Page 96 of Heart Sick Hate

She’s wild; she’ll claw if she feels cornered. So when she decides to be mine, it needs to be from her lips.

And shewillchoose me, whether she realizes it right now or not.

“Thank you all for being here.” Rhett snakes an arm around her lower back, and I clutch the ring tighter.

Finally, her eyes do dare to find me. Locking where they belong. Her wild mind can deny it all she wants, but her body instinctually knows where her calm is—in my chaos. She doesn’t want him touching her any more than I do, and I’m her anchor in whatever this mess is that our fathers have made.

Echo clutches the bottom of her long-sleeved sweater. Her clothes strategically hide every beautiful inch of her tattooed flesh because she’s pretending to be perfect forhim. I’m tempted to take a knife to the entire outfit.

Rhett pulls Echo closer to him, and she flinches.

That tiny fucking flinch sets my nerves on edge. He doesn’t see it or care—or know why she does it. But if I thought it bothered me before, once I learned about her past, it has me seeing red.

After she told me about what her mom did, I tried tracking down her mom’s dealer. But in those circles, everyone’s too high to remember things clearly, and the closest I could get to finding a guy who might have fit the bill overdosed around the same time as her mom.

If it was him, he’s lucky. That’s a nice way to die compared to what I was prepared to do to him.

The good thing about money is the ease at which I can get away with certain shit.

“We’re so happy you could make it.” Rhett holds up his glass of water, projecting exactly what he wants everyone to see. “My beautiful girlfriend, Echo, and I are thrilled for you to share in this celebration with us.”

My stomach flips at the forced smile crossing Echo’s cheeks.

She’s so far outside herself even her eyes dim, and I have to take another sip of my beer to ignore the shit brewing inside.

I probably shouldn’t even be here.

Six months ago, I wouldn’t care if Rhett and my father were celebrating whatever plans they had to expand the church with their congregation. Six months ago, it didn’t matter. Because back then, Echo wasn’t at the center of their plans—of my fucking universe.

But now that she is, I couldn’t help showing up tonight just to see how this would play out.

“We’ve been blessed with good news, and the new church will be opening in just over three weeks.” Rhett smiles wide and claps fill the room. “And I can think of no better way to celebrate this glorious occasion than toalso celebrate with the woman at my side, who will take this journey with me.”

The darkness that coats Echo’s eyes makes my gut sink. This was supposed to be a church gathering. An excuse to bleed people for money to ensure their plans stayed on track. But something about how Rhett hands my father his water glass and turns to Echo has my insides turning to cement.

“Echo, my love.” Rhett kneels and my beer bottle nearly shatters from my grip. “My partner. My friend. There is no one I’d rather share my life with than you. You are the light in my life, and with His blessing, I ask you to make me the happiest, humblest man. Marry me.”

It’s not even a question. Arrogant prick. He’s flipping open a box as gasps cloud every thought in my head. Her eyes are wide, and she’s frozen as he takes her hand and slips the ring on her finger.

And when he stands up, he pulls her body close and presses his lips to hers.

My sight goes black as I watch him take it.

Her mouth ismymouth.

She’s fucking mine.

I can still feel her pussy squeezing me as I fucked her in every corner of the hotel room, and my brother dares to think she’s his.

Echo is my destiny.

My fate if I have one.

The darkness deep enough to make me feel like there actually might be light inside. It reaches for her now. Itneeds her now. Without her, I’m just empty, and I can’t handle it.

If I thought there was a point we could turn back, we passed it. Long before Oakland, or even the bloody Valentine's party.

It was her standing in front of me eight years ago, in the spot where I found my mom’s bloody body.

---