Page 67 of A Perfect World
I barely heard them as they started planning a quick, discrete exit, how to stage the body, and lug both Ollie and Serina out with us.
Fingers laced through mine, spurring more tears. I stared into those eyes, once again filled with light, and silently begged for more time, because one lifetime wasn’t enough with him. A secret smile formed on his lips like he’d shattered the barrier and read my thoughts.
I bent my forehead to his and sobbed.
32
Ollie
Myfacehurt.Myeyes hurt. My brain hurt.
Everything fucking hurt.
But I welcomed the pain; it meant the bastard got what he deserved.
His head had been an inferno of rage.
Isaac Fisher, senior and VP of AEP was failing his classes, effectively making him unable to graduate with the rest of his class. Add on steroid abuse, failed drug tests, a rejected internship and his father’s company going bankrupt- he was desperate. Desperate enough to accept a job from a friend of his brothers- a job that paid in the millions for a few unethical deeds. Kidnapping, drugging, and delivering a girl was justifiable when that much money was involved.
What did he have to lose?
Your life.I said and ended him.
His employer left him in the dark, surely expecting him to fail despite the package of tranquilizers mailed to him from Merit Institute. The brother that tipped him off to the job wasn’t familiar to me and the contact provided predictably used the alias Blackthorn.
Isaac was a dead end.
“Watch your step,” Courtney murmured, guiding me through the door with Miranda bracing my other side. Pulses of fear and spikes of anxiety passed unbidden from her hands into me when her concentration faltered. I sucked in a sharp breath as another lance of fear chilled my bones-
“Shit, sorry,” Miranda hissed through gritted teeth, releasing me as soon as we entered the dorm. Courtney stumbled backwards into the kitchen counter, barely keeping me upright.
“It’s fine, everything hurts anyway,” I groaned.
Miranda shot a weary look at Courtney. A silent exchange of mutual respect passed between them. Back at the AEP house, Courtney had helped me to my feet while the twins staged Isaac’s body to look like a drug overdose before the three of them snuck me and Serina out the back door.
Jack's deep navy eyes settled on my angel.
She shook her head. “I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”
Tension visibly left his frame as he nodded. His silence screamed in my ears, but I didn’t get a chance to check on him before he disappeared into his room with Serina cradled against his chest.
Miranda hesitated.
“Don’t do anything strenuous, and yes, sex is considered strenuous, so don’t fuck tonight. Let your body recover,” she said. The forced hardness in her orders fell flat. She followed her brother, leaving me and Courtney alone.
“Come on,” she murmured. “Let’s clean you up.”
“I’m getting flashbacks to an equally shitty night,” I said in a pathetic attempt to joke. Her face remained solemn.
My insides tied intricate knots. Had witnessing my power at full capacity changed her mind about me? She’d only experienced the aftermath of me wielding myself like the weapon I was created to be. She had no trouble navigating the shambles of the nuclear explosion, but had the impact irrevocably destroyed her view of me? Was I only a monster to her now?
A warm washcloth dabbed my sore eyes. I winced.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“I’m the one who should be apologizing,” I sighed. She paused, the hand holding the towel stuttering. “I wish you didn’t see me do it. You probably think I’m everything they planned-”
The towel hit the tile with a wet slap. Hands cupped my cheeks, forcing me to stare into unrelenting lilac eyes.
