Page 42 of Now You're Mine

I don’t know why I’m saying all this. Maybe I’m trying to convince him that he’s killing me for people who hardly even know he’s alive. Or maybe I’m just trying to inflict as much emotional pain as possible before he shoves me off this balcony. I don't know.

He pulls back a little to look at me, and the pure, undiluted hate in his eyes is so intense that I can’t help but wonder why he hasn’t stabbed me yet. With a sharp tug on my shirt, he pulls me close to his face, and I twist my head, but I can still feel his hot breath on my cheek. I fight off the urge to gag.

“I’ll tell Roman I tried to stop you from jumping,” he whispers, tossing his knife down, and onto the decorative tile. “But everything that’s happened was too much, and you couldn’t cope. You’ll just be one more fucking tragedy in this town.”

My legs are flailing, and I’m gripping the railing with everything I have to keep him from pushing me over, but as he adds pressure, my fingers start to give. There’s no possible way I can hold this for long.

You’ll survive the fall. It’ll be okay.

But even as I repeat the words inside my head, I’m not sure I believe them. It’s a long,longway down, and the rocks add an element of uncertainty that sends terror rushing through me.

My entire top half is hanging over the railing, and Nathan is so close to my body, it’s restricting my legs. In a moment of pure desperation, I release the railing with one hand and twist, swiping at Nathan’s face. By some miracle, I manage to catch his eye, and he hisses, pulling back on instinct, his hand flying to his face. “Fuck!”

The second he releases me, I regain my footing and lunge for the French doors, but his large body is in the way, blocking me.

“Goddamn.” When he pulls his hand away from his eye it’s watering and inflamed. “You’re such a fucking cunt.”

I don’t know what it is about that statement, but it triggers something feral inside me. This coward murdered my best friend, and nowI’mthe cunt because I won’t just lie down and let him kill me, too?

I suck in a breath and call on the strength I have buried deep,deepinside. And I make the decision right then and there—I’m killing this monster if it’s the absolute last thing I do…

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Roman

The momentI walk through the door, I know something is wrong. I notice the black duffel bag first. It wasn’t here when I left, and I specifically told Lux not to answer the door for anyone.

Shutting the door, I lock it, and as I’m turning toward the bedroom, I hear Lux’s voice, but it’s muted by the roar of the ocean. Is she out on the balcony?

Turning, I walk toward the balcony, holding the freshly made wedge fries that took twenty minutes to make, but it was either wait for a fresh batch or bring Lux a pile of stale fries that had been sitting all day. As I move closer to the open French doors, I hear another voice, a male voice, and I stiffen, my body instantly on full alert.

“You’re such a fucking cunt.” It’s Nathan’s voice, and he sounds pissed.

“Fuck,” I hiss, dropping the fries, and rushing to the balcony. I see Nathan, his back to me, and he’s advancing on Lux,reaching out for her. And seeing that, knowing she’s in danger, something inside mesnaps.

A deep, guttural sound I don’t recognize erupts from my chest as I lunge forward, and grip Nathan’s collar, pulling him back, and tearing him away from Lux.

I don’t even know what the fuck is going on, or why he’s attacking her. And honestly, seeing Nathan like this doesn’t make any sense at all. But the why really doesn’t matter. He touches her, and he dies. Period.

“What the…?” As Nathan turns to see who is attacking him, I punch him in the jaw, which takes him off his feet. He slams onto the tiled floor with so much force, the whole balcony vibrates.

He moans, rolling over, and clutching his back. But as he struggles to get up onto his feet, he flashes me a chilling smile. “I should have just run you both over with that car,” he groans. “It would have made my life so much easier.”

That was him? Why the fuck would he want to hurt Lux or me? I’m confused as hell, but I also don’t give a fuck what his reasons are.

I nod as I approach him. “Yeah, you're right. You should have. You really fucked up there.”

My gaze shifts from Nathan to Lux, if only to assure myself she’s okay. She’s still pressed up against the railing, her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her. There’s a cut just below her collarbone, but otherwise, she looks okay. I expected to see fear written all over her beautiful face, though, especially after everything she’s already been through. What I see instead is white-hot anger. It’s clear she wants to rip Nathan apart, and I might just give her the chance…

With a low grunt, Nathan charges me, slamming me into the exterior wall with the full force of his weight. It pushes the air out of my lungs, and I cough as I grapple with him. He’s going for my throat, but I manage to push him off me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I pant, trying to catch my breath. “I’ve known you since we were kids.”

Nathan widens his stance and lowers his head like he’s about to charge at me again. “My fight isn’t with you, Roman,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s with your whore. First, she fucked James over and sent him to jail. Then she pussy whippedyou.And now, she’s taking down the Sacred Sons. I can’t let her do that.I can’t.”

Nathan has always been freakishly devoted to my brother, that much has been true since we were kids. And when James was relocated up north, Nathan’s odd loyalty needed a new outlet, so it shifted to the Sacred Sons. We all noticed it. But it was an innocent obsession, so we left it alone.

I can see now, it was something we should have confronted.

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