His fingers dug into Tate’s arm, his hold still firm but slipping, his panic starting to consume him.
“If I don’t bring back the money…they’llkill me.”
The confession burst from his lips, raw and unfiltered, like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Like he had been holding it in for too long.
Tate stiffened, her breath hitching.
I locked eyes with him, seizing the moment. “Who?” My voice was low, measured. Careful.
He blinked rapidly, his gaze darting around the room as if the walls were closing in. Sweat dripped down his temple, his pupils blown wide with terror.
Tate whimpered as his grip tightened again, his knuckles going white around the knife. He was unraveling fast, spiraling into the kind of panic that made people reckless. Dangerous.
I took a slow step forward. “Listen to me. Killing her won’t fix this. It won’t get you the money, and it sure as hell won’t save you.”
His chest heaved, his lips parted like he wanted to argue, but deep down, he knew I was right.
I just had to keep pushing before he realized he had nothing left to lose.
CHAPTER 35
TATUM
PRESENT
Terror curled around my throat like an iron fist, squeezing tighter with every shallow breath I took. I knew his voice. Knew it from a lifetime ago, back when he was just another face in the hallways of our high school. Back when he wasn’t standing in my apartment, gripping a knife like it was his last lifeline.
Damian Voss.
He had been the robber from the other night, those blue eyes so full of fear as he shakily held the gun up to me. I never would’ve thought twice about him back then. He was just another boy, another shadow passing through the halls. But now? Now he was the nightmare standing between me and survival.
My hands trembled as I clutched my wrist, trying to steady myself, to push through the paralyzing fear clawing at my chest. I couldn’t break now. I couldn’t give him that.
“I don’t have any, please, believe me. I don’t have anything.” I repeated for the second time, barely recognizing my own voice. I wanted to sound strong. Yet I sounded completely broken. Tears blurred my vision as desperation seeped into my bones.
“Huh?” he scoffed, his grip tightening as he jerked me closer. “You think I don’t know who you’re with?” His voice was sharp, laced with something bitter, something ugly.
It was then I saw Griffin. Lurking in the shadows. My savior.
His name was right there, stuck in my throat, but I couldn’t say it. Couldn’t even look at him. Because if I did, if I saw his face, his fury, his desperation to fix this, I would surely break.
“He doesn’t give me money,” I choked out. The slap came so fast I didn’t see it coming.
My head snapped to the side, a hot sting blooming across my cheek. Pain exploded through my skull, a sharp ringing in my ears. I gasped, stumbling back, but Damian’s grip on my arm kept me upright.Kept me trapped.
Damian’s expression twisted, something unhinged sparking in his wild eyes. “He must buy you things. Give me your jewelry!”
I gasped as he let me go and started tearing through my vanity, picking up a delicate gold bracelet my mother had given me years ago. One of the few things the robbers hadn’t found before.
“No!” I lunged for it, but his hand came down hard, a crack of pain splintering across my cheek. My sob wasbarely audible over the blood roaring in my ears.
I reeled back, a sharp sob catching in my throat as my skin burned from the impact. My vision blurred, tears welling, but I forced them back. I wouldn’t cry. Not in front of him.
Griffin stormed in then, his presence filling the room, and suddenly it was like I could breathe for the first time in forever.
Damian’s arm locked around me like a vise, his body a wall of tension behind mine. I could barely breathe. It was short-lived when the cold press of a blade met my throat. I sucked in a breath, my entire body locking up as Damian’s arm clamped tight around my waist. Too tight. Too strong. Too familiar.Theice-cold blade trailed across my skin, slow and taunting, sending a violent shudder down my spine.
“Let her go,” Griffin growled, his voice rough and edged with fury. “You want money? She doesn’t have any, but I have plenty of it.”
