Page 109 of Protected By the Sinner
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“Roman, I’m putting the most precious thing I have in your hands. Get my wife and daughter out of here.”
He doesn’t flinch. “You have my word. They’ll be safe.”
I don’t leave the car until I see them being taken away. Amber looks at me, but I don’t meet her gaze. I can’t be with her right now. I feel insane, unhinged, like I rarely have in my life.
Once I confirm they’re gone, I head toward the cabin with my men.
It’s not the first time I’ve raided a place, and even though I haven’t been in the field in years—not since working with Ruslan—I haven’t forgotten basic protocol.
In under two minutes, we secure the perimeter, but contrary to what I expected, there’s no threat.
Tobias is lying on the couch, looking drunk, and I spot a bottle of fine whiskey at his feet.
I avoid looking at him and focus on the cabin.
Despite the shabby exterior, the inside is luxurious, which tells me this was always his backup plan.
When we spoke on the way here, Elodie told me very few people even knew this place existed, and he was probably counting on that. He could’ve stayed here for months, maybe years.
He doesn’t move, even with half a dozen men inside the cabin.
“Dump him in cold water. I want him stone-cold sober when I begin what I came to do.”
I had to wait patiently for about six hours until he sobered up completely, but now, he finally looks at me.
Even though I’ve seen his picture, I guess I had a preconceived notion of what cult leaders looked like—half expected a skinny guy with a long beard.
Tobias is nothing like that. Like the other five lunatics who partnered with him in his crimes, he looks well-off.
“Ready to face the devil?” I ask when he locks eyes with me.
I’m not sure if he knows who I am, but he keeps eyeing the knife in my hand.
“For someone who loved preaching salvation, you’re awfully quiet, buddy. Anyway, let me introduce myself. I’m your youngest daughter’s future husband. The father of the granddaughter you’ll never meet. But that’s only concerning them. Between you and me, you can just call me Death.”
Amos sent me a message saying he had arrived, so I’m not surprised when I see the door open and my brother-in-law walk in.
Instead of looking at me, he focuses on the disfigured mess at my feet.
“It was hard not to kill him.”
“I know. If the roles were reversed, I’m not sure I could’ve waited this long. Thank you for that. Good evening, Tobias. Do you know who I am?” he says, kneeling beside the man. “No? Let me explain. I’m your own flesh and blood. Elodie and Amber’s brother. The boy you ordered to be killed. But your wife, Estrella De León, disobeyed your orders and gave me up for adoption.”
He seems trapped in his own head, like Amber was hours earlier—but now I see it’s different. Amos has lived his own version of hell.
Their father looks at him in fear but still mutters, “I don’t have sons.”
Amos shakes his head. “Wrong answer. You don’t have children. Not sons, not daughters. A little genetic donation doesn’t make you a father. I’m a father, and I would die for my kids. I’d protect them above all else. You’re trash, Tobias. You’re not worthy of breathing the same air as my sisters and children.”
The coward trembles.
That’s what cowards do. They only puff up when they’re facing helpless victims—never equals.
“I’m basically an atheist,” my brother-in-law says, still eerily calm, “but I’m starting to believe that God orchestrated this reunion,Dad. Still, the God I’m talking about, the one who led me here, isn’t merciful. He’s vengeful.”
He stands up and pulls a knife from his bag. “Leave us alone, Beau. Go home to my sister. I promise you, he will never be a threat to them again,” he says, pointing to the man who destroyed so many lives.
