Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Because I didn’t mean to, but I caused this.
And the weight of it is too much.
It’s raining when I escape the building.
I’m glad because the rain makes it easier to let the tears fall.
Flashes of better times with Russell skate across my mind, making me sick to my stomach. The twinkle in his eye when he smiled at me.
It’s extinguished now—forever.
Because of something I did.
How is this my life?
This isn’t supposed to be my life. None of this was supposed to happen. I didn’t want this. Honestly, I didn’t want any of this.
Another thing I don’t want happens.
I hear the door open behind me, and my heart skitters.
I don’t have to look back to know it’s him.
And I can’t… I can’t look at him right now.
Some fogged part of my brain tells me it’s not safe to have my back to him, but I don’t even care at this moment. I don’t have the capacity to care.
I want to get as far away from Torrance Walters as I can, but I feel trapped. I’ve seen the way he operates, so I understand that the only way I’d get away is if he let me—and I doubt he’d let me.
Grabbing the railing to steady myself, I walk down the steps to the parking lot.
He’s just a step behind me.
“Please stay away from me. I need to… I need a minute.”
Instead of giving me what I asked for, he grabs my wrist, tugging me back into him. I stiffen, but he wraps his arms around me, holding me close as the rain falls harder. “I would give you a minute, but I don’t think that’s what you’re really asking for. And I think there are moments in life when distance—which is what you’re really asking for—can change everything. I can’t give you that right now.”
“Let me go,” I whisper.
“No,” he murmurs, almost apologetic. As if it’s something he can’t do, even if he wants to.
But that’s bullshit.
He just doesn’t want to.
Anger bubbles up inside, and I try to shrug him off, rolling my shoulder and pushing back against him. “I said, let me go.”
He doesn’t tell me no again, but he doesn’t let go, either.
His arms are locked around my waist, and I claw at them, trying to break his hold on me. My nails dig into his forearms, but his grip doesn’t ease. I grab his hand, trying to get some leverage, but he’s too goddamn strong. The frustration of it makes me crazy, and I keep clawing at him, pulling at his hands, twisting, but no matter how violently I fight him, he doesn’t let go.
Finally, his voice breaks through the rage—firm, in control. “This isn’t the time or the place for this, Cassie. We can talk later, but right now, we need to go back in there and show a united front.”
Even though I know the answer, I spin around to look him in the eyes when I whisper brokenly, “Did you kill my ex-boyfriend?”
His jaw locks, and he holds my gaze, but he doesn’t answer my question. “Like I said. It’s not the time or place.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “You want me to go in there and provide an alibi I know is bullshit, to protect someone I know killed someone close to me last night.”
“Yes. Just like I did for you.”
His words knock the air from my lungs. “It’s not the same,” I whisper, shaking my head. “Russell didn’t deserve it.”
He nods once, a barely perceptible movement. “I know. We can talk about it later when it’s just us. Right now, we need to focus on the story we’re telling the world—and it’s not that one.”
It’s not the first time I’ve been aware of him handling me since this roller-coaster ride started, but it is the first time I’ve wanted out of the car. “I can’t. I need to… I need to go home. I can’t go back in there.”
“You are going back in there,” he says calmly, as if it’s as much a certainty as the sun rising tomorrow. He brings his hand to my face, tilting my chin up and forcing my gaze to his. His blue eyes aren’t stormy, but his grip on my face is firm. He runs his thumb across my bottom lip, casually grazing it in a gesture that could be interpreted as tender, if not for the words he speaks next. “You know something about me that could get me locked up, just like I know something about you that could get you locked up. They’re both gone, Cassie, and no amount of self-sacrifice or noble gestures will change that. What we can do is move on. You can do all the good in the world you want to if you feel the need to make up for anything. I’ll help you. But we can’t do anything if we’re behind bars. We’re almost through this. It’s almost over. I’m not going to lose my freedom over this, and I think at this point you’ve realized you don’t want to lose yours, haven’t you?”