Page 42 of Red Dreams

I stare at the ruined monitor, chest heaving.

My hand goes to my mouth.

I say to Kaden through the cracks of my fingers, my voice a wet whisper, “What have you done?”

15

KADEN

This is the first time I’ve heard Layla’s voice go hoarse with betrayal, and I don’t enjoy it.

I’ve heard that tone before, all the way from marks begging for their miserable lives to Layla writhing naked underneath me, upset that I took my fingers and tongue away at a crucial moment.

But never like this. Like I fucking failed her.

I stare at Layla, at the hurt etched into her pretty face. It's a terrible sight, and it cuts me deep, knowing I'm the one who put it there. Goddammit, I’ve never seen a more spectacular disaster in all my fucked-up life.

“You just killed Ethan!” she cries, pointing at the ruined monitor, sparks dancing at my feet.

“Wraithling.” My voice comes out low, reminding her not to lose it right now.

“What did you do, Kaden? What did you fuckingdo? Cassie will be furious with us, and she’ll take it out on Ethan. And now I can’t even see—I can’t try to protect him. You’ve taken away the one thing we had?—”

“Look at me,” I order, but Layla just turns away, disgusted.

This woman will be the death of me. I crave her attention like my next breath, especially in this environment. It’s desperate and essential. It drives me insane that she’s turned her back on me.

Every instinct in me screams to close the distance between us. To claim her again, to remind her that she belongs to me in every way imaginable. But I hold back. Because as much as I want her, I don't want to hurt her more.

But having had enough of the silent treatment, I dart my hand out, catching her chin and forcing those beautiful tear-streaked eyes to meet mine. The icy touch of her skin sends an electric jolt through me that I relish—because it's real, because it's her, and she’s alive.

I’m not one to comfort, but for Layla, I bend my fucking rules.

“I wasn’t about to let you change,” I murmur, forcing her chin up higher so she has no choice but to keep her stare steady on mine. “I’ve seen what this life does to people, and so have you. The choices we make, the lines we cross, it transforms us, hardens us. It turns us into something we never wanted to be.”

My grip on her chin softens, my thumb grazing the delicate line of her jaw.

“When Cassie made you choose between hurting me or losing Ethan, I saw that same shade of darkness begin to consume you. So I couldn’t let you do it.”

Layla's brows come together, tears clinging to her lashes. “I didn’t ask you to risk Ethan’s life like that.”

“Iwill notlet you become like us. Like me. Like Cassie,” I growl, the words tearing from my throat like the shards of glass splayed across the floor. “It would have broken something inside you to hurt me, even to save Ethan. And I couldn't bear to watch that happen.”

Layla's lips part, a shaky breath escaping as she processes my words. “But Ethan... Cassie will...”

“She won't kill him,” I assure her, my thumb brushing over her trembling bottom lip. “Not now, at least. She wanted us to watch, to see you relent. But now that the monitor's gone, she has no audience. It buys us time.”

Layla's eyes flutter closed, a single tear trailing down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb, wiping it away with a gentleness that still feels foreign to me.

“If anyone knows my daughter best, it’s me,” I add. “Though she may argue otherwise.”

Layla leans into my touch, her skin warm and inviting against my battle-scarred hand.

She whispers, “I don't know how to do this, how to survive this without losing myself.”

I tilt her face up, our noses brushing as I bring us closer together. “You won't lose yourself. I won't let that happen. We'll find a way out of this, and when we do, I promise you'll still be the same stubborn, infuriating, beautiful woman who captured my black heart.”

A watery laugh escapes her, and she nods, her nose brushing against mine.

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