Page 3 of Unleashed
I expect a stabbing response from him, a sarcastic reminder that I thought he was dead for months. But then I remember that’s not something he would say. It’s something Isaia would.
Visibly, he takes a breath, his shoulders rolling back as he loosens his grip on the cane. “You need to eat something. You’ve been out for a long time.”
“Where are we?” I glance around the unfamiliar room.
“New York.” He places the foot of his cane on the hardwood floor. “And before you ask, I didn’t drug you. You passed out when you saw me after getting off that helicopter. I thought it was exhaustion,” his eyes soften, “but now I know it was shock. Seeing someone you thought was dead.”
I pull a hand through my hair, pacing to the window. “You have no idea how many emotions are currently jostling for dominance in my mind,” I say, staring at the cityscape, the sun hanging low.
“You—”
“It’s my fault,” I blurt, not looking back at him. “All of it.”
“It’s not. It’s him, Everly. All of this is because of him.”
This time, I turn to face him. “I lied to you. I made you think I was in danger from Isaia so you would marry me.”
All he does is stare back at me, giving me a fair chance to say what I need to.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I lied to you because I knew you’d keep your promise to me. That you would never marry me if you knew Michele was blackmailing me.”
He’s features harden. “Blackmailing?”
My ribs lock around my chest, and I wrap my arms around myself as I sit on the bed, afraid my legs might fail me. “He threatened my mom, Anthony. Said if I didn’t marry you, he would let my mom believe her cancer was terminal,” Anthony curses,“that no amount of chemotherapy will be able to save her.”
“Jesus,” he mutters and takes a seat next to me.
“My mom was already doubting whether she wanted to go through with the chemo, and I couldn’t—” I choke on a sob as he gently folds his fingers around my hand. “I didn’t want to lose her, and if she thought it was terminal, she never would have gotten the help she needed. I had to lie to you, and I’m so sorry, Anthony. I’m so?—”
“All this time,” he starts, staring at the floor, “you thought I was dead, and you…you blamed yourself?”
Tears erupt, all the guilt and the grief—now relief—tornadoes through my soul, and it hurts, everything fucking hurts, and I don’t know how to make it stop.
“Jesus Christ, Everly.” He folds an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him. “That motherfucker let you believe I was dead, knowing you blamed yourself. I’m going to kill him. I swear to God, I’m going to rip his fucking heart out.”
Through the tears, I shake my head against him. “He had to have had a reason he didn’t tell me.”
“Everly—”
“I refuse to believe he lied to me without a good reason for doing so.” I glance up at Anthony. “I have to see him.”
Chapter 2
EVERLY
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am,” I say, even though my voice barely holds.
Anthony shakes his head, getting on his feet, his movements stiff. That limp...God, it’s not just a limp. It’s a wound. A reminder. A debt he never asked to pay. I hate that it’s because of me.
“Absolutely not,” he snaps. “The man kidnaps you, holds you against your will?—”
“Against my will?” I stand, even though my legs still tremble under the weight of everything. “He didn’t hold me against my will, Anthony.”
He stares like I’ve just betrayed him all over again. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying Isaia wasn’t keeping me hostage.”
