Lover's Betrayal: Misfits of the Lore Series (8 page)

“Don’t pretend like you’re innocent. I know you killed those girls.”

“Jules, you seriously need to get laid. Give it a shot. It might help with that stick you have lodged up your ass.”

“You sick bastard! Admit what you have done, or so help me God I will kill you before I let you harm another.” Julian, using his supernatural speed, appeared in front of Kaden ready to fight. Before he could strike, Olivia stood in between the boys, forcing them both to take a step back.

“Julian, please,” Olivia pleaded. “There’s no need to make such threats. Kaden is not responsible for this. We agreed to work together to investigate these killings and find the real killer.”

“No, Mother, you agreed. I know Kaden is guilty. There’s nothing to investigate. You just refuse to see the truth staring you in the face. I can’t help restore your sight if you choose to be blind.”

“She refuses to believe your lies, Julian. She knows I’m innocent and it pisses you off that you can’t poison her against me.”

“Believe me, I know that when it comes to the two of us, she will always choose you.”

“Stop this!” Olivia shouted. “Julian, I love you both equally. I don’t understand why you think I love Kaden more.”

“You don’t love him more. You don’t love at all. You are as cold as he is. No wonder you two bond so easily.”

Olivia grabbed Kaden before he could attack his younger brother. The last thing she wanted was for her sons to fight. They needed to work this out, and she needed to understand Julian’s rage.

“Those are not your words. They’re your father’s. You didn’t always think that way of me. We were very close at one point. Can you remember, Julian? I do. Every day I think about how things used to be. How you used to look at me with love. I always adored you. For a moment this morning, it was like that time when we could talk and laugh together without all this unnecessary tension. I know I’m far from perfect and that I made many mistakes, but I tried to be the best mother I could to both of you. Please try to judge me for me and not based on your father’s opinion. Our marriage was more complicated than you’ll ever understand. I will acknowledge that I did not love him and he did not really love me. Our marriage was based on obsession, control, and vengeance, but never love. Unfortunately, some of the taint of our marriage spilled onto our children. I regret my role in that. Please know that my feelings for your father have nothing to do with the way I feel about my sons. You two were the only good things to come from my marriage. Regardless of how I feel about your father, I owe him my gratitude for giving me my boys.”

Julian was overwhelmed with emotion. He wanted to believe Olivia’s words, but they were contrary to everything his father had taught him. “Why didn’t you love him? Why couldn’t you at least pretend to care for him? He did love you, and your unwillingness to love him killed him.”

Kaden’s ability to control his rage was beginning to fade. “You’re such a gullible idiot. You believe everything that man said. If you could take your head out of your ass for a moment, you would see him for the callous bastard he was. He didn’t love Mom, me, or you. He loved to manipulate us and you were the easiest target. We were all pawns in his game of chess and he moved us around for his amusement. He wanted both of us to hate Mom to punish her, but he couldn’t trick me. I’m too much like him to fall prey to his games. You were the fool he could dupe into listening to his ‘poor me’ nonsense. Only you would feel sorry for an old deceitful geezer like him. You may be the intellectual in the family, but at least I know my head from my ass.”

Julian reached his boiling point, but he was too drained to verbally spar with Kaden after his earlier confrontation with Corinne. He just wanted to escape. His home was no longer a sanctuary, but a place where the past he thought he left behind years ago had finally found him.

“I’m going out for a while,” Julian said as he walked to the door.

“You’re such a coward,” Kaden taunted. “I hurt your feelings, Jules, and now you have to run away. I’m sorry. Do you want me to kiss your wounded pride and make the pain go away?”

“That’s enough, Kaden,” Olivia reprimanded. She turned to Julian. “Darling, please stay and let’s work this out. Let’s end this feuding once and for all. Help me understand what this is between you two? I don’t understand all this bitterness. You were so close once. What happened? We can resolve this if we talk it out.”

“Nothing I say will change anything. Right now, I’m tired of talking. Let’s just meet up this evening and we can start investigating these murders. That’s the most important thing. We can deal with our family drama once we find the vamp killing these women.” As Julian stared at Kaden, he added, “Although I already have all the proof I need.”

II

Olivia craved fresh air to help her escape the stifling stench of anger in this room. She was so drained from all the arguing and desperately needed a few moments of peace. As if Kaden was reading her mind, he suggested, “Let’s get out of here. We can take a long walk. I know I could use a break from this place, and I’m sure you could use one as well.”

