Page 61 of A Twisted Gift

“That doesn’t matter. She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“You think you have a say in that? She’s mine.”

Erik smirks. “Oh, I assure you, she’s not.”

I press my hands to my ears, knowing what’s coming. The shot echoes against the high ceiling of the foyer, completely covering the sound of Ivan’s body hitting the ground.

Relief spirals through me. I don’t think I could’ve taken it if Ivan had put his hands on me the way he did last night.

“Erik,” I whisper, realizing my voice is shaking.

Whirling around, Erik crushes me into him. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

I bury my face in his chest and stifle a sob. “He—he almost—”

“Shh, shh. I told you, Raina. No one touches you and lives.”

Erik holds me for another moment before pulling back. The look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know.

We can’t stay here.

“Is there anything from your room that you want?” he asks.

I shake my head. He’s already replaced my books, and to be honest, I don’t want anything that reminds me of this place. It’s filled with the same darkness that haunts his childhood home.

He pulls a small device from his pocket, and I recognize it from all the times I saw maids outside taking a smoke break. With a quick movement of his fingers, a flame sprouts from the top, and he holds it to the edge of a nearby curtain. It catches fire immediately, and he quickly moves to the next window, doing the same thing.

“All right, now we’ve gotta get out of here.” He grabs my hand and drags me out the front door.

We don’t stop running until we’ve made it all the way back to Erik’s childhood home. The moment we’re inside, I collapse to the floor, laughing.

“We did it,” I gasp. “Oh my god, we did it.”

Erik joins me, grabbing my face and kissing me. “How do you feel?”

“Perfect.” I laugh, throwing my arms around him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

“C’mere.” Standing, he pulls me to my feet and leads me to the windows in the living room.

I gasp at the view. My father’s mansion is already burning from end to end, lighting up the dark sky with an orange glow.

“It’s an old house,” Erik says. “All that dry wood, I’m unsurprised it went up so fast.”

“I’m glad.” Resting my head against his chest, I let out a happy sigh. “No one will ever be trapped there again.”

“You’re sure you want to leave now? It’ll be an awfully late night,” Erik warns.

I glance up at him. “I don’t want you to have to stay here.”

His gaze softens, and I’m half expecting him to protest—to make an excuse about my wellbeing or giving me more time to adjust. But instead, he nods, and his lips meet mine for the briefest of seconds. “Thank you, little rose.”

We both shower to clean the blood off ourselves and toss our clothes into the fireplace. Erik tells me he’ll have someone come by soon to gather the rest of our things and bring them back to his home. Hisrealhome.

When we get into his car, I remember to pull on my seatbelt, and Erik holds my hand as he backs out of the driveway. The air smells faintly of smoke as we drive away, and I watch my family’s burning home fade into the distance, silently saying my last goodbye.

Chapter nineteen

Erik

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