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My mother’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but that didn’tsince she just as easily could have parked it in the garage Daisy had said the withdrawal fro I’d asked her to call the bank where otten her voicemail and when she’d spoken to another eone home sick

It was a proet here, I also knew I could already be too late

I wasn’t surprised to find the door locked when I tested the knob so I pulled out the tools I needed to pick it It took less than athe tools insure there was no one around to see us I used the edge ofit

To Ethan I said, “Don’t touch anything inside and stay behind me”

I still had no idea what the plan was in terms of what I would do if and when I saw my father, but little of it would have to do with er instead of calling the cops,to do with it Yes, she’d point the finger at h to contact the cops and aditive, but Ronan would have a rock solid alibi in place for me before I even left Kentucky

I carefully pushed open the door and scanned the entryway before giving Ethan permission to enter He used the sleeve of his shirt to quietly close the door behind us The house was dark since all the curtains were drawn and I didn’t hear any voices Ethan stayed close behind h the lower level of the house A quick glance in the garage showed that e

That fact had her

Silence followed us as we made our way back towards the front door I’d just stepped on the very first step of the staircase when I heard my mother scream, “No!”

The fear in her voice was reminiscent of all those days when I’d had to stand by helplessly and watch as fist after fist fell on her frail body I darted up the stairs, hoping like hell Ethan would keep up

“Please don’t! Stop!” she cried out

Even though I didn’t hear the tell-tale signs of flesh hitting flesh, it didn’tto her what Ethan’s ex had done to him As much as I hated my mother for what she’d done, she was still my mother

The door to her roohtly ajar I heard her let out another hoarse cry just before I kicked open the door and storun drawn I found her instantly, but nothing about the situationher on the floor or bed within the corner of the roo down her face, no redfro off about her was how flushed her face looked

Like she’d just run a marathon

But then I saw it…the saed her to believe me over my father

I spun around, but was too late Standing behind un pressed against his te Ethan’s body as a shield

My mother had set me up and I’d fallen for it, hook, line and sinker

Chapter Eighteen

Ethan

The pain in Cain’s eyes as he caun pressed against my head was hard to see, but it was cos worse for hietting out of this unharreatly di hisdead on the floor right noith a bullet in his back

“Put it down, son,” I heard the man behind me say I could tell he was a little taller than h room to maybe shoot him in the head I doubted he’d do it anyway since theme in the process, but part of me still wanted hiet out of here alive was slim to none