I’ve witnessed men double my size fold under the weight of his glare.
It takes everything in me, every last shred of defiance, but I don’t look away, and I don’t fall.
“I did.”
He doesn’t blow up.
There’s no flinch, or audible grind of his teeth. He remains the same, but not quite. It’s as if a dial of intensity has turned to the max, and my heart kicks in a panic. It’s me who reacts. My breaths come faster and faster, and I sway where I stand. I need to get out of here, but Liam stands in front of the door.
An earthquake wouldn’t be able to knock him down.
He’s locked in, and all he has to do is wait.
I’m going to fold. I’m going to break down at his feet.
More words are needed. I need to dig deep.
“Move thefuckout of my way.”
I internally pat myself on the back for the way I put emphasis onfuck.
I sounded badass.
There’s a flash of surprise on Liam’s face, and then the darkness doubles down. He grabs my arm and twists it behind my back.
“Shit—”
I bow over as pain sparks in my shoulder, and then he’s marching me outside, using my pain as a leash. A growl scrapes at my throat, and I struggle, but it’s fruitless against Liam.
We’re outside but I don’t feel the cold. My trainers slap against the concrete as Liam directs where I go.
“I don’t know,” Ryker says, and I realise he’s with us. I realise that Liam must’ve asked him something or glared in a way thatgot him to spill his guts. “I got here, and he was with some woman at the bar. He wasn’t . . . he wasn’t acting himself.”
“Fuck you,” I snap.
My shoulder grinds as Liam twists, and I cry out before trying to stamp on Liam’s foot. He dodges me, but grunts with the abrupt sidestep I force him to make.
It feels like a victory.
“See,” Ryker says. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
I laugh. I laugh until a stitch pulls at my sides. Of course Ryker doesn’t know what’s wrong with me. He cut me off, they both cut me off, and now,nowthey care.
Fuck them both.
Liam drags me down an alley, out of sight of anyone and away from the sound of the road. He spins me, then shoves me up against the wall. His hands chill my cheeks as he takes hold of my face, and he uses his thumbs to drag down the skin under my eyes.
“Have you taken something?”
He’s studying my pupils and frowning at what he sees.
I could tell him no, don’t be ridiculous. I could tell him about Keegan’s betrayal, my dad’s reappearance, and my job worries, but I don’t.
I don’t tell him anything.
He waits, and I press my lips in a firm line, refusing to answer.
His chest slams into mine and his thumbs dig into my cheekbones. “Have you taken something?”
