Lily rode in the truck with Ryder and Grace, as we all followed behind. It was a half-hour drive to Bridal Veil, a tiny town nestled into the Columbia River Gorge. Lush with a thick canopy of trees, the cabins that most people lived in were down winding dirt roads, their homes concealed behind towering curtains of pines and oaks and ashy-white birch.

It was one of those places where it was easy to hide. Where neighbors kept to themselves and minded their own business, no matter what. A place where you would only be found if you wanted to be found.

If Lily hadn’t shown us the way in, down multiple back roads and many unmarked turns, we’d have never found it. To be safe and not spook Luke, we hung way back from the cabin, out of sight while we discussed our plan.

For me, the plan was simple.

Lily and I would go in and confront Luke, a united front against his abuse.

But the Gods had other ideas.

They wanted to surround the place, go in all at once, use the element of surprise against him.

But Lily and I both knew better than that.

That was the kind of thing Luke thrived on.

Chaos, sudden assaults, the unexpected blow…

He’d trained for that. He lived for that.

What he wasn’t trained for was the full force of two women scorned. He was used to getting what he wanted from us. He’d always expected that we would bow down to him, that we’d submit to his every demand.

He would never expect I’d show up here with his wife, all his secrets exposed. That was the element of surprise that we needed.

The illusion of his power would be shredded.

“No,” Lily said, rejecting their proposals. “Daisy and I go in together. We got this. Y’all hang back. If we need you, we’ll call. I know how to handle this motherfucker.”

“So do I,” I said.

The Gods all muttered in half-hearted agreement once they realized we weren’t straying from what we thought was the best approach.

“Let’s go,” she said, her eyes fierce with rock-hard determination, a complete contrast to the way she was dressed. She’d added a pair of slouchy suede boots to her outfit, her bangles jangling as she threw her purse over her shoulder. “Can we take the truck?”

I looked over at Jason and he handed me the keys.

“We’re right behind you,” he said.

“Make sure you stay out of sight,” Lily said. “If he spooks, my plan won’t work.”

“We’ll be close, but he won’t see us,” Ryder said. “If you get in trouble, open a curtain or blind to signal us. If we see that, we’ll run right in.”

Jason grabbed me, hugging me tight.

“We got this,” I murmured into his chest. I knew he was worried. I was worried, too. But Luke had my boy. I had no choice but to take this chance to get him back. Sure, we could have called the cops. They would have raided the place, guns blasting, and the chances of my boy surviving a storm of flying bullets seemed like a lot worse than me and Lily walking in alone.

“I’m there in a second, just give the signal,” Jason said. I pulled away, staring into his eyes.

“Right. Open a curtain. Got it. Thanks.” I gave him a quick nod and jumped in his truck. Lily was already inside, waiting behind the wheel. The truck started up with a loud roar and she put it into gear, slowly following the dirt road.

“It’s just around this bend,” Lily said.

A lump formed in my throat, my heart racing as the cabin came into view.

“I was right,” Lily said, “there’s his truck.”

The truck was parked next to a modest little log cabin, surrounded by acreage of thick, old growth. A large deck surrounded the house, attaching to a covered front porch with an old rocking chair next to the door.

“How quaint,” I muttered, my hands shaking.

“I guess. It’s cold and dusty and dark. Not exactly my cup of tea.”

“So, how are we going to handle this?” I asked, looking over at her after she parked the truck.

“You’ll see,” she said. “I have a plan.”

“You act like you’ve done this a million times,” I said, flashing her a half-smile.

“Stand up to Luke? No. But I’ve dreamt about it for years,” she said, her eyes glossing over.

“I just want my boy. You ready?”

“Let’s do this,” she said, opening the truck door, throwing her purse over her shoulder and waiting for me before we walked to the door of the cabin together. We stood in front of the door, looked at each other and nodded before she reached out and knocked.

The door flew open quickly, startling us both.

Luke stood there, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, holding Alex — a very wet, very naked Alex.

The initial look of shock only lasted a second, before it was replaced with relief.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Lily? God, I’m so glad to see you both,” he said, ushering us both in and closing the door.

