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“My ex-boyfriend, Evan. If you could call him that. More like my ex-user and abuser. He just got out of prison, and I know he wants me dead. He’s in Haven’s Hollow, trying to find me.”
My field of vision turns red and a burning fury pulses through me. I’ve never felt the way I do right now. My entire body is hot, my teeth are grinding together, and something even more powerful than rage is beginning to take hold, waiting to erupt like a volcano. That man won’t touch a hair on her beautiful head. He’ll die by my hand first.
I stroke her cheek. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him hurt you. You’re safe here.”
She gives me a sad smile. “I can’t stay in your palace forever. Eventually I’ll have to go back to the cabin at the lake and face reality. Which includes Evan.”
“Why?” I ask, genuinely curious. Why would she return to that grim cabin and a man who wants to kill her when I can give her all the pleasure in the world right here? “Why not stay here with me?”
“Because this isn’t my life. Staying means giving up the things I love. And besides, I don’t even know you. Not really.”
At her words, a strange and infuriating sense of helplessness replaces my anger. It’s not a sensation I’m used to, and not one I particularly care for. How can I persuade her to stay?
“I think you might know me better than anyone ever has. As to your questions, I don’t know what else to tell you. I live on nightmares. I don’t have time for hobbies, really, beyond the occasional game with my demons.”
“There must be more to you than that,” she says.
I shrug. “I don’t think so.”
She waits, obviously hoping I’ll say more, but I don’t.
“Why have you brought me here?” she finally asks.
There are multiple reasons: I’m inexplicably attracted to her, I want to keep her safe, I like her company. But those aren’t reasons that will satisfy her, make her want to stay.
“I told you, I can protect you here. But there’s more. I also wanted to make your dream come true: I’m going to let you have revenge on the man who haunts your nightmares.”
“Evan? The one who wants me dead?”
I nod. “You’re about to becomehisnightmare.”
Four
LIBRA
The air crackles with tension in the boxing ring. My muscles are warm and loose, my gloves are laced tight, and I’m bouncing lightly on my feet, ready to go. I lean down and a blue-eyed man who is familiar to me—but who I don’t quite recognize—slips my mouthguard in.
The cheers of the crowd fade to a dull roar as I stare across the ring to my opponent. Evan. After all these years, we’re finally face to face. He’s also in his gear, looking menacing and tough. But I’ve been boxing for a decade now, and he has no idea how strong I am, both inside and out.
A sense of power rolls through me.
The bell rings and we dance around each other. I know he thinks I’m still the timid girl he once knew, and expects me to be on the defensive. So he doesn’t see it coming when I throw a right hook and clock him in the temple, snapping his head back. He whips around with a glare and comes at me, swinging hard. I dodge most of the hit, but it glances across my cheekbone, leaving a sting in its wake.
Annoyed, I go for a one-two: an uppercut with my right fist followed by a jab with my left. Both land soundly and he bounces backward, blood leaking from his nose. I’m not typically a violent person, I don’t think, but there’s something so satisfying about fighting back against a man who used and abused me so thoroughly. If I didn’t have the mouthguard in, I would laugh in his face.
“Eliza,” he growls, which irritates me even more. I’m someone else now, someone stronger and braver. I’m Libra, dammit, not Eliza, and he can’t take that away from me.
He comes at me again, and manages to get in a solid hit to my jaw before the round ends. I return to my corner and lean down, spitting out the mouthguard so my cornerman can squirt water in my mouth. He grins at me, blue eyes twinkling.
“You’re doing great. You’ll beat him with no problem. He’s coming at you too hard, burning through his energy too fast.”
I nod thoughtfully, trying to place this person. He’s so familiar.
It takes a minute, but I suddenly realize who this man is. Although he looks different, I’ve met him before. Somewhere…
“Callister?”
He nods. “I’m right here. Happy to watch you take Evan down to his knees. Knock the fucker out,” he says, and I laugh.
