Page 59 of As the World Falls

His hands tighten on my dress as he growls out, “Fuck.” Then he’s gone. And I’m so cold.

He takes a step back from me, his eyes burning into me like he couldn’t bear to take them off. But then he takes another step back. “We can’t…” he mutters, his voice so low that I almost don’t hear it. But I do. I know I do because something feels like it cracks inside me, and a sharp ache, unlike anything I’ve ever felt, splits through me.

Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. I keep a perfectly trained face as I stand straight, never breaking eye contact withhim. “I never want to see you again,” I manage to say, the savagery in my voice more potent than ever.

He shuts his mouth, his jaw grinding together as he stares back at me. The club's entry doors slam open, and Tobias walks outside, his head turning in each direction until it lands on us.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, man. I thought you left,” Tobias says. He clearly hasn’t recognized it was me yet, but then he glances at me once, looks at James again, and then his head swings back toward me a split second later, his eyes wide and monstrous. “Cecilia? What the…What the hell are you doing here? Why are you…Your hair…What the fuck are you wearing? Why are you?—”

“You’re going to give yourself an aneurysm,” I cut him off finally.

He growls like a literal animal in frustration. “What are you doing here?” he asks again more calmly—only just a little.

“I think I’ll go,” James says lowly, sparing me one more glance before heading back inside Underground. I laugh incredulously as I watch him go. Yup. Leave all the explanations to me. Asshole.

I look back at Tobias, who is fuming and staring at me like a parent who just caught his teenage daughter out partying. “Explain. Now,” he snaps.

I don’t think I can lie my way out of this anymore. “I’ve been working as James’s assistant,” I mutter.

He looked as if he heard me tell him I was becoming a nun and partaking in an orgy at the same time. “Come again?”

I clear my throat. “I was curious about what you did and…slightly worried, so James offered me a job as his assistant to get an idea of your day-to-day life.”

“Oh, he did, did he?” he barks out, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yup. I’m not sure where his generosity came from, so maybe take that up with him, but you can chalk me up to being a curious cat.”

“A curious cat?” he chuckles morbidly. “Cecilia, when is this going to end? You’ve officially surpassed worried sister and crashed straight into crazy town.”

I look up at him, scowling. “When you stop lying to me.”

He scoffs, tearing his gaze away. “I can’t believe you got James to let you follow him around. He must think you're certifiable.”

“He’s the one that’s certifiable,” I shoot back. “And I can’t believe you’re still lying to me when I’ve been right all along.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I walk toward him, my anger and hurt simmering, ready to spill over. I was so done with all of this. “I know James is doing business on the illegal market. I know he’s laundering the money. I know he’s paying off the NYPD and working closely with the sheriff to get away with it while you help him do it. I know everything, Tobias.”

He lets out a sharp breath, his eyes wide and pained as he stares back at me. My tears finally spill, running down my cheeks, but I keep a straight face as we stare each other down.

“Lia, I?—”

“No,” I cry out, my voice stark in the silence of the night. “You made me feel like I was crazy. You put me down for worrying about you when I was right all along. Your boss, James, is a monster. He paraded me around, hoping I wouldn’t figure it out, but I did. He will pay for what he’s done, and in the meantime, you can come home.”

Tobias’s brows scrunch together as he steps toward me and lowers his voice. “What do you mean he’s going to pay for what he’s done?”

I shrug. “Exactly that. He’s not going to get away with it anymore.”

“Lia, what did you do?” he asks gravely, sending a tiny sliver of fear through me.

“I did what I had to do,” I fight back. I had to do it. James was starting to muddy my plans with his hands, eyes, and sarcastic charm that I hate to say he wears so well. I needed to remember he was a stone-cold criminal who was ruining my brother’s life and nothing else. I was getting too close to seeing him as a real person and suspecting there were feelings under there despite his denial of them, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to become emotional over this or get my own feelings involved, and it was starting to happen. Even if it was just a physical thing between us, I couldn’t deny that there was something more there that shouldn’t be, and that was why I needed to remember that I did the right thing.

Even if it now feels like I made the biggest mistake of my life.

Tobias’s hands shoot out, grabbing my shoulders as his fearful eyes meet mine. The act makes my heart thunder in my chest. “Lia, tell me exactly what you’ve done.”

“You’re scaring me,” I rush out, trying to step away from him.

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