made his death quick and painless by bagging his head, but that was too bloodless. Too easy. And I wanted him to think he had a chance.
He deserved to suffer.
I pulled over once to stab him in the thigh. When I reached the Quabbin Reservoir, my car reeked of piss and blood. Thankfully, the liner caught everything.
I dragged him out. He smashed into the hard-packed ground, his cheeks streaming with tears. I ripped the tape from his lips. He screamed as though I’d stabbed him again. Then I seized his arm and strolled through the thicket of trees. When I dumped him into the freshly dug grave, he lost his shit.
“O-oh God! Please don’t kill me, man!” He gritted his teeth, blubbering. “I won’t—I won’t tell anybody what you did. I’ll—I’ll never, ever talk to your fiancée. I swear.”
I drew my gun.
“No, no, no!” He shoved himself against the grave, his high-pitched pleas digging into my ear. “I didn’t do anything!”
He sounded like he really believed that.
“You took advantage of her.”
His eyes widened, and the color drained from his skin. Men like him were always shocked at the order of the universe turning against them. They were oblivious to the destruction they caused, the shattered lives and the broken women.
Crimson blanketed my vision.
I shot him.
Blood burst from his stomach, his abdomen, his chest, everywhere. His head rolled back, the tension in his muscles gone. I emptied the whole clip. I wiped the gun, dumping it beside his body. Then I shoveled dirt over James’s slack-jawed face.
Next, Killian.
Twenty
Liana
Something was off.
The hairs on my neck rose when Vinn walked through the door, hair mussed, smiling. He immediately dumped his shirt and pants in the washer, which set my alarms on red-alert. My mind dove into the worst-case scenario as Vinn jumped in the shower.
I almost stormed into the bathroom to ask where the hell he’d gone. Instead I clenched my teeth and glowered at the TV show I was supposed to be absorbing. He’d been out all night and for the better part of the morning. The clothes in the wash and his aura of giddiness pitted me with dread.
Was I not enough?
I dismissed the insecurity and crushed it under my heel. It was time to wake up. I’d loved a cardboard cutout of Prince Charming that had never existed. I’d never known Vinn at all.
I switched off the TV and flung the remote onto the table, the void in my stomach growing.
I shuffled to the blinding kitchen for a coffee. Vinn, freshly washed, stood at the stove, pouring egg whites on a plate. He wore gym shorts and nothing else. The sight of his naked back brought home the ache in my pussy, my sore breasts, and my tingling mouth.
The knot in my gut pulsed.
“I got you a phone,” he announced, gesturing at the counter. “I already synced it with your laptop.”
I folded my arms across my chest, ignoring the cell beside its packaging. My head pounded with the effort of not calling him a dozen expletives.
“What, no catty remark? Your contacts are all on there, except the asshole.”
“Along with a million security apps to track my every movement and keystroke.”
He winked as he sat, tucking into his food. “Smart girl.”
The taunt lashed my cheeks. It wasn’t enough that he’d humiliated me. He had to be a jerk about my privacy, too.
“Shove it up your ass, Vinn.”
I slid the cell over the marble.
Vinn caught it, frowning.
I shot from the kitchen.
A potent rage seared my spine. The skin on my face strained. My hands clenched and unclenched. I bulldozed into Vinn’s bedroom and threw open the closet. I seized a bag and shoved articles of clothing inside, packing so quickly I barely paid attention.
“What are you doing?” Vinn’s baritone was like a clap of lightning.
“I’ll be at Michael’s.”
He gave me a black look layered with confusion, and then he set his chin into an unyielding line. Every muscle in his body spoke defiance, right down to the one twitching in his jaw.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
I shouldered the backpack, standing. “I’ll return in a few days. I’ll tell Michael we’re in a fight over wedding venue locations, so he doesn’t murder you.”
His expression hardened like someone who’d been slapped. He grabbed me as I headed out. He palmed my back, and then he scooped me into his arms.
“Li, what’s the matter?”
The gentle touch shattered me.
“It was supposed to be special.” I screwed up my face, battling the rising lump in my throat. “I