“Don’t call me that!” Spittle flew from his lips. “Don’t fucking say that word. I’m not your brother.”
Max whined with fear. Hayden took another step back.
A part of me wanted to tell him that I’d never been our father’s golden child. That everything he’d seen had been for show. He hadn’t been throwing rocks at the house of a happy, perfect family. We’d been broken too, just in a different way.
But I had a feeling that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. And he wouldn’t believe me anyway.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you and I’m sorry he treated you like that. It isn’t right.”
“Too late now. What’s done is done.”
“Can you please move away from the edge? I don’t want you to fall.”
“Oh, no. That’s not what’s happening here.” His lips curled in a cruel smile. “I’m not going to end as the sad, pathetic bastard son of a crooked politician, throwing himself off a cliff because he can’t go on. We’re not out here because I’m suicidal.”
I swallowed hard. I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway. “Then why are we here?”
“I’ve thought about this long and hard, I want you to know that. I liked my life before you showed up. I’d finally found peace. I just want my life back.”
“You have your life. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
He shook his head, almost sadly. “No, I don’t. I was in control before, but I’m not now, and I won’t be if you’re here. I thought it would be enough to make you go away but that just leaves the door open for you to come back again. Besides, I’m smart enough to realize I don’t want to grapple with that mountain man you’ve been fucking.”
Josiah. His name ran through my mind, almost like a prayer. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of leaving him. There was no doubt in my mind Hayden wanted me dead and the pain that would cause Josiah was more horrible than the possibility of being murdered.
“He did me quite the favor by leaving you alone today. I thought I might have to wait longer for this opportunity. And if you’re wondering whether you’ll survive the fall, I can assure you, you won’t. It’s nothing but rocks at the bottom.” His lip curled again. “I’ve tested it.”
I didn’t want to know what poor creature, or creatures, he’d thrown off that cliff.
Could I outrun him? I was in flip-flops and probably had a broken toe. He was taller than me and undoubtedly faster. And would he push Max over the edge if I ran?
“So you’re just going to throw me over?”
He reached behind him and pulled a knife out of his back pocket. “After I kill your dog in front of you.”
“You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m thorough. Trust me, the suicide note is very convincing, as is the journal confessing all the mental health problems you tried to hide. And no one will find Max’s body. They’ll come to the conclusion that you jumped and your dumb dog ran off and probably got eaten by a cougar.” His eyes narrowed and he held up the knife. “If you run, I’ll kill him slowly—make sure it hurts.”
“Why are you telling me all this? Why didn’t you just do it?”
“I like seeing the fear in your eyes. It’s quite a rush. You unleashed the darkness, Audrey, and I don’t know if I’ll ever put it back.”
It felt like I was watching the birth of a serial killer. They’d say later that I’d been his first victim—the one who gave him a taste for it.
Maybe I would be. But I wasn’t going down without a fight.
Out of nowhere, Max spun around and barked. Hayden jerked the leash to turn him around, his face contorting in an ugly grimace.
“Fucking dog.”
There was movement behind them. Max tried to turn around again and it took me a split second to realize what I was seeing.
An arm reached over the edge, followed quickly by a shoulder. My eyes widened as Josiah muscled himself over the cliff, right behind Hayden.
Our eyes met, and in that instant, we were one. He didn’t have to give me a signal or yell out instructions. I knew. He knew. And we both sprang into action.
I dove forward, hitting the ground so hard it almost knocked the breath from my lungs. But I grabbed the leash and bent my knees to get my feet under me.
Hayden’s snarl of hatred as he tried to keep his grip on the leash was interrupted by a surprise from behind. Josiah tackled him to the ground and the knife flew out of his hand.