Page 145 of All Your Hate

“Fine. I’ll go. You can have time with your sister, but I will be back. You’re not shutting me out forever. I’m still in your mind, remember?" He drags his fingers up the column of my throat and over my cheek before settling the tips on my temple. "I don’t regret a single thing I’ve done. Because at the end of each and every day, you will always be mine.”

His words that once made me feel protected now feel like a threat. “Leave,” I hiss at him. His shoulders bunch like he wants to lash out. His fists clench. I don’t cower. If he’s going to stoop to that level then I'll remain standing strong.

He seems to sense that in me and he takes a step back, hesitating as he looks between me and the door. “I will never stop being yours.” His eyes are dark and deadly, his words laced with even darker intent. I'm shaking as he stares at me, seeing deep into my soul and trying to pull that same darkness back out of me.

"Please, Bones." My voice is barely a whisper, but it hits him hard. He storms out of the door and slams it behind him.

When I hear the click of the lock, I fall back against the wall and gasp for breath.

I’ve become so dependent on him that now that he’s gone all I want is him inside me, calming me. He’s turned me into a sycophant for himself, unable to exist without his guidance.

31

WYNTER

It takes me a few minutes before I can head back into the room and pretend that nothing is wrong. My foot scuffs my dagger on the floor as I enter and I slip it inside my boot out of sight.

“Are you…are you okay?” Charlie’s big eyes are red from crying as she grabs me, hugging me tight and I wrap my arms around her.

“I've missed your hugs,” I mumble into her shoulder.

“Is he gone?”

I nod. “What did he really tell you?”

“Come through here.” We go through a connecting door and inside is a small homely kitchen.

Summer watches me from the couch and I swear that she can see through all the lies. She’s always been a smart kid. I smile at her and she offers me the same warmth back before she goes back to playing her game. But I can tell that she knows something's wrong.

Charlie busies herself making coffee and I leave her to it as I sit at the small table. She’s always found calm this way and I need a minute to get my head straight.

When she’s made us both a cup she tells me everything. How Noah offered her money to be a nanny for him. She accepted because she didn’t want me to come back and not have any access to Summer.

“What have you really been doing? Don’t give me that spy crap that he’s been filling her head with. I don’t think she really believes it. Accepting his story is her way of protecting herself. I thought you were dead. I went to the police, but nothing came of it. Thenhecame along."

“I…” Taking a breath I continue, “I was kidnapped and sold by some truly awful men. The man who bought me hurt me a lot. Then Noah saved me from all of that. We've been…dealingwith them.”

“Oh my god, Wynter. Are you okay? When did he save you? Do we need to go to the police?” she chokes out, her hands trembling around her cup. I clear my throat and swallow back my own pain.

“Keep your voice down. I’m…not exactly okay, but I’m in a better place than I was. Noah has helped me through a lot.” Even if he went about it all the wrong way. “It's been months since he got me out of that place. I’m sorry. I would have come to you sooner, but I didn’t know you were here. He kept you from me.”

“Why?”

Because he’s a bad person? Because he’s an idiot? Because he’s in love?

“I’m not sure. I need space from him to think things through.”

At the thought of leaving him my back throbs. No matter where I go he’ll find me. I should cut the tracker out, but I can’t bring myself to lose him. The connection we have may not be real, but it still exists. He’s turned me into some needy creature for him and I don’t know how to turn that off.

“Do you still have your apartment?” I ask Charlie.

“Yeah, he said he’d bought it for me so I wouldn’t have to worry about losing it.”

It’s hard to believe that the same man who did something thoughtful like that also kidnapped a child. Even if he did it in a legal sense it’s still not right.

“Can Summer and I stay with you while I figure things out?”

“You know you don’t need to ask that, Wynter. Of course you can, but ishegoing to be okay with that? He talks about you a lot. The man’s either in love or obsessed with you, it's hard to tell.”

---