“Alex!” I cried. He reached out for me and jumped into my arms.

“Alex, huh?” Luke said, handing him to me willingly. “That’s his name? Hell, I’m surprised his name isn’t Little Hellion or something. He will not shut the fuck up!”

“Hello to you too, Luke,” Lily said, her voice cool and calm.

“Why is he naked? And wet? Where are his clothes?” I demanded.

“He pissed himself, that’s why! His clothes are ruined. I don’t have any fucking diapers. Why isn’t he toilet trained, for fuck’s sake?”

“He’s only one, you idiot!” I spotted a quilt on the couch and grabbed it, wrapping it around Alex’s body.

“What did you call me?” he sneered, coming towards me. I stood my ground, lifting my chin defiantly.

He didn’t own me anymore.

He didn’t have any power over me.

I could say whatever the hell I wanted to him, call him whatever I pleased.

“Luke.” Lily said. She stood behind him, but her voice stopped him. He turned around slowly, giving her his full attention. As soon as their eyes met, a slow, creepy smile spread across her face. “Baby, what the hell happened?”

“I fucked up, Lily,” he said, shaking his head. I couldn’t see his face, only hers, but her eyes softened and she nodded, putting her arms out. He stepped forward, embracing her.

My stomach turned.

“It’s okay, baby. So you knocked up a whore, so what? It’s nothing we can’t fix.”

My eyes widened at her words. Had she really just called me a whore? What did she mean, fix?

“I thought you’d be mad as hell,” he said.

“I was, but I’m over it. Besides, she’s kind of a bitch. I don’t like her. Do you want the baby or should we get rid of him, too?”

“No, way. That’s my son. We’ll just get a bunch of nannies to take care of him, I have it all planned out, babe. You’ll see. It won’t inconvenience you at all. Maybe he’ll grow up to be a good lad. I want him to grow up to be just like me!”

My guts churned at his words.

I eyed the door, taking a step towards it, clutching Alex to my chest. I leaned down, kissing his forehead, inhaling the scent of him. My heart ached to think I’d almost lost him. If I didn’t get us both out of here, that might still happen.

I moved towards the door, hoping I could get close enough while Lily distracted Luke. I took another step and Lily’s voice rang out.

“You aren’t going anywhere, bitch,” she said, her eyes raking over me with complete disdain.

“What?” I cried. I’d thought calling me a whore was all part of her plan, that she was just distracting him. If she’d not called me out, I could have gotten out of the house. Now, they were both staring at me and the look in their eyes told me they had no intention of letting me leave alive.

“Just let me go,” I pleaded. “I won’t tell anyone about this, I promise. I’ll just take Alex and it’s over. Please, Luke?”

“She’s lying.”

My eyes shot over to Lily, pleading her for help.

“She’s got a whole gang of bikers and some other bitches outside just waiting to come in here and blow a hole in your head.”

“You bitch!” I cried.

“Did you seriously think I would have your back? Some whore that seduced my husband and didn’t have the good sense to keep from getting knocked up? What kind of fool did you think I was? You really thought I would side with you, instead of my husband?” She laughed, walking over to Luke and putting an arm around his waist.

“Are you thirsty, babe?” she asked, looking up at him lovingly. “I grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the house. I didn’t know how much you had up here.”

“That’s my girl,” he said, leaning down and kissing her hard on the lips.

“I’ll get you a glass,” she cooed, breaking away from him and going to the kitchen, leaving us alone in the living room. He turned to me, his eyes staring me down like I was his prey.

“Hello, Scarlet.”

“My name’s Daisy,” I said.

He nodded slowly, sneering as he walked towards me, stopping right in front of me. He was so close I could touch him, hit him, gouge his eyes out. But Alex was in my arms and there was no way in hell I was ever letting him go again. Luke reached out and ran his fingers through Alex’s hair gently. His eyes peered into mine.

“Alex what?”

“What?” I asked.

“What’s his middle name?”

“Oh. Jason.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“After Dr. Jason Boone?”

“No.”

“Right, sure. Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant, Scarlet?”

