Page 85 of Riot

He’s silent and unmoving.

“Please, please, please,” I whisper over and over. “Please don’t take him from me.” Pulling away, I cup his jaw and stare down into the face I have memorized over and over again, the one I took for granted. “I love you,” I tell him for the first time. “Do you hear me? I love you, so wake up right now. You wake up right now. I love you.”

A laugh makes my head spin, and through blurred eyes, I see Westie lying on the floor feet away, his arms and legs tied while a guard pins him. “How does it feel,” he spits, “to lose again?”

My eyes drop to Kage, and I begin singing again, holding him while we wait for help—help that comes too late.

FORTY-TWO

Elijah is trying to talk to me, but I can’t hear him.

I stare down at my hands, which are red, and blink as I glance at my dress. The entire hem and front are covered in Kage’s dried blood. I know I have it elsewhere as well. I should wash, but I can’t seem to bring myself to.

That’s all I have left of him.

That and the ring on my finger, our shared ring, now stained with his blood from protecting me.

The bright white of the waiting room at the hospital hurts my eyes. I don’t even know how I got here. It’s all a blur. Once the paramedics surrounded him, everything went so fast. We were flown to this hospital, and I’ve been kept out of the room . . . .

He didn’t hear.

I don’t know why, but the thought that he will never hear that I love him for the first time makes me want to scream.

“Fallon,” Elijah snaps, and I lift my head to see him. His eyes are red, and he’s still crying, but he’s more composed than I am. “I need you to tell me what to do. I’m yours now. I signed a contract with Kage that I would work for him and you . . . so now you. What do you want me to do? Please, tell me what to do.”

“I’m not your boss. He’s your boss,” I whisper as I look back at my hands. “It’s dry. The dress will be ruined,” I murmur. I don’t care, not really, but it’s all I can think to say.

“Fallon, what do we do?” They are all looking at me, but the truth is, I don’t know. “I was told Westie is in custody. He’ll be . . . He won’t get away with it, and with the evidence you handed over for abuse, he’s going to go away for a long time,” Elijah tells me.

“Not long enough,” I retort, the numbness morphing into anger. “Why should he get to live? Why?” I shake my head, a dark idea coming to mind. “Everyone else uses their money and power to get away with everything, and so will I.”

“What do you mean?” Elijah asks as I thrust to my feet.

“Find out where he is being held,” I demand. “Now.” Elijah hurries away. I don’t even know where my phone is or what the news is showing, but I don’t care.

I head over to the closed double doors he’s behind. “I’ll make them pay,” I tell him as I place my bloody hand on the door. “I’ll make them all pay for what they did to you.” Turning away, I head down the hall, my heels clacking as I walk. Elijah is at the end, just hanging up the phone.

“I know where he is.”

“Take me to him,” I order.

“Fallon, this is a bad idea,” Elijah hisses, but I ignore him and the police chief. We bribed him, and when that didn’t work, we threatened him.

I used my power and money to get what I want. It should make me feel sick, but it doesn’t. I’m just playing the game they created.

Ignoring them, I open the door that leads to the interrogation room. It’s empty except for Westie, and when I glance at the camera, the light goes off. I’m free to do whatever I want, just like them.

He lifts his head from the metal table, his eyes widening when he sees me. He looks weak and defeated for once. Gone is the man who haunts my nightmares, and in his place is the monster that hides within—the one who raped and abused girls and boys for fun.

His delusion is almost as big as his audacity, but then again, he is a man.

“So he’s dead then?” He laughs. “Shame, I was aiming for you. He was really talented when he wasn’t distracted by your pussy, but I get it. It’s a good pussy—” His head snaps to the side from the force of my hit. His chained hands struggle against the table, where they are cuffed, stopping him from standing.

He spits at me, and I let it hit my face. He swallows as he watches me, no doubt realizing his mistake. “Fallon, look?—”

I pull the knife from behind my back, my head tilted as his eyes widen, and he starts to panic, yanking on his cuffs. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry!” When I step closer, he starts to scream. “Shit, help! Someone help!”

“They won’t be coming to help you. No one will,” I tell him casually as I stroll around him to his other side and press the blade to his chin so he looks at me. “You taught me that. If you use enough pressure and money, you can get whatever you want.” He swallows, trying not to move as I press the blade in deeper. “You took the only thing in this world I love away from me. I’m going to do the same for you.”

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