Page 187 of I Will Mend You

I cringe as I say the words because they’re untrue. Dolly was just a child. But so was I, and I can’t allow my compassion for her to get me killed. Maybe she’s braced herself for a barrage of excuses, or maybe cruelty is the only thing she understands. Either way, I won’t allow her to feed me to those predators.

She draws back, her eyes widening. “You bitch. It’s not enough for you to have stolen my life, but now you’re blaming me for not being a murderer?”

Guilt knots in my throat and winds around my chest. I need to push forward, despite these hateful words. “Don’t you get it? Dad set us up. Mom was having an affair with her therapist, and he did all this for revenge. We were just collateral damage.”

She slaps me hard across the face, and I nearly topple off the chair. “Do you think I’m stupid?” she hisses. “I pieced together the truth years ago and married that sick old bastard to take him down from the inside.”

I stare up at her, my jaw falling slack. “You want to destroy Delta, too?”

“I brought Xero here to beat him to death,” she spits. “Don’t you know the enemy of my enemy is my friend?”

“What about me?” I whisper.

Crouching to my level, she grabs my chin, forcing our gazes to meet once more. The lining of my stomach trembles. This is my worst nightmare, come to life. The monster wearing my face, reaching through the glass to steal my soul.

Looking into her eyes is like confronting an infinite mirror of self-loathing, a nightmare I thought I’d never escape. The reflection stretches to eternity, dredging up memories I’d kill to forget. Years of festering resentment smolder in her glower. Until now, I didn’t truly understand the meaning of hell.

“He thinks you hurt his dowdy sister.”

The word hits like a knife to the gut. “What?”

“So, you’ll die and I’ll live happily ever after with my sexy son-in-law,” she replies with a smirk.

“No?”

“We have so much in common,” she says as if I haven’t spoken. “Both child assassins, both with vendettas against Delta. Both murdering unworthy siblings. Xero won’t notice a thing.”

EIGHTY-SEVEN

AMETHYST

Dolly’s declaration hits me harder than that cold shower, making my breath catch. What the hell did she do to Camila? Releasing the arm holding me steady, she steps back, letting me slump to the floor with a painful thud.

Even though the thought of her touching Xero makes my skin crawl, it still might happen. We’re almost identical. He might not even notice the physical difference until he examines our scars.

“What’s wrong, Amy?” she asks, her voice a mocking singsong, her painted lips widening into a broad grin. “Finally unable to yap?”

“Eventually, he’ll work out the truth. You’re exactly the sort of person he despises.”

She turns toward the mirror, the absence of her gaze loosening my chest. I inhale a deep breath to gather my strength. Dolly fluffs her curls and applies a fresh coat of lip gloss. “Xero Greaves has a weakness for victims, and he’s fixated on Delta. He’ll love me since I’ve been under that monster’s thumb since I was ten.”

My breath shallows. I shake my head, unable to form a denial. Xero and I might share a connection that’s been forged over months, but Dolly has a point. As a former Lolita assassin who was forced to perform in snuff movies, her traumatic past might make her seem more sympathetic. But nothing can compensate for her diabolical personality.

“There’s a difference between having a tragic background and becoming a monster,” I say, my conviction wavering. “Charlotte was also one of Delta’s pawns, but now she’s dying in a holding cell.”

She whirls around, her gaze sharpening. The sudden eye contact makes me wince. Even though I know Dolly isn’t some mythical mirror monster, seeing her look me full in the face is still jarring.

“I’m the only one capable of giving Xero his heart’s desire,” she says.

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“His father’s head on a platter. He’ll be so grateful to me that he’ll forget all about you. He’ll fuck me in Delta’s blood.”

My stomach churns, but I manage to huff a laugh. “He’s more likely to cut your throat.”

She scoffs. “You’re nothing special. You never were. The sooner Xero learns you’re just a pale imitation of me, the sooner he’ll discover I’m his perfect match.”

Before I can even respond to that ridiculous comment, the door swings open, revealing Delta.

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