A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(52)

“I just said what you’d been thinking, right?” Tommy asked.

Layla stared at him for several seconds before nodding.

“That’s not how it works. You don’t inherit evil. My father was a drunk who liked to beat me for having the audacity to breathe. Some people are assholes, doesn’t mean you’re anything like them. I’m not my father. I’m nothing like him. And you’re nothing like yours. You need to learn that. This world will crush you if you think you’re a monster when you’re not. There are enough actual monsters out there already.”

Tommy crossed the floor and picked up the box next to the safe. “Can I?”

Layla nodded, hesitantly.

Tommy lifted the lid off the box, exposing several thousand pounds’ worth of notes, three passports under various names, along with birth certificates and other documents, and a small yellow journal. He opened it and showed it to Layla. “This is the number your father is at, along with the address of the prison, yes?”

Layla nodded.

“Tabitha was in charge of him. She made sure that no one knew the location who didn’t need to know.” Tommy closed the book. “Do you know it by heart?”

Another nod.

He held out the journal to Layla, who took it, staring at it as if it might be poisonous. “Good. Destroy it. No one but you needs to know how to contact him. I certainly don’t.”

Tommy looked back in the box. “This is a gun, Layla. A Glock.”

“My mother got it after we moved here. Cost her a lot.”

Tommy ejected the magazine and found it empty, but discovered a box of bullets. He opened it and immediately closed it again. “Silver-tipped. These will kill most things in our world.”

“I don’t want them.”

Tommy placed them on the sofa. “We’ll dispose of them, if you like. The money is yours to do with as you please. The IDs . . . well, I hope you don’t need them. What are you afraid of, Layla? This isn’t just because you think you’ll become your father, so what else is it?”

Layla took a deep breath. “I’m alone, Tommy. My father is gone, my mother is dead. I don’t let myself get close to people because . . .”

“What if they go too?” Tommy finished for her.

Layla nodded. “It’s easier to not make attachments. But . . . the last few years, I’ve wanted to try. I want to live a normal life, where I can have friends and love and enjoy normal everyday activities. Where I don’t have to worry that the person being confrontational over something stupid will end up dead because I lose control.

“And every time I think I’m okay, those little voices come back and tell me that I should hurt someone, or I get into a fight and I enjoy it. I liked hurting those neighbors of mine who attacked me. I liked hurting Rob when he grabbed me. I’m not afraid I’m becoming my father, I’m afraid I’ll be worse. What if that’s what the demon inside of me does? What if it turns me into an even worse monster?”

Tommy looked up and saw tears roll down Layla’s cheeks. He walked over and hugged her. “Demons, beasts, monsters . . . nothing that can’t be tamed, or killed. We’ll tame your demon, Layla. We’ll make sure of it. You just need to fight, and never stop.”

Layla nodded, as somewhere in her mind Terhal laughed as if the idea of fighting her was the funniest thing in the world.





19

Elias had spent several hours trying to figure out a way to find out exactly which hospital Layla had been taken to. Eventually, he’d resorted to calling the hospitals pretending to be a concerned relative, but no one told him anything. It was infuriating.

Fortunately, Shane and Reyes had better luck locating Layla’s home address. Unfortunately, it was swamped with people Elias didn’t really want to deal with.

“Thomas Carpenter is there,” Reyes told him.

Elias rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. “Damn it. That man is beginning to become an irritant. No matter. It’s unlikely Layla would go back there, which means they’re keeping her holed up somewhere secure.”

“Well, I have much better news.” Shane opened a notepad and began reading through it as he spoke. “We tracked two of her friends. The first is Chloe, who works at a coffee shop in Ocean Village. She seems to own it, although I couldn’t find her there. I spoke to the woman behind the counter—a pretty blonde I would love to see again in a more personal way—who explained that Chloe owned the place. She was out visiting a friend. I then found another of Layla’s friends, Harry, who lives with several others in a house across town. I talked to one of them, and they explained that he was going to the hospital to see a friend.”

“Can we grab either of them?”

“Not Harry. Some of Tommy’s people were watching the place as I left. They didn’t follow me, but I’m sure they notified Tommy I’d been there. Chloe is a better bet, though.” Shane passed Elias the notepad with the address of the coffee shop on it.

“Why?” Dara asked. “Why is she the better bet?”

“More chances to grab her, and I didn’t see any of Tommy’s people watching the shop.”

“So, Layla’s probably at a hospital?” Dara said. “There are, what, four in Southampton?”