Page 64 of Born Chaos

About all of it.

I came to hate the man I loved most.

My lies destroyed what Sebastian and I had, and his lies are going to destroy so many other lives.

What do I want most? Does anyone really know the answer to that question? I wish Archer were here just for a moment so I could ask him.

My thoughts are getting too dark, too heavy, and I need to do something about this. I have to take action.

So, I walk to the edge of the roof. I stare down, searching for a way to climb. But it’s just smooth, flat glass from here to the ground.

I jumped through a window from the thirty-ninth floor once in Las Vegas. It was literally moments after I Resurrected. But I survived that. This is from a much lower height.

Don’t think,I internally tell myself. My feet follow the thought, and then I’m airborne.

It should be terrifying. It should be an instant,oh shit, I just jumped off a roof. But it’s not. My brain has all the time in the world to calculate my fall. I know right where to put my feet and how to bend my knees.

I hit the ground with a roll and immediately spring to my feet. Without missing a stride, I continue down the sidewalk, files held firmly against my chest.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Who do I tell?What do I start with? How wide do I spread the news of Sebastian’s crimes?

I pull the burner from my pocket and dial Roman.

“Where are you?” I ask as soon as he answers.

“The club,” he responds, already on high alert.

“Any reason why I should stay away today?”

“No,” Roman reports. “Nothing to worry about here. What’s wrong?”

“Everything,” I answer ominously. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

I end the call, and pick up my pace, walking as fast as I dare without being seen and suspected. My brain is a wild mess of thoughts and emotions. I wish I could shut it off, block it all out. Once upon a time I was good at doing that. It’s what shaped me into the sarcastic tease I am today.

But I’ve changed. Ever since I became a vampire, I’ve changed, and I feel so much more since I’ve come to care about so many things. I can’t numb it all out. It washes through me like a tidal wave, and I’m just a little girl on the beach.

This time of day, this day of the week, there’s no one waiting to get inside. There’s no bouncer keeping everyone out. I walk straight inside.

Roman is waiting for me just inside the door. He’s always looked dangerous, but right now, he looks like he could erupt into a volcanic explosion of vengeance and darkness.

“Not here,” I say simply as I clutch the files tighter to my chest. I breeze past him, entering the main area of the club. I go straight for the stairs that lead up to Roman’s apartment and push the door open.

I never saw the damage that Sebastian did here. I know it was bad. But right now, everything looks half repaired. Walls are patched, new light fixtures lay out on the counter, ready to be installed. The flooring is all ripped out, and there are boxes of new material stacked. I notice that even the kitchen cabinets are different.

A steadying breath slips from between my lips as I try to reign it all in.

“What’s going on?” Roman asks as he steps in behind me and closes the door. “Is this about your father?”

I turn around, meeting his eyes, and it all spikes in me again. I shouldn’t have come to this city. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t come to Chicago.

“It was Sebastian,” I say, my voice hoarse. I cross to the table and lay the folders down, taking off the rubber bands. I open them, spreading them each out. “What’s been happening to the gifted, to the vampires. It was Sebastian.”

Roman steps beside me, looking down at the stacks and stacks of papers. And hot, angry tears spring into my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.

“Because of this,” I say. My fingers tremble slightly as I grab that handwritten piece of paper and hand it to Roman.

---