Page 98 of Fracture

My hand that extinguished a life not even an hour ago is now curled around the throat of the woman I love, eliciting nothing but pleasure. Her breaths come in short, sharp gasps, her pussy clamping down on me.

“Come for me,guera,” I command. “Let me know this is mine.”

Covered in sweat and blood, my perfect girl’s mask fractures, and she claws her nails into my shoulders. She screams my name, her body shuddering, and I slam into her, my release meeting hers. My hand relaxes around her neck, and she sighs, her head turning to the side as her body slumps against the table.

I raise myself off her and finally peel off the mask, running a hand over my sweat-soaked skin. Stella smiles, her eyes closing gently, and I run a hand down her body.

“Do you know how beautiful you look right now?”

She giggles, pushing the hair from her face. “I bet I look like a dream.”

“You do. You are a dream, my dream.”

She turns her face to look up at me, and her expression shifts. “You’re done now, right?”

I pull out of her gently, and my eyes drop from hers. “We should go inside.”

She sits up suddenly, and seizes my face in her hands, gazing up at me desperately. “Dylan, I’m glad he’s dead, but please, you can’t go on some crazy hunt to try and find everyone who ever hurt me. How would you even find them?”

I consider for a moment not telling her, keeping what I know secret. But I’m sick of the secrecy. She’s in this now. She always was, we were just too stupid to see it. I’m not keeping her in the dark anymore.

“Gloria has a diary.”

Stella’s brow furrows, and she shakes her head. “A what? I don’t understand.”

“Gloria knew. Gloria planned it. With your dad.” I stroke her cheeks, the hair from her forehead. “She had a diary, and she wrote all those names down.”

She shakes her head, her brow furrowing. “No, she- she… I mean, she wouldn’t have kept that. I mean…”

“Yes, she would have.” I kiss her forehead, wishing I could make this all stop, make all this darkness go away. “Gloria would have kept it for leverage. I promise you that.” I cradle her head against my chest. “And now we’re going to find them all.”

“No!” She pushes me away with both hands, sending me stumbling just as the headlights of Levi’s car light up the driveway.

I look over my shoulder to watch him enter the garage, his brows drawn together as he takes in the scene before him.

“I told her,” I say, and Levi’s jaw feathers.

“You shouldn’t have.”

“Yes, you fucking should have.” Stella slides down off the pool table, raking her fingers through her hair. “Oh my god. Oh my fucking god.”

Levi gestures to Stella with an open hand, regarding me with a thunderous expression. “You see this? This is why we can’t have her in this.”

“We’re in this together,” I counter. “I’m done lying to her, that got us nowhere but prison last time.”

Levi exhales through gritted teeth, shaking his head. “It’s not fucking lying, Dylan, it’s protecting her.”

“Protecting me?” Stella stands beside me with her fists balled at her sides. “I am so tired of you using that as an excuse.”

“I cannot have you getting hurt again, Stella.” Levi takes a step closer to her, and Stella waves him off.

“Stop treating me like a victim, Levi. Stop acting like I’m some pure delicate flower. I’mnot.”

“I do not treat you like a victim.” Levi moves closer to her, and takes her hand. “Baby girl, it’s not like that. But you’ve been through enough, I don’t want you going through more.”

“You don’t get it.” Stella yanks her hand away. “You just don’t fucking get it, Levi. You are putting me through more by doing all this.” She gestures to the mask on the ground. “I told you I didn’t want you doing it, and you did it anyway. So now I know, and I’m in it, OK? That was your decision. You caused this, both of you.”

“You think I wanted this?” Levi’s face twists between helplessness and anger. “You think any of us wanted this fucking life? Do you know what it was like being in prison?”

---