Page 100 of His Property

“Good,” she says, going to him and touching his arm. “Because I’ve gone a good chunk of my life with people believing I’m some sort of monster. I couldn’t take it if you did too.”

He deflates and shakes his head. “I would never think that.”

“She’s lying!” I kick my feet out of frustration. “Look closer, TJ. Her actions don’t—”

“Stop!” He whips his head and glares at me. “Victor will be here soon enough, and the truth will come out, so just shut up.” His jaw tics, then a look of regret flashes. “Please.”

Cora smirks but sobers as soon as TJ turns to her.

“You’re in on it, aren’t you?” she asks me.

I fume but don’t say anything.

TJ gives her a disapproving look. “Baby, please. Let’s just wait for—”

“She’s in love with him,” Cora says, blinking at TJ. “And as far as I can tell, he’s in love with her. He would’ve told her about his plan.”

TJ flicks his eyes to me, then shakes his head. “No. Mae isn’t like that. And she isn’t in love with the guy. She’s just confused.”

Cora raises a brow, and when I hear a sound down the hall, my eyes dart to the door. Cora follows my gaze, and I kick myself for looking.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Cora says, moving to a bag and rifling through it.

TJ stares at me and waits for a response to the unasked question, but I turn my gaze to the door as Victor comes into sight. We lock eyes, and my chest squeezes. A rush of emotion bursts through me, to the point it’s overwhelming. I’m an idiot for not saying this sooner. But at the same time, I’m glad I waited. Because right now, in this moment, while truly realizing who his mom is and what he had to go through, I feel like I finally understand him. Fully. Completely.

And I’m in. I’m all in.

“Yes,” I say, my answer directed at Victor. “I love him.”

28

VICTOR

Ilove him.

My lungs constrict when I hear the words and meet Mae’s eyes, and my grip on my gun loosens. It’s a mistake I regret instantly, and I force myself to push the rush of emotion that presses against my mind.

I turn my head to face Cora and raise my gun, but my timing sucks. She either had her gun ready or she used the second I hesitated against me. Her revolver is pointed at Mae’s head, and I can see the hammer pulled back.

She walks closer to Mae and pins me with a stare that used to leave me immobile. Not now. Her spell on me is broken.

TJ is the last to react, but when he realizes what’s happening, he clumsily pulls a Glock out of his waistband behind his back and fumbles with it before pointing it at me. It’s crystal clear that he isn’t experienced with handling a gun, and that can be more dangerous than if he were a marksman, but at least his weapon isn’t aimed at Mae.

“Drop it, son,” Cora drawls, her lips lifting.

TJ whips his head between Cora and me. “What are you doing?” he asks with enough panic that it would be amusing to me if this wasn’t Mae’s life on the line.

Cora doesn’t answer him, nor does she take her eyes off me. “Drop it, or I’ll blow your pretty girlfriend’s brains all over this room.”

“I’ve got him,” TJ insists, glancing between me and Cora again. “Get the gun off Mae.”

“I’m not going to tell you again,” Cora says, her finger over the trigger.

My jaw tics, and I grip the gun tightly. I try for the tenth time to figure out what her game plan is, but I still can’t decipher what she’s doing. I get punishing me. Of course she would want to. But why not just kill me?

Does she want to kill Mae first? Does she want to make me watch?

Or does she want something else?

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