Olivia and Kaden walked around the grounds of Julian’s estate. They talked casually about the beauty of this area, which was a stark contrast to the eeriness that hovered over this place at night. The backyard was filled with lush greenery like a never-ending garden of paradise. It was as if the trees were alive as they swayed under the gentle breeze. Olivia could walk forever here and never tire of all this life surrounding her, filling her with a tranquility she had not experienced in years. She could see why Julian cherished this place and why he wanted to rid his sanctuary of the darkness that enveloped it when Kaden arrived.

They strolled to a riverbank on the far end of Julian’s land. Olivia immediately felt the peace of the serene sounds of the water. She sat down on a large rock, dipping her feet into the chilled water. Kaden joined her and the two sat in silence for several moments until Kaden broke the silence.

“Do you think I killed those girls?” Kaden turned to Olivia, waiting for her to meet his eyes. She did a moment later. “Tell me the truth. It’s just you and me here.”

Olivia knew that she could not hide in this peaceful area forever. No matter how tempting it was to escape in the solace of this moment, reality could not be avoided. Kaden’s question made it clear that he would not allow it to be. Olivia was not surprised by the question, as she knew Kaden would need her reassurance. He would rather perish than admit that he needed to know she believed in him no matter what. “I know you didn’t kill those girls, Kaden. There is no doubt in my mind of your innocence.”

Kaden could see the honesty in her eyes and it baffled him that she could have so much faith in him when all of the evidence said otherwise. He still could not accept her trust in him. “How can you be so sure? I knew all those girls. I was with all of them shortly before they died.” He wondered if those facts would create doubt.

“I’m sure because I know you. You would not do something like that.”

Kaden had one more fact to test her loyalty. “Are you so sure? Did you know that there are others? Other women I slept with recently who ended up dead the same way. Either that is one big coincidence, or I’m guilty.”

Olivia responded without hesitation, “It’s neither. It’s not a coincidence and you’re not guilty. There’s a third option and that’s where the truth lies—the real story—and I’m going to do all I can to help you figure it out.”

Kaden looked at her in disbelief. She truly believed in him even though she had every reason to doubt him. He couldn’t blame her if she did. “Is this a mother thing where you can’t believe that your child could ever do something bad?”

“No. I’m not nearly as ignorant as you and Julian like to believe I am. Kaden, I know you’re no saint. I know you’ve done some things I wouldn’t want to know about, but I also know that you aren’t innately bad. You have a gentle heart that you keep hidden from just about everyone, including yourself at times. I know that you would do anything for those you love. This killer is a soulless monster and despite the fact that you like to pretend that you’re one, you’re not. Remember, mio angelo, I carried you inside me, gave you life, and watched you transform into the man you are. You’re no monster -- you seem to want everyone to think you are, but you’ll never fool me. This is the mother thing where you accept your child, both the good and the bad sides, and you love him regardless.”

Kaden could not accept this unconditional parental love for a child. “You really are blind. I don’t have a heart and I sold my soul years ago. I’ve killed many and none of these girls meant a damn thing to me other than a moment’s pleasure. I discarded them like trash when I got my fill of them. Now they’re all dead. Don’t try to turn me into some hero. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Julian is the hero type that would save the damsel in distress. He’s the one who would stop and take care of the bleeding victim on the side of the road. I would walk right by her or kill her myself if she got in my way.”

Olivia knew that the crassness behind Kaden’s words was guilt. He might like to think he was a mystery to her, but she knew her son. He had been living with so much guilt for so long—guilt that she blamed herself for by failing him when he needed her the most. She had to help him find peace before it was too late. “You saved me when I was a damsel in distress. You didn’t sit back and let me suffer. You risked everything to save me despite the pain it would cause you. You’re certainly my hero.”

Kaden stood up and began to pace by the riverbank. Olivia sat there quietly, letting her son deal with his emotional turmoil. After several moments, Olivia continued. “Is that why you feel like you sold your soul?”

Kaden stopped pacing and faced her again. “What do you mean?”

“By saving me, do you feel like you sold your soul?”

