in my haste to back away. At the same time, my voice comes out stronger than I’ve ever heard it. “What if I told her the truth? That you made me be friends with Lexi. That you had me lure her into the woods. And then you—”
He moves so quickly, though my brain processes every frame in slow motion. His snarl. His hand forming a fist. Him raising it…
Pain. I see white. Black. When my vision returns, I’m on my knees, blinking until the blurred image of my apartment comes back into focus. Droplets of red drip from nowhere to speckle my floor, reminding me of Rafe’s. But this time…
It’s coming from me. My head. I feel dizzy when I attempt to stand. I can’t without pitching forward, and my hands shake as I brace them against the floor in a desperate bid to stay upright.
“Oh, shit. Han… I’m sorry.” Strong arms go around me, but they don’t smell like smoke. They reek of cologne instead—a spicy wrongness that makes me twitch. Recoil. Run. “I’m so sorry,” Bran croaks against the nape of my neck, stroking through the hair gathered there. “Why did you make me do that, huh? Dammit. You’re bleeding, honey.”
His hands ghost over my shoulders, finding my cheek. It’s throbbing, and more blood drips onto the floor as he tilts it so that I face him.
“I’m sorry,” he says, still stroking my hair back. “I never want to hurt you, you know that.”
“Then, why do you?” My lip feels heavy, my muscles aching with every breath. Every blink. It should be easier than ever to stay silent. Endure. Suffer.
But for the first time in my life, I look at him, and I can’t.
Use those pretty words, a mocking voice echoes inside my skull. Explain.
“Why do you do this to me?”
He frowns. “Han…”
“Why do you control everything I do. Why track my phone? Why—”
“Han.” His voice turns cutting. “You’re upset. I get it. Let me get you cleaned off.”
“Don’t touch me!”
But he does, gripping my arms, holding me against him despite my attempts to pull away. “You know I love you,” he insists in my ear. “More than anyone. You’re the only one who I can trust. Only you. I forgive you for what you’ve done. I will always forgive you…” His hands slide over me, triggering a reaction I don’t try to suppress for once.
Anger sparks, catching fire in my limbs, and I push. Shove. Kick. Grunting in shock, he lets me go, and I stagger to my feet. Blindly, I race for the door, fumble it open, and then I keep running.
“Hannah!”
I start down the stairs too fast. My foot catches on a tread, and I slide down the next four steps, landing on my hip in a daze.
“Hannah!” I look up, spotting Branden racing toward me. He’s paces away by the time I crawl to my feet and stumble through the door. Out on the street, a passing couple spies me, and the woman gasps, her hand over her mouth.
“Are you okay?”
I push past her, knowing I only have seconds to spare. The distraction buys me enough time to slip into an alleyway. Then another. Another.
I don’t know if Branden’s still behind me by the time I reach a building only to find the door locked. The lights out. Its owner isn’t here.
And panic chokes me. I don’t know where else to go. I don’t even know why I came to him in the first place.
But then I glance up, spying a light in the window… Through it, I can see someone standing before it, his back to the world, his posture relaxed. A white shirt creates a contrast from his usual black, making him glow against the muted backdrop.
Relief blazes through me with such an unexpected intensity that I just stare. Gape at him. I must make some kind of noise, though. Move. Somehow, I catch his attention, making him venture closer to the glass. He stares down on me for so long, but then he turns away.
My feet twitch over the pavement. At this time of night, the traffic is moderate. Quick. Branden could be in his car by now, driving this way. He’ll spot me.
But the light on the first floor switches on before the fear drives me to start running. A figure warily approaches, pulling the door open. His eyes are narrowed as he takes me in. Then they widen. “What the fuck?”