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There wasn’t anything left to say.
“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “But the men will forgive you.”
“They shouldn’t.”
“You made a mistake.”
“But it wasn’t a mistake. Just as Laura made her decision, I made mine. It was intentional. It’s unforgivable.”
“A father was about to kill his daughter,” he said. “They probably felt for her.”
“John and Hector are dead.”
“They knew the risks. They all do.”
I appreciated Benton trying to make me feel better, but nothing would heal this wound. “I’ll have to earn their respect again—assuming they don’t stage a coup and slit my fucking throat while I sleep.”
“They won’t do that, Bartholomew.”
“Really? Because that’s exactly what I would do.”
4
LAURA
A week had come and gone.
The sling finally came off, but it was still hard to move my arm. The muscles were stiff with trauma, but my doctor told me to use it as normally as possible so it would rehabilitate. If it didn’t get better, I’d have to try physical therapy.
I didn’t hear from Bartholomew—and I knew I would never hear from him again.
The heartbreak hurt a lot more than the bullet.
I worked to keep my mind occupied, to stop thinking about my insatiable need for revenge and my all-consuming heartbreak. I pushed through the pain because I had to get better. Had to get my strength back.
Because that was the only way I would be able to kill my father.
I sat alone in my apartment, holding a bag of ice to my arm because it hurt after a long day of moving clothes and delivering suits to residences. My apartment was silent. My laptop screen had gone black because it’d been idle for so long. I hadn’t haddinner yet, but I would probably skip it because my appetite was nonexistent.
All I could think about was one thing.
Bartholomew.
I fucked up so bad.
I knew I couldn’t fix it.
But I missed him…so much.
In my desperation, I texted him.Can you come by?
I didn’t expect a response. He said he would help me if I needed assistance, but stopping by for a late-night chat didn’t fall under that offer. I didn’t want to pretend I needed help either, because that would be a lie, and I respected him too much to do that.
His response was nearly instantaneous.Be there in 10 mins.
My heart did a weird flip and a somersault. I felt lighter than air. But then it came crashing down a moment later, dropping into my stomach and a pool of acid. Now I was nervous, cold and clammy, terrified. This all happened in the span of five seconds.
Exactly ten minutes later, he knocked on the door.
