Pricking myself on the edge of my blade, I ask in a dead tone. “Are you surprised? Half of the people who ruined usare probably inside.” Drinking and laughing and dancing and having a better fucking time than we are.
We should just set the whole building on fire and be done with it. Let them all burn, since they all know what they do. Actually, that’s not a bad idea. All we have to do is seal the exits and—“Oh shit! You okay?”
Bunny is hunched over with her arms wrapped around her stomach, vomit pooling at her feet. All my anger and annoyance vanish like vapor when her spine starts to shake. Gently, I rub her back in circular motions. “Bu?—”
“Do you remember him?”
Startled by the snap in her voice, I stumble to think of who she might mean. “Who?”
The venom returns. “Marone. Do you remember him as clearly as I do? The power in his suited shoulders when he looked down on us. Th-the glimmer in his eyes whenever one of us went down crying. The?—”
His face flashes. Though it never really fades away.
“The smirk he had when we begged… his laugh when we cried. Yeah,” I mumble, sick with the memory. “I remember it all.”
Bunny, still curled with her head on her knee, mumbles, utterly devoid of emotion, “I want to watch that spark die.”
It’s buried beneath layers of hate, but the feeling is in her eyes. I’m reminded for the hundredth time why this is so important—why Bunny needs this. I fought, and I killed, and I had pieces of me stripped away until I was nothing but bone and blade. Physically, Marone and his friends ruined me, but they broke Bunny from the inside out.
They broke Clara and took her away.
I can’t let them take Bunny, never again.
I never want there to come a day when these men are still living and my Bunny feels the only way to be safe is to make sureshe isn’t anymore. I saw that happen with the boys in the cells, their lives taken by their own hands.
What would I do without her? I can’t live in this world knowing she’s not in it. I wouldn’t survive. I’d end everything just to join her.
But that can’t happen.
I can’t let that be the reality.
I’ve fought this and wished for things to change so many times since we escaped. I’ve driven myself crazy going back and forth. I’ve probably hurt Bunny in the process—made her feel like I wasn’t there for her.
Still rubbing in light circles, I swear to myself never again. I’ll never push. I’ll never try to change her mind. Anything she wants, I’ll make sure to deliver to her feet with a fucking smile. No more questions.Not even one, Cade.“You will, Bun, and then we can rest.” We can go anywhere she desires, even if I have to carry her there.
I almost speak it, how rapidly my love is growing, but then she drops her head for a second time, quietly spewing yellow bile. Fuck! I want to take away her pain. I want to bring pain and drop it in a heap at her feet.
Fuck this. Rising, I take Bunny’s wrist, pulling her out of her hunched position. “This shit is taking too long. Come on.” I drag her to the end of the alley, where all the secrets lie.
Gotcha.
“What are we doing?” Bunny asks when we come to a stop, but understanding hits her a moment later.
In thick, bold letters, the nameWilliamsis stamped on a laminated sign affixed to the front windshield of an expensive and luxurious Rolls-Royce. The driver sits distracted behind an open magazine. His face, weathered with age, is contorted into knots with pleasure as his hand works his cock beneath the steering wheel. Had he been paying attention, he would haveseen us slinking out of the shadows. Had he been doing his job instead of jacking off to some kid, maybe he wouldn’t have been surprised when we slipped into his car and held a knife to his throat.
“He-hey,” he stutters, lips trembling, dick still in his hand. “Listen, I don’t need any trouble.” The magazine fell the second my blade touched his neck, and I think he’d hoped it would distract me enough to reach for the gun tucked secretly away. I let him believe it for a moment, that he has the one up on me, but as soon as I see his arm shift and that gun becomes visible for the slightest second, I make sure to break his illusion. My blade rips his throat in two, creating a great, big mess of blood in the front.
Quickly, before the spray becomes a pool, I grab him by the collar of his uniform and throw him toward the passenger floor. Blood leaves streaks as it travels down—on the console and on me—but at least he’s out of sight now, making a mess where no one could see. Reluctantly, I take the seat at the wheel, wiping up as much as I can with the tissue box he conveniently left on the side.
When it’s not completely unbearable to touch any surface, I glance back at Bunny, who sinks into the lush, blanket-covered leather.
“Warm, my lady?”
“I am,” she laughs, wrapping the thick, dense fabric around her body. Knowing she’s comfortable and safe in the back, I bring my attention forward.Come on, you sick son-of-a-bitch, leave.At least we can wait somewhere warm this time, and the smell of blood, though overwhelming, is much better than the smell of shit and garbage water.
As time trickles on, Bunny begins to fade, head falling forward and back when sleep sinks its claws in her.
“It’s okay,” I reassure, reaching back to rub her knee, “go to sleep. I’ll wake you up if anything changes.” At this point, I’mstarting to believe that nothing will. Maybe he’ll stay inside all night.
