My stomach turns when I find one of my cars parked in front of the same abandoned warehouse the security team already checked out hours ago. It’s where Sierra’s phone last had signal, but I never told Raya about it, so how did she find it?
I’d hoped I was wrong when my alarms woke me, notifying me that my wife left the house. I tried to have faith in her, was convinced she was headed either home to her parents, or to one of the girls’ houses. So why the fuck is she here? Why did she sneak out the moment I fell asleep?
My heart pounds wildly as I make my way through the warehouse to the exact location where both Sierra and Raya’s signals cut off, a loaded gun in my hands. My footsteps echo as I come to a standstill in the corner where their trackers were last active.
My stomach sinks when I notice that there’s something off about one of the walls. It’s a little too smooth, a little too clean for the environment it’s in. I push against it methodically, following my instincts. It opens, revealing modern elevator doors, and I frown. This mechanism… it’s very similar to something I designed myself, and I don’t quite understand what it’s doing here.
My gaze settles on my watch, and my eyes fall closed for a moment, before I press the button on the side in the sequence my grandfather taught me, activating a beacon that’ll alert Sinclair Security, no matter where I am. My grandfather had his favorite watch adapted for me for this exact purpose in the days before he passed away, and over the years, I’ve kept it updated, never going anywhere without but hoping I’d never have to use it.
The moment I’m certain the signal has gone out, I press the only button in the elevator, resignation washing over me as I lift the safety on my gun and hold it up. The elevator moves slowly, and a chill runs down my spine. Sierra’s tracker cut off because they’re keeping her deep underground. Who could’ve had intimate enough knowledge about my tech to know what depth is required to make my trackers stop working? Unease crashes through me as I assess the short list of people that have easy access to my inventions.
I brace myself as the doors open… only to come face to face with my wife, who’d been waiting in front of it.
“Lex!” I hear Sierra shout, and I glance past Raya for a split-second to find my sister sitting on a metal chair, the same kind I’d once been tied to. My vision begins to blur, all the blood rushing from my face as instinct takes over.
Fury rushes through me as I press my gun to Raya’s head. “You fucking bitch,” I whisper. “What the fuck did you do?” I snap, driving my gun into her temple hard. She whimpers and holds her hands up, a plea on her lips. “I should’ve fucking known. I never should’ve played house with you, never should’ve pretended to be a devoted husband — you’d never have gotten comfortable enough to pull this shit if I hadn’t. How fucking dare you touch my family, Raya?”
I’m so focused on her that I failed to assess my surroundings properly, and I groan when I’m disarmed out of nowhere, not having anticipated another assailant. Raya is pulled away, and she falls to her knees on the hard stone floor, tears streaming down her face.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Xavier asks as Sierra runs up to Raya, dropping to the floor next to her. I blink in confusion, unable to comprehend what’s happening. Xavier pushes against my chest hard, and my back hits the closed elevator doors. “Have you lost your fucking mind? If you ever threaten your wife like that again, I’ll fucking incapacitate you.”
Raya begins to sob, and understanding begins to dawn when I look past them, finding Akshay lying on the floor, his face a mess. How the fuck did I miss him lying there? I saw Sierra, and then nothing — just blinding fury.
Fuck.
What have I done?
“Raya,” I murmur, and she flinches, burying her face against Sierra’s neck, taking comfort in my sister’s embrace. The puzzle pieces slowly click into place, and I run a hand through my hair. Sierra is completely unharmed, and Xavier is by her side. It’s exactly as my siblings and Raya expected, and I completely misread the situation.
“Lex,” Sierra says, as she begins to tell me everything that happened in the last couple of hours, right from the moment her signal cut off. “I knew you had a tracker on me, but I didn’t know it would cut off underground. I’m really sorry, Lex. I didn’t mean to worry you. It was only a few hours, and I didn’t think anyone would notice. I don’t even live at the Windsor Estate anymore, so I just assumed you’d never know.”
Xavier eyes me warily as I take a hesitant step toward Raya and Sierra. My sister throws me a conflicted look, like she understands where I’m coming from, but hates me for responding the way I did. She tenses as much as Raya does when I kneel in front of them.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m sorry, little fairy.”
Raya draws her knees to her chest and shakes her head. When she lifts her face to look at me, her eyes are filled with heartbreak. I’ve never seen her look at me that way before. She’s always been the light in my life, but now her gorgeous eyes are cast in shadows, and I only have myself to blame for it. “I didn’t mean it, Raya. I just…”
She sits up on her knees, her body trembling as Sierra helps her up. Nausea hits me hard and fast when I notice the red mark on the side of her face from where I pressed a gun to her head, bruises already forming. I stare down at my hands, disgust crashing through me. What the fuck have I done?
My wife faces me, her gaze filled with disappointment and pain. “I’m not her,” she says, her voice soft. “I’m not Jill, Lexington. I don’t deserve to pay for her crimes when all I’ve ever done was love you.”
“I know you’re not her,” I tell my wife, staring down at my feet. For a few moments, I was convinced Raya had done exactly what Jill did, and she’s right, I punished her for it before even hearing her out. Regret crashes through me, and my heart squeezes painfully. I draw a shaky breath and reach for her, only to pull my hand back the moment she flinches. I’d give anything to rewind time a few minutes, to take away that look in Raya’s eyes.
“Do you?” she asks. “Or did you just let the truth slip? I wondered, you know, if you were pretending. For months now, I’ve wondered if I was the only one falling in love, and now I have my answer.”
