Page 42 of F*ck Steal Kill

My body shook with rage, tears threatened to spring up, and all I could think about was getting to Quentin and Max and as far away from Grady as possible. Dammit. I didn’t want to cry.

Sucking in a breath, I knocked on the door, my fist banging rapidly as my breathing came quicker.

Shit. I needed to get out of this hallway before I had a panic attack.

Thankfully, the door opened, and I rushed in, not waiting for the invite, and ran into Max’s arms, taking him by surprise.

“Holland? What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked, his arms holding me just like I knew they would.

His hand smoothed up and down my back, grounding me into place. I focused on his heartbeat, on the way his lungs filled with air, and I followed suit, my body slowly coming down from the adrenaline that had been whizzing through it from the altercation in the hallway.

Once I was calm, I stepped back and wiped my cheeks. I didn’t want the evidence of my weakness to be seen. But Max’s eyes watched me, never leaving my face, his goodness on display for anyone to see. As much as I knew I didn’t deserve it, I wanted it. Wanted him.

I turned around, my face falling when I didn’t spot Quentin.

“He went out into the hall. He’ll be back,” Max answered in response to my unasked question. Nodding, I sat on the edge of the bed and patted it for Max to join me.

As we waited for Quentin to return, Max talked with me about the odd tourist attractions and asked me what it was like to work in the Inn. By the time Quentin walked back into the room I was laughing and at ease, the calmness of Max having seeped into me.

There was no doubt in my mind that I could trust Max and Quentin, but there was no way I could trust Grady, which created a serious problem. Because as much as I felt for them, I didn’t know if they’d stand by him or me in the end, and that terrified me more than anything.

CHAPTER 16

AVA SAVAGE

“AVA!” my father shouted as he stomped through the house.

I rolled my eyes; it was doubtful that he needed me for anything. More likely, he couldn’t let my peace and quiet go uninterrupted. Viper wanted to remind everyone he was the biggest and baddest asshole in the room and, consequently, the most important.

No worries, Dad. We all knew.

“Your presence is requested,” he seethed, surprising me.

“Mine?” I squeaked, jerking back like he’d struck me.

“Are you questioning me, Ava?” my father asked, prowling closer.

I flinched in fear, just like he wanted. He smiled, happy his only daughter was terrified of him. Internally, I longed for the moment I could show him what I was truly made of. But it wasn’t now. There were still too many things at stake.

“No, Papi,” I whispered, dropping my eyes to the ground.

He lifted my chin with his hand, tightening his grip on me. “Get dressed. One of your potential suitors is here. He wants to check out the goods before he commits.”

Ah, there it was. My father didn’t like to be questioned, especially on his word. He’d promised all the deadliest families a docile and virgin bride… for a price, of course. My father had never wanted me, but he saw the potential to use me to his advantage. This was made even more abundantly clear when he took over for Grandfather and became the big boss.

My whole life, I’d grown up surrounded by burly bodyguards to protect the one thing I had of value—my vagina. It was both my weakness and strength. I’d never been considered an actual threat to my father because of it, and the only purpose I served was to broker an alliance.

No one ever asked what I wanted. Not that anyone would listen if they did.

Most of my life had been spent on the compound, with only killers to entertain me. I’d watched men murder one another and knew I wouldn’t survive once my father’s protection wore off. The things I knew… were too great to let me live a life outside of the Savages, even if my father treated me like I was too dumb to survive.

So I’d either join the ranks by killing an innocent.

Or marry whoever my father selected for me… with a future of being beaten and raped.

Yay, me! Yeah, I didn’t like either one of those options.

Dipping my head in understanding, I hurried to my closet to change into something appropriate. I needed to look the part and hope the man with the best offer wouldn’t be as ruthless as the Viper. It was a foolish hope, but without any contact from the XOXO killer, I had to play along and bide my time until I could escape.

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