Villainess by D. T. Dyllin Page B

have—Oh God.
    Theo strode from the bedroom, his gaze meeting mine. “Give me the kid.”
    “No.”
    “I’m not gonna hurt him. Just give him to me.”
    “Not happening.”
    “Fine.” Theo stalked across the floor, his eyes never wavering from mine. When he lifted his hands up I saw the spattering of blood on them and I couldn’t help but gasp. What did I expect? What had I expected from any of this? I let Theo take him from me without a physical struggle. I didn’t want the boy to suffer any more trauma than he already had.
    The boy stared numbly at Theo as he set him on the ground and crouched down in front of him. “Listen kid, and listen good, ya?” The boy nodded his head slowly, his eyes wide and terrified. “Your mom shouldn’t have hit you. It doesn’t matter that she’s your mom, no one should ever take advantage of someone weaker like that.”
    “Wasn’t—wasn’t my mom weaker than you?”
    Theo grinned. “Yeah, different story. I was protecting you. Do you understand the difference?”
    “I-I think so.”
    “Good. There’s one other thing I need for you to understand, kid. You can’t tell anyone about us. Ever. If you do, I’ll be forced to come back for you and that’s not what I want. After we’re gone, I want you to go to your neighbors’ house—tell them someone broke in here and you got away—that they hurt your mom but they had masks on. Two men. That’s all you know. Got it?”
    “Y-yeah. Does this mean—does this mean I can live with my daddy now?”
    Theo stood, his smile widening. “Yeah, kid, it does. Just remember what I told you. If you ever tell anyone about us, I’ll have to come back for you. You keep your mouth shut and say what I told you and you’ll be safe.”
    “Are you avenging angels?”
    Without another word, Theo took my hand and yanked me after him. I had no choice but to follow.
     

 
12

    Jonah
     
     
    Present~
     
    Leila’s words trailed off, her face tense. She remained perfectly still, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, and her breathing coming out in shallow little bursts. It was obvious that talking about that night was still traumatizing to her.
    I have to know more.
    Not just because it was my job to dissect her emotional state, but because she’d piqued my curiosity. Leila was an enigma, there was so much more to her than even I originally thought. I wanted to figure out where all the pieces went…I wanted to know her.
    “What happened after that? What happened with Theo?” I had a feeling he’d played a much bigger part in everything than anyone knew. It was odd that no one had heard of him though. He hadn’t been arrested with her and there wasn’t even the smallest mention of him in any news medium. I’d checked. He was a complete mystery to me.
    “What do you mean?” Leila asked, her voice monotone.
    “Theo…where is he now?”
    “Dead. He’s dead.”
    I shifted forward in my chair. I was finally going to get some answers, it seemed. “And how did he die?”
    Leila pulled her full bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling. Her fingers tightened around each other in her lap. She dropped her head to the side, meeting my gaze. “I killed him, of course.”
    I swallowed with anticipation. “Why?”
    Her lips curled up at the corners and her eyes glazed over, as if she was remembering him. “I loved him. I loved him more than I’d ever loved anyone before.” My heart fisted in my chest, a feeling I pushed aside, not willing to contemplate what my reaction meant. “But it turns out I loved myself more. Maybe that in itself makes me a villain?” She pulled herself into a sitting position, her green eyes flaring. “What do you think, Doc?” She sighed heavily, and before a single word could escape my mouth said, “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I know what I am.”
    “And what is that?”
    “A villain—or a villainess. Just like that painting says.”
    “Do you really believe that?”
    She snorted. “Maybe. I don’t