Page 198 of Intense
“That you don’t let me free. Just fucking kill me. I can’t live my life running from some cult. I won’t have my job. I won’t have my husband. I’ve got nothing left but a death sentence. So if anyone gets to do it, it’s you.”
His face pales and he squeezes my hand.
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t get to that, yeah?” I can hear his pain.
This is killing him too.
He releases my hand and storms to the door, not even a glance back, and slams it shut behind him.
Leaving me standing here, tears streaming down my face as my heart cracks in two.
I’ve hurt the only man who made me feel. The only man I’ve ever loved.
Chapter 65
FINN
Iswear I can’t see straight by the time I get to my office.
Every step feels heavier, my head pounding with the leftover adrenaline. I want to throw everything against the wall. Hell, I want to throw my own fucking head against it just to quiet the noise.
But the second I open the door, I freeze. My brothers are inside, both staring at me with looks I’ve only ever seen at funerals.
My eyes flick to the monitor. The camera is off, but the sound is on.
They heard it all.
“Get out.” My voice is sharp enough to cut glass.
They don’t move. My jaw clenches as I slam the door behind me.
“How did you even get back here?” I head for the liquor cabinet and grab a whiskey. “Wait. Don’t tell me. Drago?”
They stay silent, watching me like I’m a live grenade. I drop into my chair, twist off the bottle top, and drown myself in liquor.
“You okay?” I ask, like I’m the one checking on them.
They glance at each other.
“We’re fine, Finn. Are you?” Declan steps closer, careful, like I might snap his neck for breathing too loud.
“I’m doing grand. Never better.”
I knock back another mouthful, letting the burn fight with the rage. The hurt. The betrayal.
And the worst part—the gnawing, unshakable thought that she’s telling me the truth. And that she’s scared. That she needs protecting.
That I let my mask slip. That she saw the real me. The version that should have stayed locked away. The evil side never meant for her.
I’ll never be fucking normal.
“Finn, I think we need to talk about this,” Conan says.
“Talk about what? It’s a marital matter. It doesn’t concern my entire family.”
Declan scratches at his stubble, unimpressed.
“You’re fucking wrong. It does concern us because look at you. Threatening to end it all? You think your wife wants you dead? Is she a risk to you? To our kids?”
