Page 205 of Ignite

“He hasn’t though, has he? He hasn’t fucked anyone else since you two started your whole friends-but-in-love thing?”

“No. He hasn’t. But he’s lied to me. What’s to say he isn’t lying about everything?”

Lily takes a deep breath.

“I don’t know the guy. Except I have told him to fuck off on multiple occasions. You don’t fake that kind of heartbreak. That’s all I can tell you. Yes, what he did is on a magnitude scale of fucked up. But—and I am not defending his game. If, like you said, he’s in the Mafia, there are lots of reasons to explain why. People in that life, they don’t do things because they want to. They also do it to survive. Just like the game he put you in. Maybe hear him out. And if you don’t like his answer, tell him to fuck off again.”

I let her words sink in and my head pounds even harder.

“That was a lot.”

“Just think it over, Hallie. You don’t need to do anything right now other than nap, sunbathe, and party again.”

I smile at her.

“I’d be so lost without you, Lily.”

She smiles back.

“I know. You think you’ll say this in a week’s time when you’ve had enough of me invading your space here?”

I roll my eyes.

“I’d never be sick of you.”

“Good. But I’ll remind you of this. We’re on day two of our trip. We have five more to go.”

With that, she jumps off the bed and heads into the shower to wash her sins away.

And I just lie there, thinking over what she’s said.

Maybe when I’m home, I’ll hear him out. But not any time soon.

I’m not ready to be hurt by him all over again.

Chapter 76

CONAN

“Irish prick.” The sweaty guy throws his fist toward my face.

I duck and send him flying into the table. My phone vibrates in my pocket as I pummel his face.

Surely we’ve dug out most of the Bowens here by now. There’s no way Arthur can afford to send any more guys over.

Just as the guy goes limp, my cell goes off again.

“Fuck,” I hiss, stumbling backward and pulling it out.

I don’t recognize this number.

I answer and stay silent.

“Conan?”

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. I’ve become accustomed to it recently.

“Don’t tell me your next words are ‘fuck off’,” I say, casually making my exit from the latest Bowen victim’s house.

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