Page 51 of Stitches

“She really does.” Cady chuckled. “OK. I’m in. You know, I haven’t seen the entire thing. I always fall asleep.”

Bryce let out a little laugh. “It’s definitely something you need to be into, but if you stay awake this time, I promise you’ll love it like she does.”

“All right. Bet.” Cady put her feet up on the couch and lay back, and Bryce hit play on the movie, all talk on the stressful things in my life gone.

If I were any other girl and this was any other time, I’d continue eating my popcorn and laugh it all off.

But I wasn’t that girl.

I was never that girl.

And I’d never be that girl.

I was the watchers’ girl, and that meant I needed to be stronger than my fear.

I exhaled and stared at my favorite movie.

But damn, that fear was killing me.

It was killing Stitches too.

We were on the same page, and I had no way to tell him that.

Maybe I’d just have to show him.

CHURCH

Istared Sully down. He sat across from me, his fingers steepled while he surveyed me back. The fact I even showed up said a lot about the current situation with my father. I knew what he was capable of, and I knew he didn’t pull punches.

The last thing I wanted was for Sirena to end up being his punching bag.

“What did you need?” I asked without an ounce of emotion.

“Just to see if you’d come.” He sat back in his seat and smirked at me.

I ground my teeth, focusing all my effort on not launching myself out of my chair at the piece of shit.

I wasn’t a lapdog for anyone though. Weakness wasn’t who I was. I rose to my feet and glared down at the asshole in front of me.

“Do not summon the fucking devil without good cause,” I snarled softly. “Just because you think you and my father are best friends doesn’t mean I won’t fucking snap on you.”

The smile on Sully’s face faltered. He pushed away from his desk and got to his feet. I noticed he kept the desk between us. If I wanted to, that desk wouldn’t stop me from choking the life from his body. I was sure he knew that though. It was probably why he had wards stationed outside his door.

Sully had never really seen me in action. I’d been bred to kill. Trained in all the ways to make someone scream. I’d have carved his soul from his body before he had the chance to scream for help, and that was me being gentle. Had I a solid plan in place, I’d carve him like a fucking pumpkin, but I didn’t have that just yet. Once I did though, these little meetings might become more enjoyable for me.

“Do not threaten me, Mr. Church—”

“Say that to me without your fucking voice shaking,” I snapped back, taking a step forward. He mirrored my movement by stepping back, a muscle thrumming along his jaw.

“I have an arrangement with your father. You know what we do here. This is a kingdom you are so lucky to inherit someday.”

“This kingdom will be razed someday,” I said. “And I’ll piss on the ashes.”

“You’re a stupid boy. What your father sees in you is beyond me—”

“He sees a killer,” I said in a low, menacing voice. “A killer he trained. A fucking nightmare he created. He knows who and what I am. You’re the stupid one. Keep fucking with me. At some point, my father will cut my chains and then there will be blood. I’ll be sure to pay you a visit. I’m skilled at teaching lessons.”

Sully’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared back at me.

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