Page 50 of Mara
“Five.”
Boom!
The loud noise scared me, and I saw Daddy through the wooden slots. He fell onto the floor and fell fast asleep.
“Everything okay? Is my sis…is Mara almost done with her shift?”
Shaking my head, I brought myself back to reality. I looked at Gianna, making sure to keep my distance enough so she wouldn’t recognize me. Scrubs, a blue surgical hat, and the mask were only so concealing to a woman who had been with me intimately for the last six months.
Curiosity overtook me, and I plugged the stethoscope around my neck into my ears and walked over to Gianna. She looked hesitant, but I kept my body turned from her. I reached my hand up to lay the cold metal onto her stomach. It took some maneuvering, but then I heard it…
A heartbeat.
I was not a father figure at all. I was a killer. I was going to kill. It was all I had known, born in blood, and I would die in blood. There was never a moment when I thought living life with a boring disguise would be a good idea, but I had to admit that, with it so tangibly in my hand, it was intriguing.
No one ever suspected a family man. Gianna would change when something happened to her sister, I knew that for sure. It was not a possibility. It had always been about Mara—my Little Reaper.
I can’t let notions of grandeur and white picket fences or even the thought of peace cloud that. I needed to continue my path to eliminate the problem. I was no better than my dad in the end, terminating my flesh and blood for one reason and one reason alone.
They were in my way.
After the nurse left, I waited for my sister. My head was killing me. I needed to tell her. I had to speak to her and warn her about him. I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t place everything, and my memory was fuzzy at best, but I was fine talking to Jinx one second, and then something in his eyes changed.
The kind warmth I always felt emanated from him like steam from a cup of coffee. His eyes turned into something I couldn’t recognize. They were dark, cold, and dead.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the ground with a broken nose and strangers rushing around me. What I didn’t tell Jinx is that I found my hair on the ground.
How would my hair have been ripped out of my head if I simply fell forward like he claimed?
How is it possible that a handful of my curls would just be lying on the ground underneath me?
It wasn’t.
What I didn’t understand was how this was possible. Jinx must have gotten angry and…
The notion was insane. I couldn’t comprehend that the man I loved and the father of my child would intentionally hurt me. Mare and I grew up with parents who were less than stellar, but nonetheless, they did their best. They were sick, much like people here at the asylum. They just needed someone to care and show them they mattered.
I tried my whole life to be that person, but Mara constantly shut me out and away from our family. I was her china doll, locked away to keep me from getting the love my parents wanted to give. She took all of it. All the hugs and kisses I needed, only to try to replicate them when she came to find me.
My sister couldn’t take away one thing. My son. My sweet baby. I wasn’t expecting him, and I certainly was not ready for him, but I loved him more than even myself. No one could take him from me. I loved him with everything inside my soul, and I would figure out a way to keep him safe.
I just needed to think. I needed to talk to Mara and try to make sense of everything. It was so late now. The lights were all turned off, and I couldn’t even see the security guards milling around anymore. My sister stood me up or forgot about me.
Sighing, I adjusted in bed and went to start a new chapter of my book, but the sound of the door opening caught my attention. It was that nurse. The one who took my heart rate and then my baby’s. He was handsome, but I could never fully see his face.
Why is he back here?
“Is something wrong?” Fear spiked in my blood, and the uneasiness of the way he moved made me sit up. There was something familiar about him. Something in his eyes.
“I almost feel bad about this, Gianna. Truly.”
I couldn’t mistake it now. Those eyes and certainly that voice were Jinx.
What was he doing here?
And what did he want?
He was at my IV line, using a syringe to administer some kind of medicine into the bag.
