Voracious (The Edge of Darkness, #2)

by Leigh Rivers

I’m so, so sorry, Freckles.

No wonder Dad lost his mind over love. It sucks the life out of you.

If I die, at least I’ll get to be with my angel.

God, I miss her voice. I miss her.

“Hey, Freckles.” I bite my lip and screw my face up as my ribs burn, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry for not knowing what you went through or giving you a chance to explain what happened. I should have heard you out. I should have stayed. But you need to listen.” I wince and pull the phone away, so she can’t hear my groan of pain. “They know who you are, and what we were. They’re going to come for you. Please. Please, baby, you need to run. Run, and don’t you dare turn back. Get away from all of them. You… you hear m-me?” My eyes close, and my phone slides out of my hand, but I quickly grab it. “Please hide, please.”

“I n-never stopped loving you.” My heart is fucking sore, but I need to get this last part out. I know I’m dying. But the only thing I’m worried about is her getting the fuck away from those evil pricks. “I will… will always lo-love you, Freckles. Go, live your life and be free. Meet someone who can tr-treat you ri-ight. For-for-forget me.”

“Pl-please for… forgive me. B-Be safe and ha-ha-happy. I love you.

Once a cheat, always a fucking cheat.

She broke my heart, but I want her back. I miss her. I love her.

Look at me now, my little princess. Daddy’s gone, and he’s never coming back.

I fell head over heels for Kade Mitchell. My best friend’s brother. The guy who teased me whenever I was near him, who made my nerves shatter in both good and bad ways. He made me smile when I was sad, laugh when I felt like crying and warm when I felt so cold. He reminded me of what it felt like to be alive.

He hates Barry – like they’re in competition for who can keep me the safest, but then again, I guess he hates everybody. I have no clue how he warmed up to me,

A contract came in earlier for us to take out a family – husband, wife, little ten-month-old girl and their live-in babysitter, and I’ve been trying everything to avoid it.

A shift beside me as Base jumps off the king-sized bed and grabs a picture frame from the cabinet next to it. He whips off his helmet and pulls away his earpiece before shoving the image in front of my face. It takes a second to process what I’m looking at, and I lift a shaking hand to take it from him. I don’t blink as I stare at a picture of me and Stacey in bed. The first ever photo she took of us, when she accidentally fell asleep in my arms. I rub my thumb over her face, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. Base snaps at me with his fingers. “Why is there a picture of you and Stacey in this house?” Then he frowns. “Wait, were we to kill Stacey? Who’s the family? The kid?” My wide eyes lift to my friend as the realisation sinks in, and I stop breathing.

Barry, Lisa and their baby. Stacey was the live-in babysitter. Barry got her out of the UK.

“Fuck the mission.”

“We have an emergency announcement. Reports say that Tobias Mitchell has escaped his institution this afternoon and is currently at large. The murderer and psychopath was given a life sentence over twenty years ago.”

Bernadette’s eyes are wide. “Shit.”

Then a picture of a piece of paper with words written on it replaces the image of my dad, and I narrow my gaze to read it. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them. Save him. Save her. Save them.

“We have an emergency announcement. Reports say that Tobias Mitchell has escaped his institution.”

He sighs. “As you can tell, she’s on her period.”

Hold on a little longer. Please.

“Are you going to be my forever, Freckles?” What is forever if it’s not with him?

If he was doing that when I was with Kade… was my daughter his?

“You only hit women.”

“Stacey?” I freeze halfway up the steps at the sound of my best friend’s voice, then turn around, my eyes wide. She should not be here. “Lu?”

“Base asked me to come.”

I don’t think it was Base who invited her.

“Jason drove me. He’s just out of rehab.”

Can I see Base first then we can go? I haven’t seen him in months. He’s been… ignoring me. I just want to make sure he’s okay.” “Is this you finally admitting to your feelings?” She looks down at her feet. “Four years too late, right?”

Kade, the boy I fell in love with as a teen, who had all my firsts and planned a whole future for us, the one person in the entire world that kept me going while Chris put me through hell, is now sitting at eight million for bids.

“We had a deal. You let her go, right fucking now. Me for her, that was the deal!”