Page 25 of Cruel Lies

The whole of us were pretty nocturnal now, but we hadn’t always been that way.

I watched as she checked the car from the rear, her face changing as she realized nobody was in it. She was fast, but she wasn’t fast enough as I rushed her in the dark, using her momentary shock to gain on her before she could make herself turn and run.

A smart girl would have abandoned the duffel bag. Whatever she had in it must’ve been important enough to keep hold of because she let it slow her down, still somehow managing to stay just out of my reach as she dodged between cars, keeping one hunk of metal after another between us. I snarled, I cackled, and I sighed as she forced me to play her little game, tiresome as it was. The longer she fought, the more that urge to cut a bitch rose in me, until she wasn’t being chased by normal Nash anymore. She’d unlocked a beast she probably had no idea existed, and now, when I caught her, there would be no telling what I’d do.

"Oh, you’re in for it, now, bitch," I snapped as she dodged mygrip with inches to fucking spare, jumping onto the hood of a car to walk over a few of them and put more distance between us.

Fine. If she wanted to play dirty, then so would I.

I climbed up after her, setting off several car alarms as I tromped over metal hoods and shattered several windshields with my heavy boots in pursuit of my target.

She made the mistake of turning around to see where I was, and I closed in on her and tackled the bitch to the ground, the two of us bouncing off the concrete like goddamn bouncy balls from the corner store quarter machine.

I vaguely heard somethingsnapbut shoved the incoming pain to the back of my brain and paid it no mind, focusing solely on the catch in my arms. Harper had always been stubborn growing up, but this Harper was a new monster. She fought my hold with a maddened, single-minded intensity, her grunts and squeals as I tightened my grip like the sweetest music.

Thiswas what I’d missed.Thiswas what they’d denied me when we realized who she was and let her go.

She wasn’t getting away now.

"Keep struggling," I growled in her ear, groaning when she landed a blow to my nether region. "Fuck, I love it when they fight."

"Fuck you, sicko!" she whisper-shouted, throwing her head back into my nose with significant force. "I won’t go down easy!"

I could feel the cartilage snap as she connected a second time, felt the blood rush out of my nose and coat my face and her back. My tongue darted out, capturing a hint of the metallic tang. The grin on my face widened, and I managed to just barely dodge her next swing.

"Oh, no, you don’t," I growled, my dick hard against her ass from the rush of adrenaline she’d forced to rise in me. "We might’ve let you go before, but you’re not going anywhere this time."

I felt her go limp in a last-ditch effort to throw me off. Maybeshe was waiting for me to drop my guard. Or maybe the fight was gone in her for real this time. Either way, I knew better than to slack my hold.

Her duffel bag dug into my abs, something sharp in it poking out the side. Belatedly, I registered the feel of my skin splitting, but I didn’t have time to worry about that. As long as I didn’t start bleeding out, I would be fine.

I’d had worse injuries and survived.

A strange, strangled sound left my throat at that memory. I could still vividly recall the feel of my skin splitting as that cunt held me down and shoved the knife in my mouth, living out some weird-ass fantasy of hers fueled by popular media and a mental break. She used the knife I’d given her for her birthday, the blade so sharp it slid through my muscle and tendon like butter, my screams of rage and pain echoing off the walls?—

Fuck!

I let myself get too caught up in an old wound, an old memory, and she’d spotted the moment of weakness. Her foot came up and connected with my thigh, and she shoved off me and became a slippery eel, wriggling from my grasp with a shout of triumph.

I grabbed the only thing I could as she fled from my grasp again—the strap of her duffel bag. Her head spun, and I could see the indecision in her face as she debated letting it go.

It was all the time I needed.

I used the strap to yank her back to me, our bodies front to front this time, and I watched the look of disgust cross her face when she registered the hog’s leg pressing against her waist now.

"Ugh, you disgusting pig," she spat, her knee rising to connect with my junk. Too bad for her, I was prepared. "Getoff."

"With pleasure," I taunted, my lips spreading even further as she registered the joke.

"Ugh, you’re sick."

"Only in the best ways." My brows waggled, and she rolledher eyes at me. "Oh, so you gonna act like a brat, huh? I guarantee this is the best dick you’ll ever feel against you in your life."

She chuckled as I yanked her closer, enjoying the way she tried and failed to pull away. "Doubtful."

"Oh, had a few monsters in your seven years on the run, have you?" I wasn’t sure why the thought of her fucking other men made my stomach turn. It was probably just a reaction to the pain I was staunchly ignoring. "I should have known you’d be a little slut, just like the rest of 'em."

"Get fucked," she snarled, digging her claws into the side of my arm.

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