Page 129 of Fatality

I had a terrible life, so what? A lot of people have a terrible life.

I need to get over it and come up with a realistic plan to end this once and for all and get back to my safe life.

That is what I need, what I want.

I stand up and start cleaning up the mess from the fire, careful not to aggravate my injured hand.

Then a sharp crash of breaking glass echoes through the loft. The sound seems to come from the bathroom.

I startle and stumble back, my head snapping toward the sound.

CHAPTER 25

Riven

RUNRUNRUN - Dutch Melrose

Every fiber of my being screams that I’m trapped in some fucked-up horror movie.

A hand appears first, and next a head follows.

I’d recognize that hair anywhere.

My fear evaporates in an instant, melting into a rage so intense that the fire suddenly seems cold by comparison.

“What the actual fuck, Evren?!” I shout.

His head turns slowly, like a predator that’s finally spotted its prey.

“You.” He steps out of the bathroom and slams the door shut behind him. The bang echoes throughout the loft. “Are ignoring me.”

I raise an eyebrow.

Is he serious? He’s breaking in again for that?

“So what?” I cross my arms. “Did you really think I’d be all over you, sending messages like we’re some fucking happy couple?”

A dark, condescending chuckle escapes me.

“Don’t be so full of yourself, you damn freak,” I say, my voice sharp and cold. I wave my uninjured hand dismissively. “You’re nothing to begin with. You’ve got nothing special. If I don’t want to answer you, that’s my—”

He moves too fast for me to react.

One second, he’s across the room.

The next, his hand is cupping my face while the other clamps around my hip, wrenching me forward until I’m pressed against the hard planes of his chest.

The words die in my throat.

I feel the heat radiating from his body. Feel the strength in the hand gripping my hip.

My heart stumbles into a faster rhythm.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

He leans in, his eyes glowing with an unhinged light.

As his breath brushes against mine, he grips my jaw and tilts my face upward, his fingers digging into my cheeks to make me look at him.