Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“I can handle it. He deserves it. After all, he’s done–all he’s tried to do. And then, this is over. We’re free…”
His eyes grow glassy. To love each other, he wants to say, but then he swallows, like he’s forcing the words down.
“Keep the phone on you at all times,” he says. “I’m going to be watching you. If anything happens, drop to the ground.” He grits his teeth. “Fuck–I shouldn’t let you do this.”
I put my hand on his chest, feeling his heart pounding below. “This isn’t about letting me do anything, remember? If we’re going to be anything, you have to understand that. I’m…” I hesitate, but then I remember the look on Tash’s face, the unashamed and unabashed love. “I’m yours, Dom, but that doesn’t mean you control me.”
He places his hands on my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. He holds me like it might be the last time, kissing the top of my head and taking a moment to inhale, as if he needs to savor my scent. I cling onto his sides, holding firmly, almost desperately.
Desperation is the best way to think about it, about us. I was desperate to find someone–then desperate to be free–and now, I’m desperate for the tension to end so we can clear the fallout and finally face how we truly feel when there’s not a boot on our neck.
“Do you know the plan?” he asks softly.
“I need to keep Mason talking,” I say. “Then create some distance between us so that when you take the shot, you don’t hit me.” I tremble all over, but then I force down the nerves. “But you need to give me some time so he can delete the video. I can’t risk him having backups that could bury me.”
He holds me tightly. “I have to ask you, Keepsake, one final time.”
Don’t do this… That’s what he thinks he has to say.
“But you won’t. You know what my answer is. I’ve been running for too long. I have to do this.”
He sighs, kisses me again. “When this is over, we’ll be happy. You’ll see.”
“The Keepsake and her Warden. Do you think you’ll still want me when you can’t keep me in a cage?”
“I don’t want power over you, Evie. I just want a relationship worth fighting for. Before you, I didn’t think that was possible.”
I love you. I think, but don’t say. I won’t cross that line, not yet, not until I know for sure that we’ve got a future.
The brutal fact is, this could be our last hug, our last words, our last kiss.
I stand at Mom’s grave, studying the headstone, blinking away tears. After running from The Vultures, I was always wary of coming back here in case someone recognized me. I lay flowers on it, then lay the rucksack on the ground.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s Dom.
Dom: No sign of him yet. Part of me hopes he won’t show up.
This isn’t a jail broken phone this time. I can text and call anyone. I could call the cops if I wanted, but I’m way past that.
Evie: He needs to show. This can’t end if he chickens out. I know you’re worried, but soon, this will be over.
Dom: I don’t want you to see what happens to a person when they’re shot, Keepsake. When the time comes, drop to the ground, cover your ears, close your eyes.
Evie: I’m tougher than you think.
Dom: You don’t need to be tough. That’s my job.
This text appears, then another immediately follows it.
Dom: I need you to know that I meant what I said. I love you. Maybe I’ve got no right to say it. Perhaps I’m moving too fast when too much is going on. But it’s the truth. I love you.
Evie: Moving fast is our flavor of crazy.
It might not be what he wants to hear. He probably wishes I’d tell him I love him, too. And heck, maybe that’s true.
Dom: Put the phone away. I hear a motorcycle. And remember–if he makes a move I don’t like, I’m going to drop him.
Evie: Let me get him to delete the video first. He might have a backup!
Dom: You’re in control, Keepsake, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let anybody hurt you. Ever.
I slide the phone into my pocket. “Wish me luck, Mom. It’s probably fitting, right? That asshole made your life hell before the car crash, and now you’re going to get to watch him get sent straight to Hell.”
My breath catches when I see Mason swaggering across the empty cemetery. The sun has set, and no one else is around. I know that Dom and the others are watching from all around us through their rifle scopes, but I can’t see them. My old fear threatens to grip me.
I stand up straighter, even when he smirks at me, laughing, trying to belittle me just like he used to.