Page 82 of Cinder
My whole adult life, I’ve avoided the very things I find myself wanting with her.
Except that one time we don’t talk about.
I grip my handlebars tighter until the memory recedes.
I’ve spent fifteen years avoiding the memory, and I’m good at stopping it before the pain comes.
I let out a rough breath.
It should be enough to stop me from pursuing Ella. But the truth is, it makes me want her even more.
The night ends up being uneventful. No suspicious activityon the roads. No sign of the Bratva. Just plenty of hours to think as I ride.
Being so quiet, Beast sends the second patrol home to get some shuteye.
It’s close to midnight, and as I steer my bike toward home, I can’t help but wish Ella would be there waiting for me in my bed.
And as I climb the stairwell leading up to the clubhouse, I can’t stop the emptiness from creeping in when I know she won’t be.
CHAPTER 38
Ella
I turnout my light and wait in the darkness. My mind churns over my encounter with Luca.
At midnight, when I’m sure my chaperones are asleep, I sneak out and catch a cab to the clubhouse where I slip into the library undetected and return the book to its usual place on the shelf.
Because I don’t need it anymore
Because I don’t need to escape.
Because I am going to kill Luca.
Now that he has Lucretia hidden away in some foreign boarding school, he has me backed into a corner.
So I am going to kill him.
I don’t exactly know how.
But I know I only have one shot.
Because if you take aim at the beast, then you had better kill him.
So I need a plan.A damn good plan.
And right now, I don’t know what that plan is.
At least I have a few more days to figure it out.
I can stall for time. Let Luca and Viktor believe I am looking for the recipe and actively gathering intel to pass on to them, while I figure out what to do next.
But I’m not going to try to untangle the puzzle tonight.
Instead, I’m going to take something for myself.
A moment to remember. To hold on to.
Because if I take aim at Luca, and I miss, there will be unfathomable consequences.
