Page 115 of Devious Lies

Please.

They place pads on her chest and side.

“Clear!”

Then, they shock her.

The sound the machine makes is so damn sharp and shrill. Her body jumps and her head lolls to the side.

Nico and Angel are both holding me back. I don’t even realize I am struggling until I see my own feet kicking out from under me.

They shock her again.

Her chest rises.

Thank God.

She’s alive.

And that counts for something.

It counts for everything.

I know what I am, and I know what I deserve. And it is not her.

She is too good for me.

Too young.

Too pretty.

Too innocent and sweet.

But I’m also man enough to admit she is mine.

I’m not letting her go.

Not now. Not fucking ever.

She’s with the surgeons now, and Angel is hustling me into a room.

“Take your fucking clothes off, man. I’m not undressing you, Luc,” he says, exasperated.

I haven’t uttered a single word since I talked to the surgeon.

Well, I say talk.

But it’s more like threaten.

As in she dies, you fucking die.

I think he gets the message. But just to smooth things over, I have one of my guys send fifty grand as a donation to his kid’s school’s athletic fund.

“Get in there,” Angel says, and he’s putting my clothes into a plastic bag as I step into the shower.

“Luc, snap the fuck out of it. I need you to get washed and put on these clothes when you’re done,” he says, pointing to a pile of clean clothes he just set on the counter.

“Nico is with Anna. She’s to be kept in the dark about all this. But he’s gonna want to talk to you. So, move it.”

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