Page 62 of Falcon's Prey

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ren asked as he grabbed my arm to spin me around so I could face him.

“Y-y-you lied to me,” I whispered.

A slow grin spread through his face. It didn’t make me feel better because it was sinister. Just because the devil smiled, it didn’t mean he’d have mercy. If anything I should be more afraid.

“I did not lie,” he smirked at me as he got closer. “I told you who I was.”

“You’re him,” I said, hoping he would lie to me. To tell me he and the hitman I’d tried to hire were not one and the same.

He didn’t say anything; instead, he struck so fast before I could move. His hand came to my throat, and he pinned me to the wall. The pressure suffocated me, but Ren had no mercy.

“You had me arrested,”he spat at me.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but I found it hard to speak. What would I say even if I could? I’d stood back while Silas accused him of raping me. I said I was sorry and gave him his scalpel. If anything, I gave him a chance to fight back.

Ren pressed closer, and I could feel his erection digging into my stomach. He wanted me—and I still wanted him. For the last year, I tried not to think about our night in the maze. I tried not to think about his hands on my skin and how his touch would numb my pain, set back my self-loathing. He would make my shitty world a little more bearable.

“I-I d-d-idn’t,” I managed to choke out. I brought my eyes to meet his icy ones and my hands to his arms, trying to pry him away from me.

“All you’ve done is lie, Ember, but you’re going to pay for it.”

“L-i-ike y-y-ou l-i-ied t-to me.”

He pressed closer to me, leaving no room to run.

“I should kill you for what you did.”

His voice was like a sweet poison that I wanted to drink every last drop of. His hold on my neck loosened, allowing me more room to breathe. The air felt like lava down my throat.

“Maybe in death, I’ll find peace,” I whispered.

Something in his eyes shifted, and he removed his hands from my neck completely. Instead, he cupped my cheek with his thumb. He removed a tear that had sprung free.

“Who did you want to kill?” He asked the one question I wasn’t ready to answer.

I looked down at the floor because I felt so much shame at that moment. It didn’t matter who I was or where I came from. I…I should just leave and get myself killed. It would be better—at least that way I’d be free.

“This was a mistake,” I said as I pushed him away.

All my life, I’d been alone, not able to trust anyone I didn’t know why I thought I could change my outcome. Life was a game you played, or you got played, and I had lost time and time again.

Ren let out a laugh before he pulled me back. “Now, where do you think you’re going?”

“Let. Me. Go.”

“Who do you want dead?” he stressed.

I looked at him and wondered what would happen if I told him the truth.

“Is it Mattias?”

“What?”

“Because he won’t give you your trust fund.”

I gave a humorless chuckle. “How well you have me figured out.”

“Let’s go. I have plans for you.”

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