What the hell was I thinking when I took her with me? How could I have believed that this would work out? I was sofuckingstupid… By doing so, I only dragged out the inevitable and made things worse for both of us.
"You can’t stay with me any longer," I say in a flat tone, avoiding her gaze. "You have to go."
TWENTY-SIX
SOPHIE
Cole’s words were clear, but my brain cannot process their meaning.
"What?" I ask quietly, hoping I’ve misunderstood. It just has to be. He can not have said what I think I heard.
"You have to go. Now." His voice is as cold as ice and breaks something inside me.
"But… I don’t want to go," I choke out desperately. "I want to stay here. I want?—"
He’s furious when he turns back to me. My gaze immediately lands on those gray eyes, where not a storm but a full-blown hurricane is raging now. "You want to know what it’s like to live in this world? I’ll tell you. It’s fucked up."
He shoots his words at me as if they were bullets from one of his guns. They hit me just as hard, but I don’t move while my vision blurs as more and more tears spill from my eyes.
"Your mother had every reason to shield you. From this world, from its influences, from men…Especiallyfrom men. From men like me."
His voice gets louder and more menacing until he hurls the whiskey bottle against the wall, where it shatters into a thousandtiny pieces. I take a step back while my whole body begins to tremble, and my heart threatens to burst at any moment.
"But why?" I ask quietly because I can’t comprehend why he says all these things. Why he suddenly seems to believe I can’t stay with him any longer.
"Because this world—myworld—is not for you!"
"But you are?—"
With a few steps, he closes the distance between us and towers in front of me. The trembling of the muscles on his bare upper body is clearly visible. His bloodstained hands are clenched into fists while he looks down at me with a dark expression, and the blood that leaked from the gash still sticks to his cheek.
The sight of him is terrifying, but I can only look into those eyes that are so full of rage.
"I amwhat, Sophie?" He wants to know, his voice full of threat.
"You’re not… evil."
When Cole lets out a mirthless laugh, I instinctively back away from him, but he follows my movement until I feel the brick wall at my back. He braces his hands on either side of my head, trapping me in as he glares at me angrily. "Do you really believe that, darling?"
I can feel the heat radiating from his body, smell his unmistakable scent, and can see each of his heavy breaths while my own breath no longer seems to be present. Yet I can’t take my eyes off his and nod.
Cole leans in until his face is just inches from mine. "You don’t have the slightest idea of what or how I am."
I swallow hard and gather all my courage even though I’ve never been so afraid in my life. Afraid that he means every word he said and will really send me away.
"I do," I whisper. "You are a good person, Cole. I can see it in your eyes."
Again, he laughs darkly and mockingly, shaking his head before moving even closer. "I’ve hurt people, little darling. I’vekilledpeople."
I get goosebumps when his breath grazes my skin, but I force myself to answer him even though my arm still hurts from his rough grip and my heart aches because of his hard words. "You didn’t hurtme."
His gaze won’t let go of me. It holds me captive, as if he wants to emphasize his words. "But I could."
I shake my head. "I don’t think so."
I don’t care how big, strong, and terrifying he is. It doesn’t matter to me how much blood clings to his hands or that he’s pressing me against the hard wall. None of it matters because Iknowthat he won’t hurt me. He might say that, but his eyes speak a different language.
"You don’t even know me," he snaps, slamming his palm against the wall next to my head while pinning me with his stare. "You don’t know who I am."