“Daisy.”

“Whatever,” he replied. “You could have come to me. You didn’t have to run off like that.”

“It’s not like we were in a relationship, Luke. Your wife is right. I was just a whore to you.”

“Perhaps,” he said. “I mean you are a whore, but flesh and blood means something, doesn’t it? I have a right to know my son.”

“You raped me. You paid money to rape me whenever you wanted.”

He reached out, grabbing a curl from the side of my face and wrapping it around his finger. I shuddered in disgust and pulled my head away.

“You didn’t complain so much.”

“You paid me, and Ruby, for me not to complain. That was part of the contract, wasn’t it?”

“Tell me you didn’t enjoy it, just a little bit?” he asked, his face half an inch away from my mine, a sick smirk spread across his face.

“Of course she enjoyed it,” Lily said, walking back into the room, a ceramic coffee cup in her hand. “With that monster cock of yours, baby? Any woman would love it. Even a whore.”

Luke laughed and pulled away from me, taking the cup from her.

“I couldn’t find a glass,” she said.

“I could have drank from the bottle, hell, that kid gave me such a headache, I’m going to need the whole thing.”

Lily waited until Luke sat down on the couch, then she went over and sat down in his lap, snuggling up next to him. He took a sip from the cup and she smiled. He took another and another, the silence in the room nearly drowning out the pounding in my chest.

“That hit the fucking spot, babe,” he said. “Thank you for bringing that. You do know how to take care of your man, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, baby,” she said, running her fingers through his hair.

He took another sip and sat back, stretching his arms out, as he stared over at me.

“So, how are we going to get rid of this problem of ours?” he asked.

“Did you bring your gun?” she asked.

“Hell, yeah,” he said, pointing to the table beside him, at the gun that I’d already spotted. “Got plenty of bullets out in the truck, too. One should do it, though, unless you want to have a little fun with her first.”

“Things have been a little boring lately, haven’t they?” Lily asked. “It might be good to shake things up a little, don’t you think? Get out of our little rut.”

“That sounds good to me,” he said, slapping her ass. He took another drink from the cup, a long deep one this time.

I eyed the door again, then the window. If I could get to the window and open the white lace curtain hanging there, the Gods would rush in. But that would mean gunfire, lots of it, and I couldn’t make myself take that risk just yet.

“Can’t we talk this out?” I asked. “I’ll give you guys partial custody or something.” I was lying out of my teeth, but I’d have said anything to get me and Alex out of here alive.

“The media would be all over that,” Lily said, shaking her head. “That won’t work. Then, everyone would know my husband was a lying, cheating bastard.”

Luke looked up at her in surprise.

“Hey…” he said. “That hurts.”

“What?” Lily asked, smiling down at him. “It’s true, right? That’s what you are. Oh, wait, I said I wasn’t mad, didn’t I?” She stood up, leaving him in the chair as she looked down at him. She shrugged and then leaned down, staring into his eyes. “I guess I lied.”

“What the fuck, Lily?” he asked. “You stupid bitch, talking to me like that…”

He went to stand up, his hand already raised to strike her, but he fell back into the chair instead. He shook his head, a confused look on his face, as he tried to stand up again. He made it to his feet this time, took one step, then collapsed onto the floor at Lily’s stilettos.

“What the hell,” he murmured, his voice a low, weak slur.

“Daisy,” she asked, leaving him there and turning to me. “Did Luke ever tell you anything about me?”

“No, not really,” I answered, watching with confusion as Luke writhed on the ground.

“Figures,” she shrugged. “When we met I was in college at PSU. I was there on a full scholarship as a Chemistry major. At first, I thought it would be fun to learn how to make acid. I was a bit of a druggie, back then. Really into the psychedelics, but I loved learning. When I met Luke, he made me quit school. I could have had a promising career, but I turned all that down, just to be his wife.”

“Wow,” I said, nodding.

Luke struggled to get to his feet, his limbs splayed out around him like weak tentacles. Lily looked down at him, her eyes filled with hatred.

“You took my whole life away, you bastard,” she whispered, seething.

“What did you do to me?” he cried.

