Page 116 of Ricochet
“Are you lying to me?” I looked at him.
“No, no, I’m not,” he mumbled against the knife on his lips. “You have to believe me, Phee. I would never lie to you.”
“Seriously, Theo?”
“I’m not lying!” he exclaimed. “I’m not.”
Huh, maybe he was telling the truth. Which meant that I had to finish this shit and get to the next one. Time was fucking ticking, and I wasn’t leaving Maya alone. Not anymore.
I already failed her once, and I wasn’t going to do it again.
“Okay, I believe you.”
The breath he was holding whooshed out of him, and his body went slack on the ground. I knew that no matter what I did, he would never tell me who killed Ava. I wasn’t too scared. With or without him, I would find a real culprit behind everything.
“Thank y—”
Before he could utter another word, I slammed the knife into his eye, the small, red handle sticking out. I could write poetry about this.
A few little gasps left his body before his body went slack. Blood coated his face, and the small sense of relief rushed through my body. One down, three to go, and the next one was in this room.
I was so lost in what I was doing, that I didn’t even notice the moment Storm and his guys tied the Nightingales up and killed the other guys.
I pulled the dagger from Theo’s palm, and started walking toward Kieran, who was on his knees, right in front of Storm.
She looked like an avenging angel,standing in front of me, holding the knife covered in her brother's blood. There was no trace of the girl I used to know.
The girl I loved, that loved me.
This person standing here was a stranger, and I guess I was to blame for it all.
I abandoned her as well, just like everybody else. I didn't listen to her, and it was too late to ask for forgiveness.
She wasn’t my Ophelia anymore, and it cut deep. I thought I lost her four years ago, but in reality, this was our breaking point. This was the end of us.
But maybe I could try. Maybe she would listen, and she would see I was still the same person that loved her. Maybe she could forgive me for everything I did to her in the last couple of days, and everything my brothers did.
But she killed Ava.
No, I wasn’t sure if she killed Ava. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore—about my family, hers, who was pulling strings, and who was the puppet here. I wasn’t even sure why we were seeking vengeance anymore. Was I doing it to appease my brothers, or was it my own agenda trying to get back at her for breaking my heart?
But that wasn’t how this story went. I was the one that destroyed her, and if she ever found out about what I did to Maya, she would never forgive me. Why, why was I such a mess that night?
No, focus, Kieran. I couldn’t change what happened then, but I could change how our future looked.
Mine only existed if she was with me. These four years, I was just breathing, but I wasn’t living. I was a corpse without her warmth, without her touch, without her smile.
“Ophelia—”
“How does it feel being on the receiving end of somebody’s revenge?” she interrupted before I could speak. My hands were tied as I kneeled in front of her.
The Ice Queen.
The Assassin.
And no matter what, she was still the woman I loved.
“How does it feel knowing that this is the end for you?” She crouched, our eyes on the same level. “Do you still feel powerful, Kieran? Or do you finally understand what’s going on?”
