Page 23 of Unmask
He leaned in, and I had nowhere to go, our bodies nearly touching, the flutters in my belly warning me to retreat.
I caught a whiff of alcohol. “Are you drunk?”
“Not in the last hour.”
At a closer look, Kreed looked like he was suffering. Bloodshot eyes. Dark circles. His fingers slid to my hips, and my breath caught with it. I loathed how easily my body responded to him, how the heat of his palms lit something deep under my skin, something I’d tried so hard to smother. A buzz in the air vibrated between us, this magnetic pull that made every nerve stand at attention, vibrating with want and warning. I was supposed to hate him. I wanted to hate him, but with his body so close, his strength practically wrapping around me like a promise, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to lean into him, just for a second. To let my guard drop. To pretend I wasn’t so fucking tired of carrying everything alone. Kreed was chaos, but right then, he felt like the only thing holding metogether. And worse, he was offering to carry the weight I was still dragging.
I didn’t want to make a rash decision, especially with him clouding my common sense. His presence messed me up. I needed a moment to think. Without him.
“What could they want with me?” I asked, wishing this nightmare would end.
“It’s what my father wants, and you’re the key.”
“I don’t need you. I have my cousin and his friends. I trust them a hell of a lot more than I do you. Speaking of Brock, you’ve probably got about five minutes before the police show up, courtesy of my cousin.” I was banking on Fynn having seen Kreed on the security cameras.
He didn’t even blink. “We’ll be gone by then.”
My head screamed at me to push him away. My heart longed to fist my fingers into his shirt and tug him against me. What was a conflicted girl to do? Be reasonable? Or reckless? I shook my head. “Not we.You. I’m not going with you. Nothing’s changed.”
“I’m not playing.”
“Don’t be a jackass.”
“Yes, I’m a jackass,” he said, his fingers tangling into my hair. “But I’m a jackass with your best interest at heart. Can you say the same about Rusty? Or any of the Vipers?”
I couldn’t. Not when I didn’t really know any of them except for Rusty. He’d been my father’s best friend and like an uncle to me.
Sirens blared in the distance. Our time was up. If he didn’t go soon, he would be talking to the cops. For reasons I couldn’t process, I didn’t want Kreed detained by the police. Despite everything, a part of me wanted to protect him. Why the fuck was I having such a hard time staying mad at him? “I want you to leave.”
He didn’t move. “Little raven…”
“Get out.” I shoved at his chest, but he barely budged. I loathed how much that part of me hoped he’d stay, that he’d fight for me.
His silver eyes maintained uncontrollable contact with mine as his fingers drifted through my damp hair. “You can keep running all you want, but I’ll always find you. That’s a promise.”
A promise? He was joking, right? But then I whispered, “Please, Kreed.”
Those two words worked.
He stepped back slowly, as if the movement cost him something. Like each inch between us tore him open as he turned and left. No parting words. No final look. Just silence. It cracked something deep in my chest. Something I hadn’t realized was his to break.
Revenge wouldn’t be as easy as I figured.
My heart wouldn’t stop racing. I stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at the door like he might walk back through it as if maybe he’d left something behind besides the storm still spinning in my chest. It blew my mind how he had the power to rattle me.
With a breath, I waited for the cops to show. When they arrived, I assured them everything was fine and it was a false alarm. With a forced smile and apology, they were on their way. I turned and wandered back into the living room, reaching for the remote to flick on the TV, hoping the noise would drown out the whirlwind in my head. Anything to keep me from thinking too hard about the way my body had responded to him or the way my heart had tried to crawl out of my chest when he looked at me.
As I started searching through Netflix, my phone buzzed. Viper’s Auto Pro popped up on the screen. My dad’s shop. Rusty.
For fuck’s sake.How much more could I deal with in a single day?
I’d been avoiding him, and despite wanting to keep putting off this conversation, I knew I was on borrowed time. The last thing I wanted wasRustyshowing up on my doorstep.
I stared at the number glowing on the screen, thumb hovering over the green icon. I owed Rusty more than a return call. I owed him an explanation. Without him, I’d still be locked inside that house, a puppet in Donovan’s twisted theater.
My chest rose and fell with a steadying breath before I hit accept and put the phone on speaker. “Hello.”
“Kiddo, thank God.” He exhaled loudly. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. Are you okay?”
