Page 102 of Capturing Sin

Maybe then the nightmares would stop. Not that I deserved the peace.

Starlit eyes filled with betrayal pierced my mind. My heart ached, but I ignored it, accepting the hurt until it numbed me.

I turned my back on my old life, walking out of the broken door.

“Ah, Liliana. I’ve been looking for you.”

The familiar gruff voice froze me.

My uncle waited in the corridor, grizzled features sharp.

Behind him, Leo grinned.

Chapter 40

Oh goodie, my family was here to make sure I was okay.

If only.

Seeing my uncle only ever caused pain.

The two hunters looked a little worn at the edges, with bruised smudges under their eyes. Leo even had a fresh cut on his tanned cheek, and harsher lines seemed to bracket my uncle’s thin mouth. They’d dressed identically in black cargos and suspiciously large coats, clearly armed beneath.

My first instinct was to attack. Yet I couldn’t fight my way past both men.

Leo I could probably take in a fight. I’d used to let him win sometimes, much to my shame, but now I wouldn’t be holding back to protect his fragile ego.

My uncle was a different story. He might be greying at the temples, but he’d been hardened in the forge of violence long before I was born. I wouldn’t delude myself into thinking his age hindered his capacity to put me firmly in the grave.

I swallowed thickly. The freedom that had glimmered so close was ripped from my cold, bony grasp once more.

Any hope I’d had left was crushed, along with my already battered heart.

I scraped some logic from the ruin. It hurt, slipping back on the mask of the devoted hunter, suffocating and pinching like it no longer fit.

But choice was a luxury I’d never been able to afford.

A tight smile stretched my brittle lips. “Uncle. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

He nodded, like he accepted my concern but didn’t particularly care either way. “Let’s go.”

My last living relative turned his back to me. Leo smirked as he let my uncle pass, starting down the stairs with glass crunching under his boots.

I clamped down on the urge to scream.

For a second, I wondered what would happen if I just refused to go with them.

Then I remembered the last time I’d tried to escape. Leo had driven me off the road, again almost killing me, and physically dragged me back here.

I took a step towards them. Then another. My feet kept moving, but my dreams were left behind.

Leo grinned as I approached, gesturing for me to follow my uncle first. Having him at my back set my teeth on edge.

“We’ve been busy since the attack,” my uncle said, oblivious to my discomfort. “Luckily, Leo and I were with the North London chapter, discussing alliances and reinforcements.”

I nodded mutely, as if I’d been paying close attention to all hunter-related matters and was somehow fully aware of his movements without being informed.

We marched out of the building, and he continued, “I’ll get you up to speed once we arrive.”

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