“Talk to me, Charlie,” Landon whispers, sweeping his hands along my back.
“I—” I choke. I’m not sure how I feel, or what I think.
He edges back, looking at me with concerned eyes. I look in his eyes, tears running down my cheeks.
“This is too much for one day. Let’s get you in bed.” He grabs the bottom hem of my shirt.
“No!” I yell, shoving his hands off me. I’m done feeling sorry for myself, for my life, for everything. “You killed my mother, Landon!” Without thinking, I raise my hand and slap him across the face. Anger, sorrow, and vengeance all being released as my palm stings. His head whips to the side. His jaw ticks as his cheek fumes a red hand print. He slowly slides his gaze back to me, his eyes burning with fury. I swallow the unease forming in the pit of my stomach and point at him with rage. “One day you’re loving and the next I find out you’re a murderer! How do I know you won’t do as your father orders and kill me?” I tilt my head to the side, and glare with all my might. “Tell me how I’m supposed to trust you?” I whisper. “How am I supposed to trust the man who has my mother’s blood on his hands?”
Just as Landon opens his mouth to respond, a loud crash sounds from downstairs. My chest constricts with fear, and Landon’s face hardens. He puts his finger over his lips, silently gesturing for me to be quiet. I nod, my nostrils flaring from my harsh breathing. He slowly walks to the dresser, and carefully pulls open a drawer. He clutches a shiny black gun and I cover my mouth with my hands. How many guns does he have? He points toward the bathroom. I nod and scamper to the bathroom. I peer my head around the doorframe watching as Landon slides up against the wall and peeks around the corner into the hallway. In one swift moment, he vanishes. My stomach sinks not having him in the room with me anymore. What if the intruder comes in here? What if they were sent from Landon’s father? Sweat builds on my forehead as the minutes tick by. The silence is so loud my ears ring, and images of my mother hushing me and urging me to hide wobble in my mind. I clench my eyes as hard as I can to clear the memories, and shake my head. I can’t just stay in the bathroom and hide. I have to do something to help Landon.
“Landon!” I whisper loudly. My hands tremble at the thought of something happening to him.
I tiptoe out of the dark bathroom into the bedroom, I take a step toward the dresser when something catches my eye near the door. I choke with fear. A large person dressed in black from head to toe and pointing a silver gun at me stands right before me. I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. This is it, this is the end of my shitty life. I’m going to die. Landon steps behind the intruder, his gun raised and fires. I cover my ears and wince from the loud bang. Blood scatters along the floor and the person falls on his face. I glance from the dead body to Landon, and sag with relief.
“Landon!” I cry, emotion bubbling in my chest that he’s okay. He steps over the body and wraps an arm around my frame hugging me. All the anger and resentment I may have had flees my body. If Landon wanted to hurt me, if he was anything like his father, he would have let me die tonight.
“Are you okay, babe?” He looks me over. His tone’s sincere as he searches my body for injury.
“Yeah, you came just in time,” I whisper. “You—”
“Saved you?” Landon finishes my sentence and raises an eyebrow. “I told you the day I took you back to that hotel room, I wouldn’t hurt you. I meant it.” His tone is dry, and has me swallowing the lump in my throat. “I was sixteen when I killed your mother for Christ’s sake. I was a damn child and did what I thought was right. I saved you.” I stand in awe. Landon has saved me since I was a nine-year-old little girl.
“You…” I whisper. “You’re right. You saved me,” I admit. Landon’s hard face and tense body relaxes instantly, his face taking on a softer look as he frowns. Landon may have killed my mother, but he did it to save me. He just saved my life again. Landon leans down, and pushes the black ski mask to the person’s forehead.
Judging my tonight’s events, I know Landon is not innocent in any way, but I can tell by the pain in his voice that he did not want to harm my mother. He was merely a child doing what he thought was right at the time. I bet if he defied his father in any way that day my mother died, Miller would have killed Landon too.
“Niko,” Landon mutters. “I knew it would be him. He’s the only person that knows about this place.” Landon stands and places his gun on the dresser. The dead guy looks about Landon’s age. His face is pale with bright freckles along the bridge of his nose.
“Will there be others?” I question.
“Possibly, but I doubt it. The only reason Niko knows about this house is because he was with me when I got the keys from the real estate agent. Niko and I used to hang out a lot when we were younger. He became caught up with my dad over the last couple of years. When he heard I was not on my father’s side, he went on his way. Looks like he went right into my father’s pocket.”
An hour and a half later, the room is cleaned of Niko and any trace of blood. The way Landon cleaned any trace of DNA is almost terrifying.
“Where did you put him?” I question, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“In the ground,” Landon replies quickly.
I bite my bottom lip, and nod.
“Let’s try and get some sleep. I fixed the door Niko kicked in and set the alarms this time, they will sound if anyone so much as steps on the front step.”
I stand to take my shirt off that has some spots of blood on it. Lifting the shirt over my head, Landon’s fingers trail under the cup of my sports bra, his touch tickling my skin, reminding me I’m alive. He tugs the fabric, pulling it off me, my nipples peaking when the sudden fresh air sweeps past them. My eyes flicker to Landon’s, finding his hooded as he stares at my small breasts.
He grabs the back of his shirt and yanks it over his head, revealing his toned abs and that sexy V leading down into his pants. My gaze catches the square white patch on his chest from where I shot him. I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth and trail my finger over the cotton patch.
“It was an accident,” I whisper, my eyes peering up from under my lashes.
“I’ll live,” he responds, his tone raw.
He unbuttons his jeans and shuffles them down using his feet before tossing them in the corner. I can’t help but take in every inch of him as he stands in his black Calvin Klein’s. I crawl in bed, and shift to get comfortable on my side of the bed. I instantly feel my eyes grow heavy. Landon tucks his hand around my hip, trying to tug me closer to him but I pull away. I just need a moment to myself to comprehend what’s going on in my head. But he isn’t having it. He grabs me by the hips and pulls me toward him, tucking me into the curve of his body, the smell and heat sweeps from his to mine. His fingers trail up and down my spine tenderly.
“You know how I said I saved you?” His chest vibrates against mine as he speaks. “Well, you saved me, too.” I tilt my head back and look at him in confusion. He stares down at me, his eyes full of sincerity.
“If it weren’t for you or your mother, I would have become my father. I would have followed in his footsteps and been a monster. But after what I did, after saving you, I wanted nothing to do with the Blackwell estate.”
I sigh and tuck myself into him once again. Hearing my mother’s life wasn’t in vain, that it had impacted his life, offers me a slither of relief.
“You saved me, too,” he repeats softly into my hair. I close my eyes and let my dreams take me.
***
I wake with a start, lightning cracking in the sky and illuminating the bedroom. My eyes fall on Landon who is fast asleep, his chest slowly rising with every breath. I lie back down and watch him. His face seems so soft and at peace as he sleeps. His closed eyelids twitch, making me wonder what he’s dreaming about. I know I was troubled, had a shitty life growing up, but he killed someone at the age of sixteen. I can’t imagine how that would stain a person’s soul. His eyes suddenly open as he gasps for air. I jump, startled by his sudden reaction.