared at my child. “Kristina, what did you do?”
“I found him in our yard.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “In our yard?”
She nodded then patted the puppy again. “He was running around the oak tree, and he is so cute, Mommy. We should keep him.”
Taking a deep breath, I held my daughter’s eyes. “Honey, we can’t keep him. He probably wandered around and neighbors are searching for him.”
Kristina raised her chin stubbornly and her eyes narrowed. “Then they shouldn’t have left him alone. I’m claiming him, Mommy.”