Page 124 of Traitor

The hunger. The torment.

It's the same look that haunts me every time I look in the mirror.

I exhale, glancing toward the ice rink where his woman glides like a ghost, oblivious to the war being waged over her in this very moment. "Does she even want you back?"

Luca's entire body goes rigid. That's answer enough.

"She will," he says, voice like a fucking death sentence. "Does Elyna want you back? Is that stopping you right now?"

My jaw tics. Touché, motherfucker.

"Her name is Temperance now," I correct coldly. Because the Elyna he's referring to? She doesn't exist anymore.

I lean forward, elbows on my knees, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "I'll think about your situation, but I can't promise anything. You fucked up big time by going to Temper. You could have just talked to me. I would've fucking helped. I already owe you for finding her, and you know I always pay my debts." I smirk, letting the darkness in my chest spread through my grin. "But make no mistake. If I ever take you in, it'll come with obligations. Ropes. Chains. Shackles." My smile widens, all teeth. "It'll be fun. For everyone but you, of course."

He knows what that means.

He bows his head slightly, the flicker of something like defeat shadowing his features. "I understand."

Before I stand, before I walk away from this meeting that should never have happened in the first place, he speaks.

"Bones, how did you know? About Theresa?"

His woman.

I tilt my head slightly. This fucker.

I don't answer. I don't need to.

I just stand, straighten my cut, and walk the fuck away.

I don't look back as I leave the ice rink. The frigid air stings my face the second I step into the night. My boots echo against the pavement, each step a reminder of just how twisted this whole situation has become. The taste of Luca's desperation still lingers in my mouth. Acrid. Bitter.

I shove my hands into my pockets, the wind nipping at the edges of my temper. My thoughts churn inside my skull.

I'm the same as him.

It's almost laughable how men like us think we can outrun the devils we've made. I let out a low, humorless chuckle, my breath steaming in the cold. I should pity him. I don't.

Because no matter how deep he thinks he's sunk, I know he can sink deeper. I'm living it, drowning in it. I'm wearing it like a second skin.

The adrenaline still pulses in my veins, every muscle tensed. It's that old familiar burn that reminds me how badly I want to bury myself in Temper's world. Fix her nightmares, kill her monsters. Love her.

But each day that goes by, I realize more and more that I am just another devil in her eyes. Another threat she can't shake off. Because I fucking made myself one.

The brand on my neck — my personal scarlet letter — throbs beneath my collar. A constant reminder of how I destroyed the one person I loved most.

The empty stretch of road calls to me, tempting me to ride until I leave these thoughts behind. But there's no outrunning this. No outlasting it. The madness swirling around me is going nowhere.

I grit my teeth, my jaw aching from the pressure. I yank out my phone, scrolling through messages I already know by heart. Tank. Ghost. Joker. Mindfuck. All waiting for orders. But the name I long for is missing.

I slip the phone back into my pocket without calling anyone. I need to calm the storm inside my head first.

My bike waits where I left it. Sliding onto the seat, I close my eyes for just a heartbeat, breathing in the smell of asphalt and cold steel. Then I fire up the engine, the roar rattling through my bones. I peel out from the curb and I speed off into the darkness.

I don't know where I'm going tonight, and I don't care. The world outside blurs, headlights and neon smears painting the night. But none of it touches me. None of it matters. Not until I can find a way to reach Temper again. Make her see me again.Me.Not the monster I created that night.

Maybe I'm a fool to think I can ever convince her to open her heart to me again. But I'm a fool who would burn this entire world to the ground if it meant I'd get just one more chance with her.

---