“Okay. But if there’s the slightest sign of danger, you’ll let me in on the details.”
“Promise.” One Iwillbreak.
Silence engulfs us, and tonight, it speaks volumes. Her head resting on my shoulder and my arm draped over her, is our way of being there for each other, acknowledging how much we’ve both lost. The man we loved with all our hearts. This is the type of consolation only she could ever give me. The one where we both know everything we want to say—all those stories Milo gave us as precious memories—yet we keep them running in our minds in silence, because neither of us is strong enough to voice them. Not today.
“In all those months, was my birthday the only time you came to me? That was you, wasn’t it.”
That’s how she decides to break the silence after more than an hour. There was no way I could miss her birthday without leaving her a gift.
Caressing her hair, I take a deep breath, ready to admit what I think I shouldn’t.
“I’ve been sneaking into your place at night and following you around more times than you could imagine.”
The way she pulls away and the amount of white her eyes flashare hints I should probably keep under wraps the fact I almost killed Link when he broke into her place, before I realized he wasn’t there with a... nefarious intent.
I don’t want to let go of her when it’s time to part. Raven’s a reminder of home, of the good times that are no more.
“You know I’m not the murderous kind, but I’ll kill anyone and everyone for you. I love you, Maeve!” Those are the last words she says before gathering the strength to turn and leave.
I head for my place at a deliberately slow pace, dreading that the only family I have left went in another direction, while I’m going to an empty dorm room that holds nothing for me.
A familiar face pops in the distance. Will. He must’ve taken a hell of a beating from Atlas, because he looks all shades of wrong, bruises marring his features. The moment his gaze pins on me, he turns and heads in the opposite direction, away from me. Witnessing what my actions account for, though not entirely undeserved, makes me question how much collateral I’m willing to allow before I no longer feel like a decent person.
But then the memory of my dance with Atlas pushes those qualms aside. Once more, he’s invading my mind—uninvited, unwanted, unasked for—yet there to stay all the way to my dorm.
I reach for the keycard in my bag, letting another memory surface—one of him, standing shirtless in front of my room, bracing himself on the doorframe, holding back, even though I did tease him.
The smile those memories evoke vanishes when a hand clamps over my mouth, slamming me against the wall so violently that the pain exploding in my head turns blinding.
My eyes close shut, and everything’s spinning even though I’m not moving an inch. The ringing in my ears is so loud that it silences my racing pulse.
This isnotAtlas.
It’s not his touch. Not his scent. And most of all—he’d never hurt me like this.
My head thumps like drums are being played inside, nails driven in with each hit and hammered right into my cranium.
I force my eyes to peel open, attempting to combat the blurriness and pinpoint the object of my distress.
Let’s see whose regrets will come with a dental bill.
Chapter 21
Summer
“Jacob!”
Did I say it out loud? Or just in my head, since his hand is still covering my mouth? When I try to peel it away, he removes it only to wrap it around my throat, while his other hand catches my wrist.
“Don’t fight me! I’m not a man who hurts women.”
Yeah, sure. Slamming my head against the wall doesn’t hurt at all.
His vodka-infused breath is a hint that he needed liquid courage to betray his own morals.
“Jacob... this is going to be your first, last, and only warning. Get your fucking hands off me!”
The asshole tilts his head to the side, meticulously inspecting my face, lips curling into an amused half-smirk.
