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“Later.” He removed his hand, fixing me with his dark gaze. Before I could ask what would happenlater, he shot to his feet and left the room in a rush.
The door opened, and Kaylie slipped through. Her ocean blue eyes took in the room, and me, with a fear she couldn’t keep from her face.
“If you expected me to be dead, you’ll be disappointed.”
She let out a breath, dashing over to the bars and grabbed them. “You’re better,” she breathed. “You look better.”
I lifted my head, gazing up at her from my position on the hard floor. Whatever herson-of-a-psychopathguy gave me, it worked. I no longer felt like dying, and even though I still couldn’t move my arm without severe pain and a truckload of curses, I could stand up without blacking out. That alone eliminated anything off the counter. What he gave me was far from legal. It worked fast. And it did fucking miracles.
“Alex was here.” She made it sound like a statement, rather than a question, but I nodded regardless. The guy was here, and I hated the mere sight of the bastard. That he helped me meant nothing, not when I knew of the intensions he had with Kaylie. If he as much as fucking touched her…
“We’re going to get you out of here,” she whispered. “You have to get as far away as possible, and never look back.”
I never believed her, and how could I? But now, when she for some reason had that little Latino-fucker on her side, it didn’t seem too far-fetched that they could pull it off. Question was, could I? What did they expect me to do? I was fucking handicapped and the thought of being defenseless and weak rubbed me in all the wrong places. Even if I did get away, could I leave her behind?
Could I live with myself if I left her to die in the hands of a madman? Kaylie was never meant to be mine. But she broke every rule. Despite knowing what caring for her did to me, I tumbled head-first down the same path I spent years to stay clear of. I couldn’t stop. I was way past the point when denying my feelings for her served a purpose. Now, all it did was make me want to scream. I couldn’t fucking ignore it any more than the steady ache in my shoulder. It was there. A part of me. One which I’d rip out and crush if I could.
Leaving her here was no longer an option. I needed her with me. I needed her to be safe, and here, she would never be.
I pushed myself off the floor, biting back a cry as the shoulder-pain rushed through every goddamn nerve ending in my entire left side. Even on drugs, it was torture. But it was torture I could handle.
Cradling the arm to my stomach to avoid any involuntary movements, I dragged my feet over to her. The small shift dampened my skin and my heart hammered in my chest. A warning. A reminder. I was not as well I pretended to be. “Don’t you fucking do this to me.”
She blinked in clear confusion, and I clarified. “Don’t make me leave without you.”
Her face fell, and a soft gasp escaped her lips. She reached out, placing her hand on my cheek as she locked those ocean blue eyes full of sadness right at me. I had to look away. She forced my face back to her, gripping my chin.
“You have to,” she urged. “You have tolive, Marc. Forget about me.”
“It’s too fucking late for that,” I hissed. “You made me—” I bit back the word before it left my mouth.Fuck. What was wrong with me? I didn’tloveher. I couldn’t. Love meant nothing but loss. Julie was proof of that. Hell, Kaylie too. Everything I loved was taken from me. She was no different. I should hate her for what she did to me. It would be so much easier. I should fucking kill her myself for making mefeel. For making me hurt.
I looked at her. Her beautiful porcelain skin. So exquisite. And I knew she was right. I had to leave when I had the chance. It was that or dying. Or worse, watching her die. I wouldn’t be able to live with that. It’d fucking break me.
“I wish things were different,” she stroked hair from my forehead, letting her fingers glide over my cheek, across my jaw, to come to rest on my neck. “I’ll never forget you.”
It hit me. This was goodbye. She pulled her hand away, and mine shot out, grabbing hers. The sudden motion made me cry out loud as my body twisted and the injured arm slipped to the side. “FUCK!”
Goddamn it. Fighting for a breath deep enough to ward off the sudden dark spots dancing before my eyes, I grabbed her tighter. Squeezing hard enough for her to whimper. I didn’t suffer through this just to see her leave. She couldn’t fucking leave. Not when she would take my heart with her.
“Marc,” she sniveled my name, and it wasn’t until the sudden blinding pain settled to a normal ache, that I realized she was crying.
“Don’t make this harder.” She squeezed my hand, then pulled hers free. “Be ready.” She turned to leave, then stopped when she reached the door. She looked at me, and the brief moment as our eyes met, everything else faded away. It was just her, me, and everything we left unspoken.
She tore her gaze free, then she was gone.
I stood staring at the heavy steel door squeezed into thick slabs of concrete while the sinking feeling inside grew unbearable. It was over. Done. As in a haze, I made it back to the other wall, on a safe distance from the bars and cruel hands. I sunk back to the floor, feeling like I could sink into it.
Thoughts raced through my head, one darker than the other. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t escape the mental hell any more than the physical cage locking me in.
I was here because of her. Because of my stupid past catching up with me and biting me in the ass. The money I got for delivering her to a madman meant nothing. Not anymore. What was supposed to be another job, quickly escalated into something so much worse. What I ran from caught up. Morphed into something bigger and stronger than I could fight. A desperate need not to feel, not to hurt gave me the opposite, and once I realized it, it was too late. Too fucking late.
Somewhere along the way, I lost the fight. She slipped past my armor, tore down my walls until I lay bleeding in her mercy.
I was on a speeding train, heading for destruction, and there was no way off. I couldn’t run. Couldn’t fight. I let myself fall for her, and it was my downfall.
*
A click echoed in the silence. It followed by the door swinging open, and a skinny man rushed inside.
