“Theo! Are you okay?” I ran toward him and gave him a quick hug. Just because there weren’t any enemies in here didn’t mean they weren’t coming. He gave me a small smile, but there was blood in the corners of his mouth and under his nose, and a bruise was forming on his cheek.A few moments later, one of the Cobras burst inside.
“Hey! Don’t shoot!” I yelled before Theo or the guy could pull the trigger.
“We should get out of here before the reinforcements come,” the guy said.
“Yeah, come on.” I interlaced my fingers with Theo’s and we headed for the door. If anyone wanted to take Theo away from me, they’d have to go through me first.
Chapter 16
“THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR your help,” I said to Tobias. “I don’t know how I’ll repay you, and I’m really sorry about the man you lost today.”
He inclined his head. “The Spiders had something that we needed in their possession and it’s ours now, so I suppose I should be thanking you. And I’m sorry about Leo too. He wasa good guy.”
After we got out of the Spiders’ hideout or whatever that place where they’d held Theo was, the Cobras had taken us straight to Tobias. Theo wasn’t too happy about it, but after all, without the Cobras he might not have gotten out of there alive, so the least we could do was not run away. I was sure I could convince Tobias to let us go.
“What are you going to do now?” Vixasked, rubbing her arms, and she glanced at Theo, who was standing just outside in the hallway and looking more broody than ever. “Are you sure you want to go back with him? We still don’t know what happened to him.”
“Yeah. It’s going to be fine. I’ll be safe at his apartment, and I’m going to ask him about today. Don’t worry. I’m going to text you as soon as I find out anything.” I didn’twant this to turn into an interrogation.
“Okay. Stay safe. Walter is still out there and looking for you.” Vix pulled me into a tight embrace.
“I will. You take care of yourself too. He might get an idea to come for you.”
She nodded, and I looked at Tobias.
“Will the Spiders retaliate against you?” I asked.
“Maybe. If they ever figure out who attacked them. They might thinkit was someone your boyfriend hired. But we’ll be ready. The Spiders shouldn’t be a threat to us.”
I wanted to correct him that Theo wasn’t my boyfriend, but I didn’t want to complicate things even more. “Good. I should go now.”
After we said our goodbyes, I found Theo in the hallway. He was more than happy to follow me out of there. We didn’t speak until we reached his apartment, whichwas quite a while, since we had to take a detour, watch out for Walter, and make sure no one was following us. Once we were inside and Theo closed the door, he caught my arm, glaring at me.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he yelled, and I raised my eyebrows, pulling my arm out of his grasp.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said calmly.
“Why did you go after me? You could’vegotten yourself killed! Walter might’ve been there. He could’ve...” He bared his teeth.
“Do you still have to ask that? You know damn well why I went after you, and I would do it again.”
His brow furrowed and he clenched his jaw. “Open your eyes already. The last thing you should do is try to save my life. I didn’t need your help.”
“Ah, no?” I folded my arms in front of me. “Really?You would’ve gotten yourself out of that mess all on your own? Why don’t I believe you? It took more than a few of us to get into that place. I know you’re good, but even you should know it wouldn’t have been easy. Instead of complaining, you should be thanking me.”
“Do you really think I’m going to spare your life? That just because you keep trying to save me that I’m going to change my mind?I’m going to be the end of you, Chiara.”
I ground my teeth, because this time he was seriously starting to grate on my nerves. In one swift move, I grabbed the gun that was on the table. He stared at me in shock as I grasped his wrist and shoved the gun into his hand. Closing my fingers over his hand, I pointed the gun at my heart.
“If you want to fucking shoot me, do it now.” I didn’tlet him drop the gun.
His eyes bulged and his mouth opened, but he seemed to be at a loss for words.
“Come on. What the fuck are you waiting for?” I searched his eyes. “Do it. Stop talking about it all the damn time and just fucking do it. Do it now or admit already that you can’t. I’m sick and tired of hearing you say the same thing over and over again when we both know it’s not the truth.Do it now or don’t repeat those words ever again.”
He gripped the gun tighter, and I let my hand fall to my side. The gun was still pointed at me, and I waited for him to make a decision. His throat moved as he swallowed hard, and just when I thought that I was wrong about the whole thing and that he was going to do it, he lowered the gun, his eyes glassy. When he turned away from me, I letout a breath I hadn’t even known I’d been holding.
“Happy now?” His voice was so low that I barely heard him.
