Page 120 of A Smile Full of Lies
“Oh, baby,” he breathed, drunk on the sound. “You scream so fuckingprettyfor me.”
My legs gave out, and I hit the floor hard, my back slamming against the base of the cabinets. My breath came in ragged gasps. I clutched at my side, warm liquid pouring between my fingers.
“You’re not gonna die yet, baby,” he said, voice low and teasing as he stepped closer, twirling the knife like it was part of some sick magic trick. “Not until youthank mefor letting you be part of something so much bigger than yourself.”
I pressed my palm to the floor, trying to slide backward, but my vision was already swimming, blood smearing across the tile beneath my hand.
He crouched beside me, just out of reach, his grin wide and wild.
“You should’ve stuck with being Knox’s little fuckdoll,” he said, lifting the blade again. “But I get it. You alwaysdidlove a good horror story.”
His mouth brushed the shell of my ear.
“And now, you get tostarin one.”
The knife caught the light again, gleaming wicked and sharp as it arced through the air once again, this time aiming straight for my chest.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
ROS
The knife plungedinto my chest. I howled in pain as Thayer jerked the blade back out, then stroked his fingers through the blood blooming out of my wound.
“God… you’re so much prettier when you’re bleeding for me, Cooper. I should have made you my final girl years ago.”
I didn’t have time to be scared. I was too fucking mad.
The second he reared back, readying to strike again — knife raised, breath hot and sour against my cheek — I gritted my teeth, braced my hand against the slick tile, and let every ounce of fury in my body surge to the surface.
“Fuck you, Thayer,” I spat.
And then I grabbed the barstool behind me and swung it with everything I had in me. The legs cracked against his face with a sickening crunch. Thayer howled, stumbling backward, the knife clattering to the floor as he clutched his face. Blood gushed between his fingers.
Good. Fucker deserved it.
I collapsed onto my side, the world tilting violently. My pulse was sluggish, like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to race or give up entirely. My vision kept narrowing, black edges closing in, but I didn’t let go of the barstool.
I didn’t stop watching him, either.
“You stupid little bitch!” he roared, one eye already swelling shut, blood pouring down his face.
I tried to crawl away, dragging myself across the slick floor with one hand, but my body wasn’t cooperating. My side felt like it was on fire. My sweater was soaked. My blood waseverywhere,staining the white marble floor crimson.
But I’d hurt him. That mattered. That fucking counted for something.
“Rosalind,” he growled, eyes wild, reaching blindly for the knife, then curling his fingers around it. “I’m gonna carve you upslowfor that shit?—”
CRASH.
The door exploded inward. A blur of dark braids and black tactical gear filled the doorway.
Alyssa.
She looked like a goddamn avenging angel, black eyes blazing, gun raised.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” she barked.
