“So that’s what this has all been? An evil plot against me?” He’s seething, staring at me so hard I fear I’ll combust.
“Just come here. I’ll explain.” As I reach for him again, Landon pulls even further away.
“Touch me again, you fucking monster, and I’ll gut you.” He sounds completely serious, full of rage and something close to heartbreak.
“I’m not,fuck, I’m not amonster,” I insist. “I just… Please let me explain it all to you.”
I’m on my knees, crawling to the edge of the bed as he stares at me, trembling. But he doesn’t back up, doesn’t run.
“Explain what? That you’ve been lying to me? Meeting me here on your company’s dime while I throw myself at you and confess my secrets like an idiot?”
“You’re not an idiot!” I nearly shout, resisting the urge to reach for him again in case hedoesrun. “And yes, I lied. I admit that, and I’m sorry.”
“Oh, how generous of you to finally apologize,” he snarks, rolling his green eyes.
“Brat,”I snap. “Just listen to me.”
I’m growing desperate. If I have any chance of rectifying this thing between us, it has to happen now. The moment he walks out that door, I’m fucked. It’s over.
“Why should I?” he demands. “Why should I hear you out when every moment we’ve spent together has been a lie?” Landon takes a step closer to me, his eyes wide and full of agony.
“Because I… I…” But I can’t say it.
I’m still confused, wrapped up in despising him and the fact that I’m willing to doanythingif it means protecting him. Murder included, apparently.
How can I say that I like him when I still think he’s so annoying? Am I even capable of feelings after what happened in Texas? Have I become unworthy of his affection?
Landon’s face falls, his hand clenched at his side as he murmurs, “That’s what I thought.”
“Lanny…”
“Am I safe now?” he asks, squaring his shoulders again and giving me a disapproving look that makes me want to bend him over my damn knee.
“Yes. You’re safe.”
“Then goodbye, Nathaniel. Have a terrible life.” He turns on his heel, snatching up his shoes with his good arm as he heads for the door.
“Wait!” I call after him. “Don’t leave like this. We can… we can work it out?”
It leaves me as a question; I’m uncertain myself if that is even an option.
Landon shoots me a glare over his shoulder, his muscles tense as he reaches for the doorknob. “What is there to work out? It’s not like you ever cared for me, anyway.”
And with that, he’s gone.
Landon leaves the hotel, and all I can do is sit right here on the bed, surrounded by the darkness that leaks from him like a snake coiling tightly around my throat.
I’m left alone, at the mercy of my own failures.
And it hurts.
Landon
21
DAD PACES AT THEend of my bed, his mouth set into a firm line as he rubs his temples.
“And you didn’t get a look at their faces? The guys who grabbed you?” Mom asks again, staring at me wide-eyed where she sits at my desk.
