Page 90 of Twisted Collide

Her eyes are hollow. Despite her straight spine, she looks fragile.

I hate it.

Josephine should never look this way.

I don’t think before I act. Grabbing her by the arms, I yank her up to her feet and wrap myself around her, cradling her to my body.

The moment her face collides with my chest, the sobs start again. “It’s okay, I have you.”

She hiccups through another cry, then tilts her head up. Her crystal-blue eyes are wet with tears. They look almost iridescent. “No. You don’t.”

Her small hands push against my chest, separating us. I open my mouth to stop her, but I’m too late.

She’s already walked out the door.

36

DANE

What a fucking day.

Being near her was torture.Watching her cry was fucking awful.

The only good part of the day is having Molly back.

Which is the only reason I said yes to Hudson’s invite to go to the bar. Molly and the rest of the team are here. The only problem is, it’s not just them.

Hellfire is here too.

So what am I doing? Drinking alone at the opposite side of the bar.

I’m not much better than my father, am I?

“Are you ever planning on coming over and saying hi, big brother?” I turn over my shoulder to see Molly right behind me.

I arch a brow, and she furrows hers. “I don’t think so.”

“You can’t always be this antisocial, Dane.”

“Sorry, do we know each other?”

Molly’s lip twitches, then she shakes her head at me. “I’m goingto go hang out with everyone. When you get your head out of your ass, join me.” She stalks off in the direction of the rest of the team, and I lift my drink and take another swig.

To my surprise, no one else comes over to coax me to join them, which is fine by me. I’m more than happy doing my own thing.

Once my glass is empty, I stand from the barstool, and one thing hits me right away. I’m pretty drunk. Not shit-faced, but definitely feeling good.

The good news is I don’t have a game tomorrow.

The bad news is, I do have one later this week, and being drunk even a few days before can fuck up my game.

The depressing news is that I couldn’t muster two shits to save my life. And therein lies the problem.

I look toward whereshesits with Hudson and the other guys on the team.

Come out,they said.It’ll be fun,they said.

Bullshit. Not being able to touch her isn’t fun. Instead, I’m just pissed.

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