Page 131 of Lies Like Love

And all I can think isgood.

These sick fucks want worse than death for Fel. To sell her, to use her, to violate her. And I’ll never let that happen again.

Pushing off the man on ground, I make my way farther down the hall, following the sounds that echo and hoping they’re leading me in the right direction. Like ghosts rattling, they guide me through the maze. I follow Fel’s screams as I make my way up the winding staircase.

This was always meant to end where it started.

It might have been her subconscious that led her up here, but we both know why.

I reach the top of the stairs as another set of footsteps starts to slap the tile behind me. The second man her father hired is closing in. But I manage to slip around a pillar before he spots me, and I hold my breath.

This time, I don’t trip him or hesitate. All reservations are gone. I spin the moment he’s close and rip the blade across his throat, shock widening his eyes before his breath has a chance to escape his chest.

He falls to the ground, knees first at my feet, and I press my foot against his chest to kick his body back down the staircase.

Two down.

One to go.

The only one who matters because I’m going to cut the head off the snake and make sure there isn’t a piece strong enough to survive.

“You can’t hide from me, Felicity.” Her father’s voice echoes down the hall. “Your mother understood. Give me a chance to help you understand too.”

Manipulation, mind games.

I never knew the man before today, only that Fel thought he was a good person, when I had a feeling, he wasn’t.

Her mother being after my father’s money wasn’t a secret. Or the fact that she played along with her new husband’s sick obsession. But the roots had to have started somewhere. And the way she didn’t show a hint of grief at any mention of Fel’s father made me suspect he was the reason.

Turning the corner, I see the door to my old bedroom is slung wide open. Of course she went here, of all places. The one place in these haunted walls she always felt safe, whether she’d admit it or not.

I was her safe space in a world filled with thorns.

She might not have known about the cameras in her room or the lies of her family, but deep down she sensed it. It’s why she’d slip into my room on bad days, even if it was innocent back then. Comfort. Familiarity.

Fel’s been mine longer than she’s been willing to admit it.

Stepping through the doorway to my old room, my mind travels back eleven years. To the last time I was standing at the foot of the bed, packing my things. Fel screamed she never wanted to see me again.

She didn’t realize then we were inevitable.

I did.

Muffled voices come from the bathroom, so I walk over quietly. I’d like to think it’s on purpose and not because my blood loss is slowing me down, but who knows. He has a gun, and I can’t take the chance he’ll shoot me again because I’m fairly certain that would be it.

From the doorway, I hear water running, and it makes my stomach sink because his voice is clear, but Fel is silent.

“You will listen to your family, or I will train you to do so. Just like her.”

There’s a splash and flailing that strips me of my hesitation. I push the door open to see Fel in the bathtub. Her arms claw for the air her father isn’t allowing her as he holds her head under. Her nails dig into his cheeks and throat, but almost as if he sees it as a challenge, he forces her deeper.

Tunnel vision.

There’s a chance I’ll be Swiss cheese at the end of this, but there’s no stopping my legs at the sight of his hands holding her under. All that matters is reaching Fel.

Her dad turns at the slapping of my feet on the tile, and he smirks, releasing her to face me.

Water splashes from the tub as Fel pops to the surface, and her hands rake at her chest as if she can open it with her fingers to let more air in. Her hair is slick crimson over her shoulders, and it matches my vision as she clutches her heart and searches for her breath.

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