Page 169 of Tangled In Lies

Eve has jumped on his back, with her legs wrapped around his waist and her chain around his neck.

Fuck me.

That’s my wife.

Her eyes are dark, her face tight with determination. And she yanks on the chain with a grunt.

Her arm muscles strain, but she twists and pulls, not letting go. Not when Tyler tries to yank at the chain, not when he claws and punches at her legs and arms. Nothing. He’s too weak right now, and she hangs on for dear life, until, eventually, he collapses like a dropped rag doll. Eve tumbles with him, her fall cushioned by his body underneath her, her hands still holding on to that chain.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Tyler doesn’t move, and his vacant eyes are the last thing I see when I crash to the floor too.

Chapter 44

Evangeline

The scream that leaves my throat sounds inhuman.

“Phoenix, no. No.”

My airways are painfully tight, contracting with each sob that overtakes my body.

Thank goodness Tyler had been so focused on Phoenix that he didn’t realize how close he’d come to me and my chain. Nothing has ever felt as satisfying as Tyler collapsing to the floor.

I gaze at his blank stare, and with a swallow, I touch his throat to check for a pulse. Nausea rolls through my stomach at feeling his skin under mine. I wait. One second. Two. I take deep breaths through my nose. But there’s nothing. No pulse. No heartbeat.

He’s dead. He’s really dead.

Freddy is dead.

Oh my God.

No matter how satisfying it might be to get the gun and empty the remainder of the magazine into him, I need to get to Phoenix.

I rush to him, panic prickling my soul when I see him. So much blood has collected around his body.

So much blood.

He’s utterly still and unmoving.

“No, please, dear God. No.”

My breaths are short, quick pants as I fall to my knees beside him. Blood coats half of his face, and he’s pale. Too pale.

I glide my shaky fingers up his neck, trying to search for his pulse. The second I find it, I half collapse on his body in relief but quickly pull myself up again. “Hang in there, baby, please. I’m going to get you help, I promise.”

I don’t want to leave him, but he needs an ambulance. Quickly.

For a moment, my muscles freeze.

You can do this, Eve. It’s over. Tyler can’t hurt you anymore. You did it. And now you need to get your husband the help he needs.

A shudder shakes me out of my stupor, and I go back to Tyler and pat my hands over his pants. I hate every second of being so close to him, of having my hands on him, but I need to find . . . Yes. I feel the hard rectangular shape in his left pocket and reach into it to tug it out.

My hands shake so badly it takes me several swipes to bring the screen to life. The locked screen. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

I swipe again and feel disgust and gratitude rush my system at the fingerprint access.

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