The words hang between us like a demand I never asked for.
“And?”
His eyes narrow to slits. “My car needs to be… repaired.”
Fury ignites in my chest. “And that's my problem, how?” I snap, slapping his hand away. I grab the torn edges of my shirt and knot them desperately, trying to cover what's left of my dignity.
Xaden dresses in swift, mechanical movements, then fixes me with that infuriating raised brow.
“What?” I bite out.
“Where's your car?” The impatience in his voice grates against my nerves.
“What makes you think I have one? My dad cut me off, remember?”
He invades my space, forcing me backward until my legs hit the unforgiving metal of his car. He leans over me, bending me back against the hood, the same position I was in moments ago when everything felt different. When his face hovers above mine, suffocating, he finally speaks.
“How'd you get here then, Tink? Use your little wings and fly?”
The mockery in his tone splinters something inside me. I shove against his chest with everything I have until he finally steps back.
“Asshole,” I mutter, stalking away down the road. He follows like a predator tracking his wounded prey, his presence crushing the air from my lungs. I can't think straight when he's near, can't breathe, can't plan. I need him gone so I can call Carnage. He can never know what I'm hiding.
When Halo's Suburban appears through the darkness, I hear Xaden's guttural growl behind me. I ignore it, pulling the keys from my pocket with shaking hands and unlocking the door. I climb behind the wheel and grip it so hard my knuckles turn white, staring ahead into nothing.
The tension between us is suffocating, thick enough to choke on.
“Start the car. Drive.”
The rage in his voice is barely controlled, simmering just beneath the surface. How he shifts from calm to fury in half a heartbeat leaves me reeling, his mood swings giving me whiplash. I start the car because what choice do I have? It feels wrong being the one driving, usually he's in control and I'm trapped beside him.
His phone rings again. “Yeah?” I strain to hear the voice on the other end. “Fuck. Cas is trying to find the location now. Get the men ready, I want them armed to the teeth and ready to roll the second we find this fucking place.”
The venom in his words chills my blood.
“Yeah, I'm on my way. I'll be at the house in twenty minutes, then we're burning Walter House?—”
I slam on the brakes.
We both jerk forward violently, seatbelts catching us and yanking us back like rag dolls.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he roars.
I snap my head toward him, my glare unflinching. “Hang up the phone.”
His eyes darken like a storm rolling in. “You don't fucking tell me what?—”
“If you want the location of Walter House, you'll hang up the fucking call now.”
His eyes widen just slightly before he ends it and jerks his chin forward. “Pull off the road, Tink.”
The reality of what I just did crashes over me. Stupid. So stupid. I pull onto the shoulder, hands trembling as I shift into park. Xaden turns in his seat, but I can't look at him. Can't face what comes next.
“Talk.”
The command is clear but the words lodge in my throat like broken glass. Memories of that place flood through me, a nightmare reel I can't stop. The agony of discovering the truth, realizing everything was a lie... it crushes me from the inside out.
“I'm not going to?—”
