CHAPTER
FORTY-SEVEN
SARAH
I cling to Eli,hanging on for dear life as the motorcycle takes dangerously quick swerves. Usually, I’d be screaming into the air and enjoying the ride, but even the adrenaline rush doesn’t seem to improve my mood. After everything that’s happened today, my energy is completely drained.
Aiden and Lex will gather everything they need and force my father to memorize the meticulously planned script they’ve put together. After that, they’ll turn him over to the cops, and we’ll never see him again. I should be elated, but I’m left with an empty numbness and tightness in my chest. His life is over, but so is mine.
Soon, everyone will think I’m dead. I can’t stay in Pasturesville. I need to get away from here before I’m seen. Going with the guys seems to be my only viable option, at least until we cross state lines, but spending time with them will be tough. I still haven’t forgiven them for what they did to Erin. I thought I’d feel differently after we apprehended my father, but I’m still festering in a cloud of bitter resentment that’s impossible to shake. Maybe I never will.
After bounding over the rough terrain and avoiding getting hit in the head by branches, Eli comes to a sharp stop at the cabin. His feet barely touch the floor before I jump off.
“Hey!” Eli catches my arm to stop me from stumbling. I guess the meds are still in my system. “Let me help you.”
“No!” I shake him off. “I don’t need your help. I need to get used to being on my own.”
“Sarah…” Eli’s face falls. “Don’t say that.”
“Haven’t you been listening? As soon as we’re out of here, we’re done,” I snap, turning on my heel and stomping to the cabin.
Thankfully, the door’s already open. I scrunch my nose at the mess inside. Half-eaten food containers litter the surfaces, threadbare blankets are draped over chairs, and random computer parts are strewn over the table. I can’t believe they’ve been living like this.
“It’s not exactly an upgrade from Sunnycrest,” I snipe, knowing I’m acting like a brat but not giving a shit.
“It’s the best we could do while we were waiting for you,” Eli murmurs. He dashes to gather up some of the garbage, but it doesn’t make a difference. It’s a total dump. “Our next place will be better. You’ll see.”
“I won’t,” I say, picking my way over empty beer cans to the sofa and sitting down, hoping I won’t catch a disease from it. “We’re going our separate ways.”
“Do you really mean that?” he asks. The hurt look in his eyes almost makes me feel bad until I remember everything he’s done. “You really want to leave us and move on? After everything we’ve been through? After everything we’ve done to be together?”
“Moving on shouldn’t be difficult for you,” I say. “You seemed to manage fine before, remember?”
I’m mad, not just at Eli, but at the whole situation. Erin took over my body for an entire year, and my father used his final moments of freedom to remind me that I’m a fucking disappointment. Even the men I thought loved me shacked up with my sister the moment they thought I was dead. On my own, I’m never enough.
Eli’s whole body stiffens. His usual kindness vanishes, and something inside him snaps.
“You can’t leave us,” he says. His voice is harsh and unrelenting, as if he won’t take no for an answer. “You can’t. You’re everything. You’re ours. You’re mine.”
His possessive psycho act won’t fly with me. Not anymore. I used to find it endearing, but I’m done with someone else telling me how to live my life. I’m not losing control again.
“I’m not yours,” I say. “I’m only here because I have to be. I’m not your fucking property, and if you don’t see that, then you’re as bad as my father.”
“Don’t say that,” he yells, launching himself across the room and wrapping his hands around my throat. “Never compare me to him.”
“Or, what?”
His pupils dilate, then his mouth descends on mine hungrily. There’s so much emotion wrapped in our kiss, anger, hurt, lust, and, most powerful of all, his desire to claim me. I should push him away, that’d be best for everyone, but my body has other ideas. I lean in closer, wanting to be devoured. If I try hard enough, maybe I’ll even forget how we ended up here.
His tongue pillages my mouth. Taking from me. I taste his desperate longing and toxic obsession. It’s fucking addictive. I shouldn’t want him, but I do, and I hate myself—and him—for that.
I rake my hands through his dirty blond hair. His rough hands slide down my back, grabbing a handful of my ass beforehoisting me up. I wrap my legs around his middle, tightening my thighs around his muscles and ignoring my instincts screaming that this is a terrible idea. I bite his lip hard, but he doesn’t back away, and the metallic taste of his blood fills our mouths.
“I hate you,” I murmur.
His cock hardens.
“I love you,” he says.
