Killing them was a pleasure I would gladly do again.
“They spoke about you like you weretheirs.They had looked at you like a trophy, asking me questions about you and your pussy,” I barked, getting even more furious with every word that fell from my lips.
She shook her head, but I pressed on, confessing this dark, bloody truth to her.
“I lost all control. I killed them in the middle of the runway without a second thought. I didn’t care about the consequences; all I cared about was making sure their eyes never landed on you again. I shot one in the throat and one in their dick. You were mine then. You are mine now. No one looks at you, no one touches, you except for me. We clear on that?”
She looked away from me, and I let her, giving her the space she needed. My feet remained planted in front of her, stubborn as a tree, not willing to move, her body an inch from mine. Her vanilla scent drowned me. I pushed another stray hair out of her face as she stared at Boston.
She'd always wanted to go to Salem, and I wanted to take her, to be the one to see her bright smile. Tomorrow. After all of this was done, Karina Jones would get to see Salem. She loved the history of it.
My beautiful angel was such a history buff. It was something I lov—
“Col, I have to tell you something,” she admitted, still avoiding eye contact with me.
The demon inside me chuckled, mocking my foolishness as everything started to make sense. I knew this was coming; her friends weretheretonight. I felt it. My angel got away from me, and when she came back, she was…on edge.
She betrayed me.
I knew she would, but there was a microscopic part of me that hoped she wouldn’t, especially after I bared my soul to her lastnight, telling her how I felt, confessing to her that I knew about the letter she sent to Haley.
I sighed, backing away from her and straightening my suit jacket, ignoring the pit in my stomach. “When?”
“What?”
“When will they be here?”
Her brows came together as she took a step towards me, those overpriced, too fucking sexy for their own good heels clicking against the wood floors. I would buy her a dress made of gold if she fucking wanted it. I ignored her and turned to the liquor cabinet. I didn't drink, but tonight, I needed it.
“Col?”
“Don’t fucking call me that,” I spat venomously before gulping down two fingers of whiskey, my throat welcoming the burn it provided. Her gentle hand landed on my bicep, causing me to slam the whiskey glass onto the table.
“What's wrong with you?” The attitude in her voice caused the chord to snap as the sting of betrayal whipped against my skin, reminding me of Romano’s lessons. Spinning, I caught her jaw in my hand, bringing her up and close to me, her hands digging into my suit as panic coated those eyes.
“When is the superhero squad going to arrive, huh? I knew I would never truly have you! You lied to me!” I roared.
“No, Col—”
“Don’t,” I bit off, shoving her away. She fell back into a chair, her head hitting the plush backing. She looked up at me in shock. I stood over her, my hands in my pockets. Wordlessly, I pulled my gun out, releasing the magazine to check the ammo. “When will they be here?”
“That’s not what I was going to tell you!” she yelled at me, rising to her feet, her eyes blazing.
“You probably were just giving me time to run, right? Let me tell you something, angel, I will sl—"
“Collin, I was raped,” she said flatly.
What?
I was frozen, the gun slipping from my fingers. She caught it., shoving the magazine back in and loading a bullet into the chamber before setting it down on the bar.
What did she just say?
She looked up at me and shrugged.Shrugged.
“Do you remember that day when you ran into me in the lobby of that building? In downtown St. Louis?” she asked casually, like she didn’t just tell me someone touched her—hurt her...
Someone hurt Karina.
