Betrayal of Cupids Read Online Free PDF Page A

closed door.  I took that as a hint, breaking free from Aunt Kathryn’s hold.  I slammed my body weight into the door and pushed through.
    They were all there, seated around a table, facing me.
    “Grace,” my father’s right hand man stood to address me, “we’re in the middle of something.  Can we talk later?”
    “No.  Listen, you need to know, Sean Cassidy was the one who killed my father.”
    “Grace, no.  We understand you’ve been through a lot—”
    “Yes, he did.”
    “I think I know who I have and haven’t killed.”
    The sultry, deep voice stopped my heart from beating.  It couldn’t be.  The chair directly in front of me swung around.  It was Sean.
    “No. No.”  I backed up, but the wall behind me stopped my steps.
    “Grace, it was all a misunderstanding, but I did not kill your father.  I would never have done that.  I had too much respect for the man.”
    “I watched you!”  I screamed at him.  I didn’t care who heard me.
    “You didn’t.  You were traumatized.”  He looked at Mr. Muscles.  “You saw the whole thing, right?”
    “I did.  It was Ryan.  I told her that before she stormed in here.”
    “He’s lying!” I screamed.  “They’re all lying!”
    “Grace, it was Ryan Cassidy, my nephew.  The man who seduced you only to get closer to your family.”  He reached his hand out to touch me.  I couldn’t get away.  His fingers caressed my arm.  “It’s all right.  I’m not going to hurt you.  I would never hurt you.”
    His fingers moved to my chest.  To any outsider, it might look as though he was trying to calm me down, but I knew what he was doing.  He was getting in my head.
    The rest of the room disappeared.  It was only Sean and me and the memories he pulled along with him.
    There was another voice.  “Sean has offered to help us get revenge against the Cupids .”
    “Now would I do that if I was the one who killed your father?”
    “What’s your angle?”  I whispered, so only he could hear me.
    He gave me a crooked smile.  “There’s no angle, sweetheart.  I just go where the power is.”
    With that, he pressed his thumb into my sliced sternum, reminding me that he was in control.  I could feel the stitches giving way to the pressure.
    I looked to the group, hoping to find one friendly face in the crowd, someone who would believe me.
    “Don’t trust him.”
    They all looked at me as though I was a sad child, making up stories in my head. 
    “Get her out of here.”
    Mr. Muscles pulled me from the room.  I was too shocked to fight him.  Then, at my own request, he took me home.  He escorted me up to my room and opened the door, allowing me to step inside, and then shut the door behind me.  I really was a prisoner.  The evening had gone exactly the way Sean would’ve wanted.  He had won. 
    I circled my room, trying to convince myself to calm down, but to no avail.  I needed a break from my thoughts, from my memories.  I needed to escape the rabbit hole I was beginning to tumble down.
     
    The old sycamore scraped against the window, pulling me from my trance.  Maybe this wasn’t the end, maybe there was another way.  I eyed the strong branches, calculating, planning.  Sean had only won that round.  I had a way out.
     

 
     

    Ryan
     
    The water from the shower warmed my sweat-chilled body.  I truly could have stayed under the spray forever, allowing the water to wash away my pain, but that was not an option.  I stepped out onto the worn bathmat and wrapped a dark gray towel around my hips.  I slid my hand across the fogged mirror, revealing my tired face in the reflection.  I had let a good deal of stubble form over the last few days.  While I wanted to walk away, not taking my appearance into consideration, I was reminded that this day was about Pops.  I would try to look my best for him.
    I slid the razor down my cheek, knocking the shaving cream into the sink with each swipe.  After the final pull, I