Page 60 of Commit

Abbot is the best man I know, but he was never mine to keep. Borrowing a heart hurts so much more than stealing one, because eventually, you have to give it back.

I take the throw from the bottom of the bed and wrap it around myself, feeling the cold from earlier seeping back in. Tears stream down my face as I walk to the door and rest my hand on the knob. I don’t look back. If I do, it will be my downfall.

I turn the handle and step out into the hallway, closing the door on all we could have been. I wish we meant less to each other, and at the same time, I wish we meant more. I swallow down my sob. Each step away from us makes it that much harder to breathe.

By the time I get to my room, just a few feet away, I’m gasping and choking on my tears. I open my door, needing somewhere I can fall apart without being disturbed. As I step inside, I realize my mistake.

I smell him before I see him—that exotic aftershave he wears that costs more than my phone. He wraps his hand around my throat, pulls me into the room, and pins me to the wall. His anger is so palpable, it’s suffocating.

“Hello, Birdie.”

Chapter Nineteen

Hudson

What should have been a ten-minute pickup so Atlas could talk to Kelly, who’d been dodging his calls, ended up being a blood bath—literally. I didn’t expect to find Kelly dead in the bath with her wrists slashed open tonight.

I was pissed I had to deal with that shit when I hadn’t wanted to leave Starling. Not when everything was still so raw between us. I left her underneath the blossom tree so she could clear her mind, but when I checked the camera’s, knowing I was going to be late, I never expected this.

There’s no pulling back my anger now. It’s taken on a life of its own.

I watched them love each other in my bathroom. I watched them fuck each other in their bedroom and realized what I felt for Starling was far beyond rational. I thought I could fuck her out of my system, fuck her, and throw her back, and all would be right in my world again.

But then he touched her. He was inside her, taking what was mine. And there’s no two ways about it—Starling is mine. If there was ever a chance of me letting her go, she blew it. Something inside me broke free while watching her with him. Something ugly and dark that demands blood for what they’ve done. At this point, I don’t care if it’s his blood or hers.

“We had a deal.”

“You had a deal.”

I squeeze a little tighter. Her eyes fill with fear, making my dick throb in my pants. “So brave.” I grin. When her heart rate spikes, I know my smile is every bit as sinister as it feels.

“I warned you.”

I see the panic take over as my threat hits home. She claws at my hand, her eyes wide in horror, as I drag her down the hall and open the door to the room they share. I loosen my hold just enough for her to take a breath before I pull her inside and over to the foot of the bed. She whimpers as I stare down at the boy who has a claim on my woman and resist putting a bullet in him.

I release her and watch as she grabs her throat, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looks from Abbot to me.

“Don’t,” she whispers.

“We had a deal. You were the one to break it.”

She steps closer, her hands up in surrender. “Please,” she begs. “Don’t do this.”

I stare at her with a blank face as she presses her palms together in prayer motions. I could tell her that even God can’t help her now, that no man would ever get between us. But then I look at the bed and remember that one did, and she let him.

I pull my gun from the back of my pants and tap my chin with it. Her face goes white.

“What will you do for me?”

“Anything,” she whispers without hesitation.

I trail the barrel down her chest and swirl the tip around her nipple. “What could you possibly give me to make it worth my while?”

“Everything.”

I pause and look at her face. Even though she’s terrified, she’s completely serious.

“There won’t be any more second chances.”

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