Page 43 of Cruel Ice

Helpless, he reached out. His fingers covered hers.

She glanced down at their joined hands. “He wanted to make me weak. He thought that the terror would break me. He was wrong. When he pulled back to slice me again, I kicked him in the dick as hard as I could.”

“Fuck, yes, you did.”

Her head rose. Their eyes met. “He was bringing that shiv down again. My blood was dripping from it. His eyes had beenso cold and soulless during the previous interview sessions. But this time…this time, as he got ready to kill me, his eyes were blazing. He looked…happy.”

His fingers remained careful as he held hers. “You escaped.”

“I fell. Slipped in my blood that had dripped on the floor. When I dropped, a guard tased him. Another fired tear gas. My eyes were burning, and I was bleeding, and Sebastian was just screaming that he wasn’t finished with me.” A long exhale. “But that was the day I was finished with him. They wheeled me out of that prison on a gurney. Rushed me to an ER. And I never went back. I dropped out of the Ph.D. program. I hid with my brothers for the first three months after the attack. I would jump at every creak or rustle of sound because in my head, I kept hearing Sebastian say he wasn’t finished with me. If he wasn’t finished, then that meant he’d come after me again.”

“No, love, he won’t.” Absolute certainty. “He will never, ever get close to you again.” He’d be buried six feet under the ground. Being dead would make it exceedingly hard for Sebastian Glass to get close to Marley ever again.

“I ran away from the education that had always meant so much to me. I ran from the life I’d had planned. It took me time, but I got focused again. I stopped jumping at shadows.” A ghost of a smile teased her lips. “The kids helped me get out in public again. I got this job—don’t laugh but?—”

“I would never laugh at you.”Never. But kill for you? Sure. Without hesitation or compunction. But he would never laugh at Marley.

Her smile faded. “I played a princess at a kid’s party. The parents hired me for the role. The kids were all so happy. They were laughing and smiling, and I felt safe. So I kept at it for a bit. Kinda like dipping your toe in the water again. And then from the kid’s party planning role—because I started party planning—I got involved in pastry making. It soothed me, if thatmakes sense. Spending time alone in the kitchen.” A roll of one shoulder. “Then I did the real estate bit because a friend told me it was the best way to make fast cash, but it’s—it’s not just about cash, you know? I felt off in the job. Like I was still looking for what was right for me. And then I worked as a bartender, but…” Her words trailed off. “There were a lot of fights. I didn’t always feel safe in the bar.”

“And you feelsafeas a PI?” No way. “Hate to remind you, sweetheart, but you were shot tonight. That’s pretty much the opposite of safety.”

“I want to help people. My cousin Ophelia helps people. She and the Ice Breakers make a difference. That was my dream, a long time ago. In a different life. To make the world better. Safer. I’m trying to get back to that dream. Even if I have to take slow, baby steps in order to do it.”

There were dark shadows under her eyes. She needed her sleep. Declan knew he should let her go. “Ease back,” he rasped. “You need to get comfortable.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re going to make me stay here all night.”

Yes. “I’m going to make you stay here all night,” he confirmed. But she slid down on the bed. He pulled the covers over her. Tucked them in lightly around her, being very, very careful with her injured arm.

“You’re tucking me in,” she noted with some definite surprise. “Declan Flynn is actually tucking me into a bed.”

“Indeed I am.” He tucked a bit more.

She shook her head against the pillow. “I don’t get you.”

Most people didn’t. And normally, that was the way he liked it. But, again, nothing with Marley was normal.

“You’re rumored to be some heartless mob boss…” A big yawn had her blinking, then her eyelids sagging a little bit. “But I knew that wasn’t true from our first meeting.”

He stood over her. Stared down at Marley’s closing eyes with complete focus. “Was it because I was tied up and you saw me as a victim?” That had certainly been Parker’s take on the situation.

Parker was a pain in his ass.

“No.” Her lashes fluttered. “It’s because you told me to get away. To leave you. You were…” A sigh. “In desperate straits, but you were trying to protect me. It was right then that I knew what you were.”

He reached behind her. His fingers brushed against the button to turn off the too bright lights. As they plunged into darkness, he asked, “And what am I?”

“You’re not a monster. You’re a hero.” Sleepiness slurred her words.

Declan gazed at her in silence for a while. Then he shook his head. “No, Marley. I am far from that. You see, I’m a killer. As twisted and hollowed on the inside as they come. When I was sixteen years old, I killed my own father. And I didn’t care when he begged me for mercy. He should have known I would have none. After all, he turned me into the devil I am today.”

No response. But then, he hadn’t expected one.

He’d waited to give that big confession until her eyes were fully closed. Sleep had taken her, so she didn’t know what he was.

She’d confessed to him, and some part of him had wanted to confess his darkest secret to her. A payback of sorts. Equal footing.

But she didn’t know because sleep had taken her. And he almost liked that she thought he was one of the good guys. He’d never been one of those before. Should make for an interesting situation.

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