Page 114 of The Fallen Ones

He was right. It was a team effort. I played my part, but they’d also played theirs. I felt this was meant to be to the very bottom of my soul.

“Just like good pussy can make a man crazy,” Jace said.

“Amen to that, brother?” Damien took another hit, a faraway look in his eyes.

I watched the two as they exchanged banter and stories, feeling truly content for once in my life.

Now all we had to do was wait.

It was the hardest part.

Chapter 43

Lily

Istared at myself in the mirror. I’d decided to wear a knee-length pink sundress and leave my hair to spill around me. I was going to see Caleb at Ray’s after I finished talking to Brandon, so I wanted to look good just in case one of my Fallen Ones showed up.

Feeling good about my decision, I grabbed my purse and set the directions out of town to the address Brandon had sent. I’d tried again the day before to get him to free up some time to talk to me, but he insisted on seeing me.

I almost messaged him to just do it over the phone, but I figured it was rude and I wouldn’t want someone to tell me that way, so I wouldn’t do it to them either.

Deciding I wanted Caleb to know where I was just in case something happened, which I couldn’t imagine because this was just a simpleI’m done and gonesituation, I sent him a text.

Lily: Hey, I’m going to this cabin outside the city on the lake with Brandon. I’m telling him I don’t want to see him anymore. Figured I’d tell you just in case I die.

I added a laughing emoji to offset my words. Dying here wasn’t something I thought would happen. Sure, he might be a jerk about me telling him I was done, but it wasn’t like we were serious or anything.

I took the directions the GPS gave me and finally pulled into a pretty cabin on the lake. It wasn’t terribly far outside the city, so that made me feel better about the distance home. My phone had buzzed with a message from Caleb, but I didn’t look at it. All I wanted to do was get this over with. We could talk when I got back.

I tucked my phone into my purse and got out. Brandon’s car was already parked in the driveway, so I walked to the door and knocked. He answered immediately.

“You’re late,” he said, an edge to his voice.

“Sorry. I made a wrong turn?—”

“GPS is pretty easy to follow,” he snapped back. “A fucking dog could find its way.”

My face heated at his words, making me grateful this was coming to an end. Any doubts I may have had were now gone.

I stepped past him into the house but didn’t follow him in.

He turned and looked at me.

“You coming?”

I bit my bottom lip and exhaled.

“No. Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk to you?—”

“Then come talk to me in the living room where we can sit.”

I hesitated for a moment before following him in and sitting on the couch next to him. He handed me a drink in a glass.

I sipped at it quickly, needing the hydration since my mouth had become dry. It tasted a little off, but I figured it was because it was just a drink I wasn’t familiar with.

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked, his gaze darting to my chest then to my legs and back up to my face. There was a glimmer in his eyes that made me suddenly uncomfortable.

I finished my drink and placed the glass back on the coffee table.

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