Page 33 of Fueled Fury

My hand cups the nape of her neck, my fingers rub the tear-drenched locks as they wrap around my fingers. “I was already in hell until the little girl with a golden halo pulled me from the pit.”

“Stop it. We fucked last night. That’s all it was. You used me and I used you. Game over, so stop saying things like that. You’re just trying to get inside my head, make me feel sorry for you so you can keep playing.”

“I don’t want your pity. I want you. Your trust. I want you to see that I’m not the manipulating bastard that is using you, Eli is.”

“Of course. We’re back to that.” Lainey lets out a callous laugh. “It’s all Eli’s fault, huh? He was right. It’s time you stop blaming your parents and him for what you are—a cynical, miserable, monster who only wants to make everyone around him suffer.” Lainey moves to get in the car.

Darting around to the passenger side, I pull the door open and drop on the seat.

“Get out,” she shrieks as she reaches over me, shoving the passenger door back open.

Grabbing her wrist, I remove it from the handle as I slam the door closed and pull her to me. “The thing about people who need control … they don’t know when to let go.”

“Get out,” she says flatly, jerking her wrist out of my grasp and falling back against the driver’s seat.

“I’m not leaving. This car. This track. This place. This city. You. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

“That makes two of us.”

She cranks the car, revving the engine as she looks straight ahead. “I’m not going to tell you again. Get out of my car. I don’t want you here.”

“Just let go. Stop thinking about it. Push the fucking gas and go after what you want because it’s already yours.” Her foot presses the gas pedal as the car vibrates beneath me. “What’s gonna happen if you let go? If you get what you want?”

“Nothing. I’ll feel the same. I won’t feel any different, and I’ll know he left me for nothing. That you’ll leave me too because I’ll never be worth it. I’m just the toy to occupy everyone while time passes until they’re done with me.”

“Lainey, I—”

“I don’t care. Get out of my car.”

“I can’t prove it to you if you won’t let me in. Let me show you that you’re worth it, that you’re everything—”

She reaches for the door handle, yanks it open, and bails out of the car.

I open the passenger door, get out of the car, and slam it shut. Fuck, she’s not making this easy, but I’ll chase her all over this godforsaken runway if that’s what it takes to get through to her. I look over the roof of the car and see her duck back in. “Lainey.”

Grabbing the door handle, I attempt to pull it open but it’s locked. That sly vixen tricked me. The engine roars as the car suddenly takes off, leaving me standing there to watch the dust trail fade behind the red muscle car as she speeds away. All I can do is watch as she gets farther and farther away.

She can run all she wants, but she can’t hide. She knows damn well I see her better than anyone else. She can’t escape me. That’s what scares her the most. I know better than anyone how terrifying it is to let someone have that control over you … because I relinquished it to her long ago.