“I have no regrets about what I did. It had to be done. I would have done it sooner had I known what was happening to you. I wish you would have told me sooner. Things could have been different.” Kaden sat beside Olivia again and reached for her hand. “I can’t undo how I came to be, but I would if it would make you happy. If I could take that pain from you, I would gladly sacrifice my life to free you of it. I’m so sorry that my life ruined yours. There’s no way I can make that up to you.”

Olivia’s heart ached to hear those words from Kaden. How long had he been living with this kind of guilt? The fault lay with her for failing to do more when he found out the truth years ago. “Kaden, I adored you the moment I held you in my arms. I lived for you. You were the one light that helped me see my way through all of the darkness. I would have been lost without you. Please believe me when I say that you were my greatest blessing and never a regret. I would never want to go back in time and change having you.”

“You can’t possibly feel that way. You never wanted him. You never loved him, but he made sure he would have you -- if not willingly, then by force. He was so proud of how he forced you to his bed. He boasted about it like you were his most successful conquest. He used to tell me how he raped you and planted his seed in you so that you would never escape him and no one else would ever have you. Because of me, you would never be free of him. How could you possibly love me when I was the product of your greatest pain and the cause of your eternal suffering? How can you stand the sight of me, knowing I cost you everything?”

Olivia tried to hold back the tears, as she needed to be strong for Kaden. He needed her more than ever and she was determined to keep it together for him. She owed him that much. “I wish that I could tell you that you were conceived in love and not the violence of that night, but we know it’s not true. Even though you were not conceived in love, you were born to love. I hated your father for what he did to me, but I never ever blamed you. I loved you with every ounce of my being from day one. You taught me that something good could come from the deepest of hurts. You were my gift that enabled me to survive. I would have died had you not been conceived. You made me want to live and I lived for you and your brother. Please don’t punish yourself anymore for this. I wouldn’t change anything if that meant I didn’t have you. I used to call you angioletto di mamma, mommy’s little angel, because that’s what you were and always will be to me. You’re my little angel, my precious boy that gave me strength, courage, and life. I could never feel anything but the greatest of loves for you.”

Kaden never cried. He refused to release worthless tears that would not change anything. At this moment, for the first time since he was a child, he felt like crying. Rather than show this emotion, he reached over and hugged his mother and she tenderly stroked his back, allowing him to deal with this whirlwind of overwhelming emotion.

“I’m so sorry for not helping you deal with this sooner. I hid from this truth rather than discussing it with you as you needed me to do. When did Daughton tell you all of this? I thought he had only told you the night you two fought, but now it’s clear you have known for quite some time.”

Kaden released her, but remained at her side. “He told me when I was eighteen. We had gotten into one of our gazillion arguments about his other women. I hated the fact that he was with others when he was supposed to be devoted to you. He told me that you were a cold fish and that he had no choice to seek comfort from others when his wife refused to warm his bed. I called him a lying bastard. I told him that no one could love someone like him and he told me that no one could ever love me as well, especially you. Then he told me about the rape and how you agreed to marry him as a result of me. You were shamed into marriage because of me.”

“That’s not true, Kaden.” Olivia did not want to explain the whole story to Kaden, as that would have meant a discussion about Lucian and she was not prepared to talk about her true mate. Neither Kaden nor Julian knew about Lucian and their unbreakable connection. “Why didn’t you come to me about this then? You waited so long. What finally pushed you to…”

“To kill him? What pushed me to kill my own father? Years and years of wanting to kill the SOB finally were realized five years ago. That night, I was about to go out and I heard him telling one of his twisted friends that he was tired of playing games with you. After all these years, you still would not desire him. He said he wanted you that night and that he would have you one way or the other. I knew what that meant. I couldn’t save you before, but I could now. I waited to see what he would do. I followed him to your room and I heard him threaten you. I was afraid to go in there. He was my father and he was much stronger than I could ever be. I sat there shaking by your door as he taunted you. I don’t remember anything he said, but I remember the sound of that whip slicing into your flesh and the cry you screamed in response. Whatever fear I felt at that moment faded and it was replaced by a rage I had never imagined. My whole body was on fire and I just wanted to destroy everything. The door just flew off its hinges and I saw him there with the whip in his hand ready to unleash another blow as you were on the ground crying. The next thing I remember is your voice calming me telling me to come back to you. Then I saw his ashen body on the ground and I realized that I had finally killed the monster. We were all free.”