Page 52 of Tainted Love

“We have to go—”

“Get away from me! This is all your fault!” He grabs me again. I ball my hands into fists to fight him off. I try to kick him but a blinding pain reminds me of why I can’t. “Don’t touch me!”

“Lucy—”

“No! He was looking for you! All of this happened because of you—”

Dante pulls me forward and shifts around my back faster than I can react. He wraps his arm around my throat, dodging every swipe I make at him. Within seconds, I can’t breathe and my head swims for air.

He’s choking me.

I bash his arms, each strike feeling weaker than the last.

He’s killing me.

My body gives up.

I relax into his cruel, heartless embrace as the pain fades away.

Chapter 17

Dante

Six. Seven. Eight…

I loosen my grip, knowing that she’ll get brain damage if I hold her much longer. She goes completely limp, drifting off into a sleep her body won’t let her wake from. She’s too weak right now, too shocked to come back to me, but it’s for her own good.

Lucy, I’m so sorry…

I didn’t make it in time.

I force open the door, breaking through the board Marty’s men slid between the handles, and rush down the hall toward the theater’s back exit with her in my arms. Her knee shines red in the fluorescent lights, swollen and completely jacked up.

The knee. Why did he have to go for the knee?

This wasn’t an interrogation. This was personal.

One inch. I missed the headshot by one inch. The bullet only grazed him. I didn’t bother sticking around to confirm the kill.

One bad day. That’s all it takes to create a killer and I pushed Marty right over the fucking edge.

She’s right.

This is my fault.

I kick open the back exit and she nearly slips from my grasp. I jerk her upright, resting her head against my shoulder while I adjust my hand beneath her knees, trying hard not to do even more damage as I walk across the parking lot.

She didn’t deserve this.

But I know someone who does.

I put Lucy into the passenger seat of my car and strap her in to keep her upright. Her eyelids flutter a bit, but she can’t bring herself out of it yet. Good. The last thing I want is her fighting me right now and she will as soon as she comes to. She made that perfectly clear when she told me to get away from her while her world burned down around her.

I lower the seat to make it more comfortable for her. She looks so helpless and weak, two words I never would have thought to describe her with until now. Beautiful and strong Lucy Vaughn.

I lay my jacket across her to keep her warm before closing her inside.

Now, where is that motherfucker?

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