Page 68 of Love's Ace

I needed to do whatever it took to make sure he didn’t step closer to me, that he didn’t put a hand on me, that he didn’t—

“You’re here, you fucking bitch. Of course you came back. Can’t survive without me, can you?”

He sounded so sure of himself, like I hadn’t been gone for years. Like I hadn’t stolen all the money I could from him one night when he was drugged out of his mind, and run to the other side of the city.

He’d never found me.

I’d been pretty sure he’d never looked.

He was looking now. His blue eyes roamed up and down my body, and I hated the way a smile broke across his face, the way it was so fucking proprietary.

“You’re looking good, Theo.”

“I need to go.” My voice was still low. If he touched me, I’d fight back—if I started fighting, I didn’t know if I’d be able to stop.

If I completely turned into a monster, Wren would have to kill me, and I—

Fuck.

Wren.

Why had I everleftthe house?

I should never have gotten out of the bed, or thought I was strong enough to do anything to help him. I should never—

A fist landed on my jaw, and the pain that streaked through my body was enough to make me dizzy, enough to make my head spin. Erin was shaking out his hand, but the grin on his face was still there.

“You’re not going anywhere unless I say you are, Theo. Don’t you remember? I broke you. Me and every person I knew broke you. You don’t get to say where you go,whenyou go. I do. You belong to me.”

I almost caved. The words he spoke had been true for so long—I’d hated myself because of them, broken myself because of them. I’dlostmyself because of them.

But now…

Now things were different.

Now…

“I don’t.”

Erin paused, and I saw the fury sweep across his features.

“I don’t belong to you, fucker. I never have.” And even when I saw his hand ball into a fist, even when he threw another punch that sent me to the ground, I felt something in my chest I’d never felt before.

Calm.

Peace.

A knowledge that I could handle this, that I coulddothis, because if I fought Erin they’d probably try to kill me… and I wouldn’t be able to stop what my body did then.

I wouldn’t have cared before. I would haverelishedthe power to finally tear them apart, to hurt them for every time they’d hurt me… to break them until they were crying for mercy, and notgive itbecause they’dneverlistened when I cried.

But now… now things were different.

I was different.

If I lost myself, I’d lose Wren.

Icouldn’tlose Wren.

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