“I’ll tell you what I did. But first, I’m going to tell you what I didn’t do. I didn’t cheat on you. I didn’t hit you. I didn’t talk down to you, or call you names. And you know what else I didn’t do, Luke? I didn’t participate in fucking sex trafficking and turn into an evil, cold-hearted bastard!” Tears fell down her face as she looked down at him.

He was shivering now and he looked up at her with something I’d never seen in Luke Sullivan’s eyes.

Fear.

“You deserved every blow, you bitch!” he said, the words spitting out of him. He clutched his heart, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

“I really fucking loved you,” she whispered. “God, I was so stupid.”

“Lily…” I whispered, my head spinning. What the hell was happening? I clutched Alex to my breast, hiding his eyes.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’ll be over soon,” she said. She leaned down, grabbing a fistful of Luke’s hair and forcing him to look up into her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Luke. You always thought I was and now this is my opportunity to show you that I’m not. We’re all dying to hear it, right?” She chuckled, before continuing. “You might as well know before your little light switch turns off. Ever hear of a little thing called cyanide, baby?” She let go of his hair and his head slumped down. She walked around the room, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. “It’s really difficult to get, apparently, unless you’re in the FBI or the CIA. But you know what isn’t difficult? Making it! Of course, you have to know what you’re doing, but with a little bit of knowledge — oh, say, the type of knowledge someone might obtain while striving for a Chemistry degree — well, then you could easily make it yourself. Cyanide can be extracted from a number of plants, did you know that, Luke? Such as apples, plums, peaches…and oh yes, even apricots, darling! In fact, apricots are the best because you don’t need as many as you would if you used apples. Anyway, you use a little process that involves grinding up a hell of a lot of those apricots seeds, like so many you wouldn’t believe it, but you heat them up and do some other magic that a simple guy like you would never understand, Luke, and then voila! Cyanide! Isn’t that crazy? All from apricots!”

“Apricots!” Luke sputtered, his head wobbly, his hands weakly trying to grasp for the table. Lily reached over him and grabbed the gun, placing it on the kitchen counter, far away from Luke’s writhing, weak, pathetic grasp.

“That’s right, you prick. Could you taste it in the whiskey? I was hoping the taste of the whiskey was strong enough to hide it. I couldn’t try it myself, of course. I’ve been waiting for the right time to try it on you. I’ve planned on doing this long before I found out what you did to Daisy. You’re an abusive asshole, you’ve shown me nothing but that side of you for years. How many times have you hit me and laughed about it? How many times have you humiliated me? How many times did you think I would allow it before I’d snap and use my strength and intelligence to get away from you? What happened to you, Luke? You used to be kind. Was it fame that ruined you? Money? Or did you just get bitter?”

“Daisy,” Luke muttered, reaching out for me. “Help me, please…”

I looked over at him in a daze, shaking my head.

“Why would I do that?” I asked. “I’m glad you’re dying. You deserve to die. Does it hurt?” I asked Lily, looking up at her.

“It will. His blood pressure will lower until he has a heart attack. That’s when the real pain starts,” she said, a ghostly smile on her face.

I nodded, satisfied.

“Good.”

I walked over, standing over Luke, my hands covering Alex’s eyes and ears as I spoke.

“My son will never know you existed. He’ll never know the monster his father was. He’ll never be anything like you.”

He stared up at me and then froze before he began shaking, his entire body gripped in a seizure.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot. The seizures come right before the heart attack,” Lily said, her voice calm as a gentle breeze. She reached over and put her arm around my shoulders as we both watched Luke die in front of us.

The seizure stopped, a long string of drool dripping from his mouth. His eyes opened, slow and dull and lifeless, before he stiffened again, his legs and arms straightening out around him.

“Ah, yes, there’s the heart attack,” Lily murmured, nodding slowly.

Luke’s body seized completely, until he stopped moving all together, his eyes closed, his head thrown back, his soul…gone.

“Should we do something?” I asked Lily.

“Yeah,” she said, leaning over and kissing my forehead. “Open the curtain, babe. He’s dead. Your friends can come in now.”