I will say the guy doesn’t chat much. You wanna hear his nickname around the station?” He cups his hand around his mouth and winks. “The vault.”
“Did he ever tell you about Lexi Winacott?” I blurt out. Panic drains the color from my cheeks. What the hell am I doing?
“Not that I recall.” Liam shrugs. “Is she an old girlfriend or something? I knew getting to know you better was a good idea.” He winks again.
But I’m shaking.
Deep down, maybe I could rationalize the slip of the tongue as accidental due to stress. Or spite. Branden puts so much effort into controlling my life. How would he like it if the tables turned?
And it would be so damn easy to turn them—or break the damn table entirely. One word. One phone call. One name.
Lexi, a pretty brunette with blue eyes who skipped into the path of a monster. Lexi, who witnessed something she shouldn’t have. Lexi, who’s dead because of me.
All I have to do is open my mouth, and Branden’s hold over me would be broken irreparably…
But I won’t.
I never will.
“I’m glad you agreed to come to hang with me,” Liam says, awkwardly changing the subject. “The way your brother talks about you… I thought he’d kill me if he knew I liked you. He acts like you’re a saint.”
His voice is so gentle, and he means it as a compliment. I tell myself that over and over—but I can’t stop hearing those words. If he knew I liked you…
My chair squeals as I push back from the table. “I should get back.”
“Of course.” Liam flags down the waitress and pays the bill. “Let me walk you.”
He takes me all the way to my apartment building, and a cruel part of my brain whispers a taunt. How long before he reports back to Branden?
“Have a good day, Branden’s little sis,” he calls warmly. “We should do this again.”
I smile and nod, but the second I’m trapped behind the safety of my apartment door, I’m shaking so badly I have to brace my back against the solid frame just to slide down to my knees without falling.
What the hell did I do?
If Branden finds out… Not if, but when. When he finds out, he’ll be furious. Paranoid. He’ll resort to his tired old tricks for keeping me in line. Always keeping me quiet.
Though maybe that’s the point. My brain’s sick, masochistic way of reminding me of the dangers of feeling. Or letting anyone get too close, be them a thug or a harmless beat cop.
I live the way I do for a reason. I am the way I am for a reason.
Otherwise…
There’d be nothing of me left.
A little after dark, my cell phone screen illuminates with an incoming message.
Have a good night. Send me a pic before you go to bed. I need to see your smile.
I grip my phone so tightly my fingers leave smears all over the screen. If Liam mentioned Lexi to him, his casual message doesn’t reveal any of the telltale signs of his anger.
For now.
Night, I type back. I change into my pj’s and snap a picture from my couch. Then I crawl into bed, struggling to find a comfortable position beneath my blankets. Minutes of staring up at the ceiling eventually turn to mindless scrolling on my cell phone.
Mara’s stopped texting me—not much of a surprise, considering I’ve been ignoring her messages. Sorry for being a flake, I start to type. But it’s like my fingers rebel, adding more onto the statement than I mean to.
Let me make it up to you. We should go out tonight.
I stare at the screen for what feels like hours before I finally set it aside, convinced she won’t answer. The second I do, my ringtone pings, and Mara’s message dominates the screen in a series of short, snappy sentences.
Hello, bitch who has been blowing me off. Go to hell.
Not even a minute later, another reply arrives. Yes, I will go out, but you’re buying my drink, skank.
Despite everything, my lips stretch into an unfamiliar position. A smile? It remains as I sit upright and shrug off my blankets. My clothes are still scattered over my floor, but my gaze falls over my brown sweater with white bunnies.
Can I borrow a dress? I type, feeling my chest constrict even before her response arrives.
Of course. But now you owe me two drinks.
“We’re heading straight to the bar first,” Mara shouts against my ear. “I’ll take two shots, please! Pay