Page 110 of Lunar Crest University

“The fire didn’t kill him, just slowed him down.” His other hand lifts to drag his finger down my soaked cheek. “I know he’ll come for you. I’m waiting for it. He’s very good at what he does. Iknowthat because I taught him.”

Chills take over my spine as his hand continues to rub my thigh, barely grazing the hem of my skirt each time.

“And when he does,” he murmurs in my ear, his hot breath fanning across my neck as my stomach heaves, “that’s when I’ll take you in front of him. Remind himI’min charge, and I take whatIwant.”

A whimper pushes its way up my throat as he brushes a strand of my hair behind my ear, dragging his fingertips down my neck.

“Then—” He licks his lips. “I’ll slit your throat.”

My parents.

Oh, my parents.

My chest shudders as I fight back the sob trying to claw its way out at the thought of my poor parents having to mourn my death.

“And once you’ve drained, I’ll kill him too. Not a moment sooner, not a moment later.” He pinches the fabric of my skirt between his fingers. “See, that’s the sweet spot—when he’s vulnerable and broken after seeing the woman he loves die. That’s torture enough in itself,sí?”

How ironic that I was always going to be the one who breaks his heart instead of the other way around. In the end, I’m the one who will leave everyone behind to deal with my murder. Luca. Levi. My parents. They’ll never really get over it, and it’ll go to their graves with them thatIdied before they ever did.

“As sad as it is that I have to kill you,” Javier says lowly, his nose brushing against my jawline and making me flinch. “I can’t wait to have my fun with you first.”

As morbid as it may sound, I hope that, somehow, I can die sooner. Quicker. Before the possibility of Luca having to watch, or Levi. The options are endless: I could jump from the car now, or I could provoke him enough to kill me right here. Despite all of this, the one single selfish thought holds me back.

I want to see Luca again. Ihaveto.

Chapter Forty-One

LUCA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST, 2023

I’m going to kill that motherfucker.

As I was getting into my car to go sit outside of Finley’s work like I normally do, an explosion bigger than fucking necessary went off inside my house.Myhouse. Up in flames after the windows and the structuring I had spent months building were blown to smithereens. Was he trying to get the entire town of Lunar Crest’s attention? No doubt he had it, with pieces of my house lying in my neighbor’s yards and smoke billowing so high, you could probably see it in goddamn space.

I only came to my house after dropping Finley off for work earlier today because I was trying to fix my blood-stained floors.

Guess they’re fixed now.

Javier didn’t want to kill me; that’s why he waited until I was out of the house and in the confines of my car. No, he wanted to draw attention. He wanted everyone to come rushing over to hold me up until the cavalry arrived to investigate.

I didn’t even give him a millisecond. As soon as I recovered from the initial explosion, the tires were squealing as I backedout of the driveway and gunned it down the street—the pedal pushed all the way to the floor. If he was trying to distract me, that meant he didn’t want me to be there for whatever else he had planned.

Finley.

It’s really hard to fucking drive when you’re blind with anger, but somehow, I manage to get to Celestial Reads without wrapping my car around a tree. It’s dark outside, so I can see into the café perfectly, and I don’t see jack shit.

Flinging open my door, I climb out of the car in a heat of panic and rage, making sure my gun is tucked safely behind me in the waistband of my jeans. The open sign should definitely be switched to closed now, and alarm bells sound off in my head as I pull open the door and step inside.

It’s dead silent.

Finley isn’t standing behind the counter as she normally is, nor is she sweeping or cleaning or anything. There’s no one up front, and even the music usually playing isn’t now as I pull out my gun and point it at the door to the kitchen, tiptoeing quietly.

As I finally push the swinging door open, I see Oscar lying on the ground by the sinks in a pool of crimson liquid.

Fuck. Fuuuck.

Where is she? How did I let this fucking happen? I should’ve never left her here by herself over goddamnfloors, but she had insisted. She told me nothing would happen, and if anything did, she’d text me.

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