of his bodyguards with him. Two of the big burly men dragging an unconscious figure between them. The other two containing a weeping woman as she pleaded for them to let her and her husband go.
I knew I needed to leave. Seeing this would be wrong for so many reasons. To not see, I could never be asked and have to lie. But that was the pathetic excuse. The real excuse? I knew what was coming, and it would haunt me for the rest of my life if I stayed to watch.
"You both chose the path you are on," Roan said in his nasal voice. I withdrew into the shadows a little further. "And it is a path that directly opposes mine. What did you think I would do when I found out you betrayed me? Nothing? Pat you on the back and say, good job!"
"Please don't kill us," the woman whispered. "Please don't kill us," she repeated on a whimper of defeat. Because she knew too. You don't play ball with Roan McLaren without knowing he breaks all of the rules.
"Oh, I'm not killing both of you, Marie," Roan said calmly, rocking back on his booted feet.
The woman's head jerked up to see the veracity in Roan's statement. Whatever she saw there, she didn't like.
"You were the one to betray me, Marie," he pointed out softly, reaching forward and cupping her face as though she was a favoured child.
"I know, I know," she whispered. "And I'm so sorry, so sorry. Please," she begged. "I know you have to kill me, but let Rick go. Please."
"That's not how it works and you know it," Roan answered, pulling back, but not before giving the woman a hard shove that had her face-planting into the dirt. She scrambled to her feet, then tried to reach her husband. One of Roan's guards simply lifted her off the ground and pulled her away by her hair.
"No, Marie. You took something of mine, so I'm taking something of yours," Roan remarked calmly, so at odds with the emotions running rampant on the air.
I heard her scream of denial and my body froze of its own accord. I wanted to slip from my hiding place and run from the roof. I didn't want to witness the silenced gunshot that took the life of her husband from her. Her sobs were enough to slice right through my heart. But my body simply froze.
And I watched Marie's husband topple over with a bullet hole in his forehead. Dead.
I must have made sound. I don't know. My entire body was in shock. I'd seen some truly horrific things in the past, things I didn't want to remember. But for some reason this was worse than all those things combined. Roan held the gun that took Rick's life, and although Marie was sobbing, his eyes flicked up to my hiding place on the roof. As though he knew I was there watching. As though he heard my slight intake of breath, even over Marie's continued weeping.
I didn't know them. I hadn't seen either Rick or Marie around the Compound before. But it didn't matter. I'd seen and I wasn't sure if Roan knew I had, but the cruel, twisted smile on his face when he looked up at the shadows on the roof that I hid in, was enough to scare the crap out of me.
Whether Roan knew he'd had a witness or not, the message was clear. As long as I stayed far away from Roan McLaren, he would keep my father alive, so that when I returned he could shoot him in front of me, over the back fence of the Compound.
I found my father pacing in our rooms shortly afterwards and I made the promise that changed the rest of my life.
The sounds of the other passenger voices came back to me, as the bus pulled into its first scheduled stop, forcing me to face this reality instead of a past that hurt almost too much to bear. I knew what kind of man Roan McLaren was - I'd had front row seats - even before he appeared in my bedroom at the age of fifteen. But even though the evidence of my memories was painful, it was worth it to be reminded of why I had to keep going. Why I could never give in or lower my guard. For my father's life, for the sacrifice he had given me, I had to keep looking over my shoulder and stay hidden in plain
I knew I needed to leave. Seeing this would be wrong for so many reasons. To not see, I could never be asked and have to lie. But that was the pathetic excuse. The real excuse? I knew what was coming, and it would haunt me for the rest of my life if I stayed to watch.
"You both chose the path you are on," Roan said in his nasal voice. I withdrew into the shadows a little further. "And it is a path that directly opposes mine. What did you think I would do when I found out you betrayed me? Nothing? Pat you on the back and say, good job!"
"Please don't kill us," the woman whispered. "Please don't kill us," she repeated on a whimper of defeat. Because she knew too. You don't play ball with Roan McLaren without knowing he breaks all of the rules.
"Oh, I'm not killing both of you, Marie," Roan said calmly, rocking back on his booted feet.
The woman's head jerked up to see the veracity in Roan's statement. Whatever she saw there, she didn't like.
"You were the one to betray me, Marie," he pointed out softly, reaching forward and cupping her face as though she was a favoured child.
"I know, I know," she whispered. "And I'm so sorry, so sorry. Please," she begged. "I know you have to kill me, but let Rick go. Please."
"That's not how it works and you know it," Roan answered, pulling back, but not before giving the woman a hard shove that had her face-planting into the dirt. She scrambled to her feet, then tried to reach her husband. One of Roan's guards simply lifted her off the ground and pulled her away by her hair.
"No, Marie. You took something of mine, so I'm taking something of yours," Roan remarked calmly, so at odds with the emotions running rampant on the air.
I heard her scream of denial and my body froze of its own accord. I wanted to slip from my hiding place and run from the roof. I didn't want to witness the silenced gunshot that took the life of her husband from her. Her sobs were enough to slice right through my heart. But my body simply froze.
And I watched Marie's husband topple over with a bullet hole in his forehead. Dead.
I must have made sound. I don't know. My entire body was in shock. I'd seen some truly horrific things in the past, things I didn't want to remember. But for some reason this was worse than all those things combined. Roan held the gun that took Rick's life, and although Marie was sobbing, his eyes flicked up to my hiding place on the roof. As though he knew I was there watching. As though he heard my slight intake of breath, even over Marie's continued weeping.
I didn't know them. I hadn't seen either Rick or Marie around the Compound before. But it didn't matter. I'd seen and I wasn't sure if Roan knew I had, but the cruel, twisted smile on his face when he looked up at the shadows on the roof that I hid in, was enough to scare the crap out of me.
Whether Roan knew he'd had a witness or not, the message was clear. As long as I stayed far away from Roan McLaren, he would keep my father alive, so that when I returned he could shoot him in front of me, over the back fence of the Compound.
I found my father pacing in our rooms shortly afterwards and I made the promise that changed the rest of my life.
The sounds of the other passenger voices came back to me, as the bus pulled into its first scheduled stop, forcing me to face this reality instead of a past that hurt almost too much to bear. I knew what kind of man Roan McLaren was - I'd had front row seats - even before he appeared in my bedroom at the age of fifteen. But even though the evidence of my memories was painful, it was worth it to be reminded of why I had to keep going. Why I could never give in or lower my guard. For my father's life, for the sacrifice he had given me, I had to keep looking over my shoulder and stay hidden in plain
Similar Books
