Vicious Cycle (Vicious Cycle #1)(75)
Defeated by the painful cloud of grief that swelled around me, I walked over to my desk and collapsed down into the chair. Cradling my head in my hands, I wept openly and unashamedly. As I cried, images of Deacon and me together played through my mind. Him with Willow. Him with his brothers. Him in those last moments as he walked out the door to the horrible fate that awaited him.
Once I began to recover, I swiped my arms across my moistened face. A tissue came into my line of sight. “Thank you, Archer,” I murmured, as I took it to dab my eyes.
“You’re welcome, Miss Evans.”
I jerked my head up at the stranger’s voice. Every molecule in my body seemed to flare in distress. Although I wanted to scream for help, my vocal cords twisted in fear to where I could do nothing but squeak. When my gaze darted to the classroom doorway, the man held up his hand. “Don’t worry about the prospect. He’s only being momentarily detained. I didn’t find it necessary to shed his blood today.”
“W-who are y-you?” I stammered.
He flashed me a wicked smile. “I’m sure you already know the answer to that question, Miss Evans. You are a smart girl, being a teacher.”
“Sigel?”
With a flourished bow, he said, “The one and only.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I see you’re a woman who doesn’t beat around the bush. I’m glad to see that. I hate when my time is wasted. I’ve come here to pay my respects for the loss of your dearly departed boyfriend.”
My fists clenched in my lap. Anger outweighed my fear, and I felt like at any minute I might launch myself at Sigel.
Cocking his head, Sigel seemed to be weighing my body language. “I hope you will believe me when I say I had no idea Deacon would be anywhere near Case’s house.”
“And I hope you will believe me when I say that is utter bullshit.”
Sigel’s deep blue eyes widened at my statement. “I can see why Deacon liked you so much. You’re like a hellcat, aren’t you, Miss Evans?” Nausea washed over me at Sigel’s use of the word “hellcat.” It was one Deacon had used to tease me.
When I refused to answer him, Sigel shook his head. “The plan was to take out Case, which would enrage Deacon enough to come after me. I would then be able to get my personal revenge. Trust me that having him taken out in a simple explosion served no purpose for me.” His expression darkened even further. “He received far too quick and painless a death, considering what I had in store for him.”
While it was still hard to imagine that Sigel hadn’t planned on taking Deacon out, his words certainly gave me something to think about. “With Deacon dead, I can’t imagine what you could possibly want from me,” I said in a low voice.
“You were once a very valuable commodity to me, Miss Evans. I’m sure that was made clear to you when you spent some time with my former associate, Crank.”
Jerking my chin up at him, I said, “If you for one minute think you can use me to get to Willow, you might as well kill me right here and now. As long as I have a breath left within me, I’ll keep that child safe!”
Sigel made a tsking noise in his throat. “You once again have missed the mark on this one, Miss Evans. I don’t want Deacon’s brat. While I’m sure her death would greatly affect Rev and some of the other brothers, it would do little for me, considering her father is now dead.”
“Then what do you what?” I demanded, my voice shrill.
“You know, they say it’s a small world, and I wouldn’t have actually believed how small it could be until you came into Deacon Malloy’s life.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do. So let me refresh your memory. I’m sure you might’ve heard that cocksucker you spread your legs for mention that I had a son. A son that he murdered.”
“In revenge for you killing his father,” I spat back.
“Touché, Miss Evans. I suppose you subscribe to the Old Testament vengeance of an eye for an eye like your former boyfriend did.” When I didn’t answer him, he started a leisurely stroll around my desk, while his gaze roamed around. “You have a lovely classroom. In a way, it reminds me of your mother’s.”
My heartbeat shuddered to a stop and then restarted. “Excuse me?”
His eyes met mine. “I think you heard me right.”
“But how is it possible that you knew my mother?”
“You see this is where our small worlds collide. Once upon a time, your mother taught my son, Andy. It was second or third grade. I don’t remember exactly now.”
“Second. She only ever taught kindergarten and second,” I murmured softly.
“Ah, thank you for reminding me.” Sigel came to face me again. “Your mother was one hell of a nosy bitch. Instead of worrying about all the snot-nosed brats she had to teach, she focused on Andy. She couldn’t seem to believe that he got the bruises on his arms and legs from simply playing. She didn’t seem to understand that I subscribed to a very old-school form of discipline for my children. So she turned the case over to the local CPS. I couldn’t have them snooping around in my life, so we disappeared. We hopped from county to county, never going too far from my club.” His soulless blue eyes focused on mine. “One thing that could be said for your mother was that she had one hell of a memory. I thought I’d put enough time and space between the former charges when I moved back and Andy started high school.”