Page 139 of Unholy Bonds

“Ryden… I’m sorry that you were caught in the middle of it, but you kill men like Victor.”

“I don’t know what to feel. I hate you,” he said, his face twisting with rage. “I hate you, Red.” Perhaps it was better this way. “I fucking love you, even when I hate you. I don’t understand what kind of madness this is, but here I am.”

There it was. Again. The L word. I had tried it once, and it failed magnificently.

“If you hate me… you can’t love me.”

“Who said I can’t? There is a thin line between love and hate, Little Killer,” he said, calling me by his usual nickname. Then his eyes widened once again as if he realized how appropriate his nickname was. “You’re really a killer. Were you laughing at me when I called you that? Fuck, I want to punish you so bad.”

He noticed the glint in my eyes. I couldn’t wait for him to punish me, and when he saw the way I was looking at him, he groaned, calling me names.

“Nothing about you is funny, Ryden Sinclair. I was obsessed, but I wasn’t making fun of you. I was using you for your body.”

He grunted. “The things that come out of your fucking mouth… always so fucking inappropriate.”

“Did Sister Serena call? Is that how you know I’m K.Y. Wolff?”

“Fucking K.Y. Wolff. It’s no wonder I was attracted to her,” he grunted. “But you smelled different. You felt different. Even your fucking voice was different.”

“Different perfume. I add layers of clothes. I can change my voice. How did you find me?”

“Sister Serena didn’t call. K.Y. Wolff’s burner phone… I mean, your burner phone just came back online, and Reah messaged me the location.”

No. That’s impossible, Kat said with a frown.

I shook my head. My burner phone, the one I used as K.Y. Wolff, was at home.

“I saw you were gone, and I called Reah, and she found you right here, with K.Y. Wolff. I saw the old sedan and called your number.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket. “You left it there.”

“I didn’t turn the burner phone back on,” I said, looking around with a grimace. I realized this was more than just a game between us. Logan Jones, for whatever reason, wanted Ryden here with me. “Logan wanted you here. This is the climax of his story. Now that you’re here, the game will truly begin.”

“Why? Why does he want me here?”

“To kill you. As far as he’s concerned, you’re with me, and you’re an obstacle to his love.”

“Delusional bastard.”

“So are you,” I whispered, and his eyes flashed.

“Fuck you, Red.”

“Fuck me when this is over.”

His eyes widened and then he sighed.

“Can you let me go now? We have to find him before he finds us.”

“We aren’t done talking about what you did. You’ll get your punishment,” Ryden said, his voice a low warning.

“Later,” I sang, smiling, and my smile froze when I caught the glint of a pistol peeking through the trees just a few feet away.

He is finally here to play.

“Autopsy,” I whispered and Ryden went stiff. “He’s here.”

“What will you do if I die?” Ryden whispered. Fuck him. This wasn’t a joke.

“I’ll resuscitate you and kill you all over again. Don’t you dare die on me, Turtle Mocha,” I growled, shoving him to the ground as the gunshot echoed throughout the woods. Snatching my gun from the dirt, I put a foot on Ryden’s back, keeping him out of Logan’s line of shot. I aimed my gun higher and shot at Logan twice.

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