“Who’s next on your to-fuck list?Becket?” He spat the name as if it was a vile evil. “Or maybe you already fucked him. On the hotel’sfinestEgyptian cotton sheets. ThatIpaid for.”
So the room upgradehadbeen Grayson. “You shot him,” I sneered, feeling my own anger rising. He’d shot my friend.
Grayson snorted. “He was lucky. I was aiming for his dick.”
“Why? Scared I’ll find out he’s a better fuck than you?” I taunted recklessly.
Grayson grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head backwards. I felt his angry pants on my cheek, but I still couldn’t see his face. I wish I could just see his eyes.
“Enough games! I’m here to give you yourlastwarning. If I see Becket’s face again, I won’t hesitate to drop him like the fucking fly he is. Be sure to pass that along.” He tugged harder on my hair, making a panicked whimper escape my throat. “And as for you, little nightingale. I was good to you. I had let you go. But don’t think I would hesitate to slit your throat if you continue to come after my family.”
My throat closed up. “You meanourfamily,” I croaked around the suffocating lump in my throat. “You love me,” I dared in a whisper. It couldn’t have been a lie. He had to have feltsomethingfor me. If I could only reach him.MyGrayson was still there, underneath this cold, heartless mask. With his body pressed so tightly against my own, the electricity pulsing between us, I was sure of it. No way couldthismean nothing to him.
He dipped his head into the crook of my neck, breathing in the scent of me, like he always did. There was no way he felt nothing.
Grayson laughed like I was daft. A cruel, vicious laugh. “Oh, baby. I’m sorry you’ve got it so twisted. It was your sweet pussy that I liked. Nothing more.” He licked up the side of my face, where the tears were flowing. “Honestly, it was a shame to give it up. But I’ll find another.”
I shook my head, ignoring the sting of the blade as it cut across my throat. “This is not you.” I refused to believe it.
“Oh, but it is,Princess.” The nickname had gone back to being a taunt. “I don’t need to act like I give a fuck about you anymore. I already got what I wanted. You’re useless to me now.”
He pushed the side of my face up against the wall, and I yelped in pain.
“Grays—”
He growled and pressed harder against my head. “Shut up! Don’t you fucking say my name!” His whole body was vibrating against me.
I sobbed and tried to push myself away from the wall, but Grayson’s grip on me was relentless.
“Go home, Ava. Go live your dull picket-fence life. It was cute and all, but I’m bored of your pathetic little games. So get the fuck over me.”
The force of his body pushing me into the wall was gone, and I collapsed to the ground. I didn’t need to look to know he wasn’t in the room anymore—the weight of his presence was gone, stealing with it the air around me. My lungs convulsed around nothing as I silently wailed my agony.
Ava
“Don’tfreakout,”Liamsaid to Owen as we walked into the hospital room, the doctors finally done with patching him up.
Owen took one look at me, eyes going wide, then launched himself upward, pulling at the pipes around him to get free. His IV line sprang free from his arm, a splatter of blood arching through the air.
Liam pushed him back onto the bed. “Isaid,don’t freak out,” he grunted with the effort of keeping Owen down.
“How thefuckdid he get to her? How did he get past fifty fucking FBI and Interpol agents? How were you not able to keeponewoman safe?Jesus, fuck!” Owen pushed Liam backwards, then flinched, clutching his shoulder.
I felt like turning around and running away. I’ve had enough of violent men to last me a lifetime. But I walked forward. I couldn’t let Liam take the blame.
“It’s my fault. I wandered where I wasn’t supposed to. But I’m fine.” My voice sounded lifeless.
But that’s what I was. Lifeless. Like a body kept going by machines and ventilators. The body still there, but soulless. Nothing left inside that makes it a person.
“You’re notfine, Ava. God, look at you!” Owen glared at the cuts on my neck. There were probably mascara runs all over my face. My hair must have been a mess. And my eyes probably looked dead.
“Honey?” A nurse slowly stepped inside the room, eyeing me worriedly. “I saw you walking in here. Will you let me take a look at that?” She pointed at my neck, talking to me like I was a frightened animal caught in a snare.
“That would be great, thank you,” Liam answered for me. “It’s superficial. I already checked.”
“She doesn’t leave this room,” Owen boomed angrily. “Where the fuck is my gun?” He yanked at the bedside table, throwing things out of the drawer, searching for it.
“No guns allowed in this hospital, Mister,” the nurse glowered at Owen as she grabbed a trolley from outside the door and ushered me to sit on his bed. She inspected my neck, then cleaned it. Owen’s hand wrapped around mine as I flinched at the sting. The nurse luckily didn’t ask any questions, only patted my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic smile, then reinserted Owen’s IV-line before she left.
