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What we had within the walls of this room, behind the locked doors and barred windows, was beautiful and fragile, like a butterfly with damaged wings. It was what lurked outside this room that was a problem.
The evil in this place was like a sinister cloud that hovered in the air, weighing you down until it became too much to carry.
There were days when giving up seemed easier. Those were the days she’d dig her nails into my skin and hold on for dear life. The blood didn’t matter, the dozens of tiny crescent scars left behind were forgotten in an instant. That grip, on those days, was the only thing that stopped her from floating away.
“Do you think there is more for us than this?”
Her voice drags me from my thoughts. I tighten my hold on her and press my lips to the crown of her head. She sighs softly as her hand fists in the material of my T-shirt.
I’ve lied in this bed beside her and asked myself the same question a million times and always come up with the same answer.
“There has to be. I might be the shit everyone thinks I am, but not you. You don’t belong here. I know it, you know it, and everyone out there knows it too. It’s why they punish you.”
“I’m not sure it even matters anymore. I’ve been here so long that even I’m starting to believe them.” Her soft, sad voice makes the hairs on my arms stand on end.
My biggest fear in this place may have started out as losing myself, but now it’s losing her. With everything they’ve done to her—everything they do—I have to live with the knowledge that they are not her only enemies. She’s turned on herself too. Knowing this, I play the only card I have left to play. Me.
“I know you want out of here. I know you’ve thought of all the ways you can make that happen, including being wheeledout in a body bag. But I’m asking you not to.” My voice breaks as I feel her shudder against me.
“You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”
“I do. You know I do. But I need you. Not just today or tomorrow but forever. I never expected to find an angel in hell, but that’s what you are. They can bloody you, bruise you, and break you down, but they will never beat you because you have me now, and I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never leave you. It will always be you and me.”
She sobs at my promise.
“And I will always have your back, but I need you to have mine too. I’ve only made it this far because of you. Without you, I have nothing left to hold on for.”
She tightens her hold on my T-shirt, her knuckles white, as she soaks the material with her tears. I know I’m an utter bastard for this, but I meant what I said about being unable to let her go.
I vow to myself then and there, as the girl I’ve fallen irrevocably in love with drowns me in sorrow, that I’ll make them pay. I’ll make them all pay for what they’ve done to her, and I won’t lose a moment of sleep over it, either.
I drag my fingertips up and down her spine and tell her about the life we will have together someday, away from here, away from her toxic family and mine. I whisper of the house we will live in, the places we will visit, and the freedom we will have.
I talk until my voice is hoarse and her breathing evens out, and I make a promise to make my words a reality.
Someday.
Chapter Twelve
Valen
Iwatch him walk her inside. Whatever he said must have shocked her because she seems like she’s in a world of her own as he takes the key from her hand and unlocks the door. He guides her inside with his hand on the small of her back.
I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to walk over and snap his wrist for touching what’s mine. Somehow, I manage to keep my shit together and stay in my spot in the shadows so neither of them can see me.
Once they both disappear inside, I come out of my hiding spot and walk over to the cop’s car. Looking around, I make sure I don’t see any patrol cars, before slipping the tracker off from under the wheel arch and sliding it into my pocket. Straightening up, I make my way around the side of Rue’s house and peek in the window.
It’s cracked open, making it easy to hear the cop’s voice, though Rue’s is harder for me to hear.
“So, Valen is a suspect?” Rue questions.
I curse. I should have known that fucker was watching us. I spotted him as I was stopped at the stop sign and ended up parking around the corner and walking back on a hunch.
And doesn’t he seem cozy as fuck in her kitchen?
“He’s been called into the station multiple times.”
“But if you’d found something on him, he would have been arrested, right?”
