Page 180 of Ignite

And the moment we hit the dirt, the second his hands touch my skin, I know.

Familiar.

Safe.

No fear.

Just heartbreak.

My eyes squeeze shut. My mouth can’t form a scream.

He rolls on top of me, and I’m frozen, breathless.

Silent.

I fight him, clawing and kicking, but he doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Doesn’t hurt me.

He just holds still like he’s waiting for me to understand. And when I finally give in, my body heaving with breathless sobs, I open my eyes.

And there they are.His eyes. Behind the black mask. And my world ends.

I don’t need to see more to know what’s coming.

But I do.

I shake my head, eyes slamming shut, praying this is a nightmare I’ll wake up from.

“No. Please.”

He peels my mask off slowly and freezes. His finger brushes my cheek, so soft it almost breaks me. My eyes fling open.

He pulls at the bottom of his mask. Every second is dragging like it’s trying to kill me.

Then he tosses the fabric to the ground. And I sob, it's raw and broken, as I stare at the man who made me feel safe. The man who looked after me. The man who I thought was falling for me.

The man who promised he’d never hurt me.

“You piece of fucking shit,” I whisper, choking on the words.

My sob is violent. I cover my mouth, shoulders shaking.

No.

Not him.

Not my Conan.

He wouldn’t do this to me.

He showed me the darkest parts of him, not this.

This—this isn’t him.

If I close my eyes, maybe he’ll disappear. Maybe this version of him will vanish, and I’ll wake up to the man who made me feel alive.

“Hallie.”

His voice shatters me. A blade wrapped in velvet.

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