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“Is. He. Hurt?” I enunciate each word through clenched teeth.
“No.” He shakes his head. “He’s fine.”
“A little pissed off that he got held at gunpoint,” Decker clarifies. “And that I shot a hole in his wall. But yeah, fine.”
“You’re not helping,” Hunter growls.
I blink slowly as rage and humiliation burn my eyes. “So much for no more lies.”
He snaps to attention and takes a step forward. “I haven’t lied since I promised you the truth. Since we arrived here.”
What a privilege that must be to a snake like him.
I stand immobile. Heart heavy. Soul weary.
“I won’t lie to you again, Sarah. Everything that has happened since we came here is real.”
He means the fucking and maybe the brief admission that he wants me. But who doesn’t want A-grade snatch?
Asshole.
My feelings had been more than that. So horribly, disturbingly immense.
“Say something,” he begs.
That’s a tough request, seeing as I’m tongue-tied with humiliation.
I owe him nothing. Not my anger. Not even my words. But I can give him one. “Goodbye.”
I start for the house. I’ll get changed, stuff a pair of clean underwear in my pocket, then run.
That’s all I do now. Run. Flee.
Every step I’ve made since Hunter entered my life has been wrought with failure and disappointment. And yet I stupidly felt my emptiness lessen.
I take the three stairs onto the porch one at a time, calm and civil, while I scowl at Decker, who continues to eat popcorn like he’s watching an Academy Award performance. I walk inside without a word, head straight for my doppelgänger bedroom, and change into a fresh pair of jeans from the clothes Hunter has stacked in the wardrobe.
I grab a few pairs of underwear from my bedside drawers, shoving them in my pockets, and lift my mattress to retrieve an old switchblade stored in a hole between the springs.
“You can’t leave.”
I straighten at the sound of his voice and lower the mattress back in place.
“You don’t have any money on you. You don’t have a phone.”
I turn with a derisive smile and face him standing in the doorway. “No, and I don’t even have my dignity, because you stole that from me, too. But I’ll make it work.”
He winces. “Let me explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” I shove the blade into my pocket beside the already tightly compacted underwear. “All I want is for you to let me walk out of here without another confrontation.”
“I can’t do that.” The words are murmured softly, in the deepest, richest tone.
I stride toward him—I’ll stride straight through him if I have to—and he widens his stance, his shoulders broad, his arms hanging limp. He covers my escape.
“I’m not doing this with you again,” I mutter. “Move.”
He doesn’t.
I continue forward and try to shove my way through. He stands like stone, his beseeching eyes tearing me apart.
“Move.”
“Ask me why.”
I close my eyes briefly, warding off the insincere heartbreak in his tone. “I don’t need to.”
I push at his arm, and he responds by getting right in my face. “Yes, you do. You need to know why I did it.”
I pull away, thankful he allows the retreat. “I already know why. You love to play games. You love tormenting me. It’s who you are. It’s what you do.”
He cringes.
“See?” I throw my arms wide and give a bitter laugh. “I’m right.”
“Yeah. You are.” He nods. “I loved playing our games.”
My heart squeezes at the admission. I don’t want to be right. No matter how obvious the answer, I wish and wish to be wrong.
“I lost you for five days. One minute, I knew where you were; the next you were gone.” He leans in, but not toward my face. He moves to the side, his breath tickling my neck. “That first night, not knowing where you were…Fucking. Killed. Me.”
He enunciates those last words into my ear with such vehement passion my chest tightens. Sternum. Ribs. Lungs.
“I was scared.” He moves closer. So close I can feel the heat emanating from his bare chest. “I thought you were hurt. Or that Torian changed his mind about the deal we made.”
“What deal?” I pull away to meet his gaze.
“I practically sold my soul for your safety.”
Lies. Lies. Lies.
I shake my head in disbelief.
“It’s true.” He looks me in the eye, undaunted by my skepticism. “There’s trust between me and Torian, no matter how temperamental. So, I vouched for you, putting everything on the line to convince him I believed you when you said you knew nothing. But I wasn’t entirely sure he would leave you alone. Then you disappeared, and I thought he was responsible. My panic only increased the longer you were gone. I was mindless, Sarah. You’ve got no idea how crazy I was searching for you.”
“So you fooled me into thinking my one and only friend was murdered?”
He clenches his jaw, raises his chin. “Would you have come home with me for any other reason?”
I open my mouth, poised to respond.
“Think about it,” he demands. “There’s no way you would’ve gotten in my car if I’d asked. There’s no way you would’ve let me fuck you, or stay in your bed. You wouldn’t have crawled into my arms or spoken to me the way you have tonight.”
My throat tightens at the reminder of how much I’ve given him. “That’s a lot of effort to get laid, buddy.”
His eyes narrow to harsh slits. “I can get laid any time, any place. This isn’t about sex. This is about you and me. It’s about not being able to fucking walk away.” He sucks in a breath and lets it out in a heave. “You can’t deny feeling the same. I know you do.”
“What I feel is anger,” I snarl. “I feel disgusted and played. I feel like every word that comes out of your mouth is nothing but a lie.” I square my shoulders and get in his face, almost nose to nose. “I feel like you’ve won this battle, but never again. I’m done. For good.”
I glare at him for long seconds, then stride around him, making it to the door.
“We’re not done,” he growls. “We’re not finished here.”
“Yes, we are.” I continue into the hall, hating the distance I’m putting between us, but needing it, too.
“Sarah,” he calls after me. “You can’t leave.”
I briefly close my eyes, pained by the way he says my name. Loving and loathing in immeasurable quantities.
“Sarah,” he yells, his footsteps following me.
I stride through the living room, toward Decker, who now stands between me and the porch door.
“I know how to find Jacob.”
Hunter’s statement stops me in my tracks. I meet Decker’s gaze, and there’s no longer any humor in his features. His face is emotionless. Solemn. A picture-perfect portrait of the truth.
This isn’t a lie.
No. I can’t be fooled again. I can’t let myself believe that the man who torments me knows where to find the man who ruined me.
“Stop it,” I whisper.
“Believe me.” His footfalls move closer. “I know where he is.”
It shouldn’t matter. It can’t matter. Staying here is a bad decision, no matter the reason. I will my feet to move and hold my head high as I continue to the door.
“We can help you take him down,” Decker adds. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? To get him back for—”
“Shut up,” I scream. “Just shut the hell up, and quit playing me. I can’t take this anymore.”
I focus on the freedom waiting for me on the other side of the wall of glass. There is a peaceful truth that comes with solitude. A clarity of vision unmarred by the opinions of others.