Gasping, the crowd parted, and shrieks came from somewhere, but my only focus was on Ethan as he tried pushing against me. We both toppled to the ground, and the painful memories washed over me. The waiting for her, the searching, the drinking, the crying, the agonizing ache inside my chest burned, reminding me of what life would have been like without her, and my fist pounded into his cheekbone, but I couldn’t stop myself. Blood splashed up into my face, and Travis grabbed both my arms and pulled me against his chest.
A cold gust of wind hit me, and Scott and I stared at one another in an alleyway. I nursed my knuckles, holding them out against the rain and pulling the wound between my lips. Scott dropped his head back, raining falling over his bruised and bloody face, neither one of us saying anything.
“I’m sorry,” Scott finally declared, lowering his head to look at me.
It was blatant I wouldn’t be welcomed back at Foyles, a place I’d fantasized about since I was a kid. I dropped my head until it hit the brick, more upset with myself for letting my emotions win this time.
“I didn’t mean for it to all go down the way it did,” he continued. “I reacted. And yeah, I bloody took the girl, alright? I never hurt her. I got fucking scared, and I took her. That’s it. When I realized what I’d done, I returned her.”
A humorless laugh rolled off my tongue. “You returned her,” I shook my head, “Thanks, mate, but she’s not a fucking object, and the only reason you’re breathing right now is because I’d promised Mia I would let you live.”
My hands shook, ready to break the promise, and Ethan averted his eyes when he asked, “She’s back with you?”
I raised my arms at my sides. “Where else would Mia be?” It wasn’t supposed to come off arrogant, but Mia and I belonged together. I didn’t understand why the entire world couldn’t see and accept it already. I wanted my scream to shake this earth, shouting that love had and would always win. That nothing could tear us apart. If Scott had returned to rip her away, it would be the last mistake he’d ever make.
“Forget it, you’re right.”
“What are you doing here, Scott?”
“I went back to Bruce’s, and she wasn’t there. I had to make sure she was okay. When I didn’t see Mia sitting next to you, I thought … Actually, I didn’t know what I thought. Maybe she’d chosen me. That maybe I was wrong in letting her go. It was fucked up the way I left her. I don’t know, I just wanted to see her one last time and to tell you—”
“I’ll never trust you,” I quickly said.
Travis’s car pulled up at the end of the alley, and a few honks bounced off the narrow walls.
Glancing back, Scott climbed to his feet, his clothes heavy and soaked. “I thought you should know, I’m breaking Tommy out,” he announced, and I turned my entire body back in his direction. “I know the promise you made to Zeke before he died, that you’d do whatever you could to free Tommy. Well, I’m breaking the bloke out. For Livy. For Zeke. For redemption …” he continued. I swiped my palm down my wet face and dropped my hands over my hip bones, unsure of what he was asking of me or where this was going. “And I don’t want your help. Just take care of her, Masters. Mia deserves so much more than the horrors of this world, and you’re the only person who can give her that. I’ll take care of the promise you made to Zeke and free Tommy.”
“It still doesn’t change anything.”
Scott laughed, pressing his hand against his bruised face. “I wasn’t expecting it would.”
Besides, it had.
As I walked back to the car, with Ethan Scott behind me, a burden I hadn’t known was there, lifted. No longer did I want to kill him, knowing he’d take care of the last thing weighing me down since Zeke had died, and I dragged in a long breath as the rain slammed against my cheeks.
THE AIR WAS thick with a nightly rainfall on the horizon. The taunting threat of a storm simmered an eerie scent of destruction. An intuition, if you will? Or maybe the universe was revealing a fortune no one should endure, especially Mia.
Both of my helpless eyes peered through the window of their home. Mia played over the piano, a familiar tune floating through space between us. Brown hair twisted lazily over her head, wearing only a white tee and plaid pajama shorts. Ollie walked through the living space sipping from a mug in one hand, holding a book in the other. The fool’s eyes glued to Mia before he dropped over their large couch and flipped open a book.
I should have left days ago, but had to make sure she was okay. It wasn’t like I was obsessed with the girl, but Masters was too delicate to satisfy and entertain her fierce mind from spiraling to the pits of boredom. I knew because Mia and I were the same. We weren’t designed for contentment or a life consisting of marriage, babies, work, and routine. And even though I was the only one who could free her wild mind and feed the desires burning inside her, she chose Masters.
Ollie spoke, but I couldn’t hear from here, and Mia turned to face him, a smile dazzling her features. She stood, walked over to Masters, and took his hand. The two disappeared from my view. I hadn’t realized how much time had passed with me watching like a creep until the lights went out, and a chill ran down my spine.
I bet he couldn’t fuck her like I could, and a laugh fell from my lips and onto the empty street, their mailbox my audience. Laughing, because all I could picture was Masters struggling to maneuver her parts during a lousy game of foreplay. Laughing, because he was inside with her this very moment, having the chance, and I was still standing out here in the cold.
My laughter died, and I made the half-mile journey back to my car. Mia was okay, and it was all I needed to make sure of. It took every bit of strength not to burst through their front door and tell her I was sorry for leaving her the way I did, but I’d already made my decision, and she made hers.
When I got into my car, my reflection in the rearview mirror greeted me.
Masters took me by surprise back at Foyles. I had been under the impression Foyles was a safe territory with his fans surrounding him. The last thing I’d expected was for him to launch at me in public and on display. Perhaps I underestimated the pussy all along, but that was the second, and last time I’d let him paint my face with his impressive fists. If he had taken what was mine, I’d probably attempt to kill him too, not even bothering with a fucking needle or hanging. I’d chop him up into pieces and spread them over New Forest National Park, where the wild animals could eat away the rest of him.
But Mia chose him, and I had to respect that.
She was never mine.
So, Masters was safe.
Dean, my best mate with connections, called on my way to the motel. Over the last few weeks, the two of us had been making arrangements for Tommy’s escape. There was no way I could move on without freeing him. I’d tried that already. As soon as I’d dropped Mia off at Bruce’s and made it halfway across the states, a calling nagged from above. I’d never forgotten the way Zeke used to look at me back at Dolor, and I’ve been feeling that tormenting gaze deep within my dark soul ever since. He never had to ask or say the words, but he and Tommy both had known I was their only chance. And because Tommy was the man my sister fell in love with, freeing him was the last thing I needed to do before the monster inside dissolved to nothing.