Page 42 of Tattletale

I want to hurt him…

Because he hurt me.

Lance betrayed me, and it’s burning me up from the inside out. He chose Vesper when he should’ve chosen me. He chose PALADIN over a future with me. In fact, it’s Lance’s fault this unraveled. Twenty-four hours ago, my pappa was a hero. Now? I’m the daughter of a power-obsessed sadistic fuck I can’t even confront.

The rain is still pouring so hard, all I’d have to do is tilt my head up to drown. They say it’s euphoric right before you drown to death. I always comforted myself thinking that’s how Mom went. Her car sank to the bottom of that lake, and the last thing she knew was euphoria.

But come to think of it, I never saw her body.

It was a closed-casket funeral, and then Pappa ordered her ashes to sit on the mantel.

I will never ever know what he had done to her. It probably wasn’t merciful at all. The last thing she experienced was likely fear…dread…pain. I shut my eyes and see her wide, green eyes, filled with terror. I hear her whispering my name. I wonder if I was her last thought. I loved my mama so much.

I grab my chest as I start to hyperventilate. Likely, it’s the aftermath of the pill I took.Fuck, it’s too strong.The effects of the alcohol exasperate everything—including the grief. I let it consume me. The brick walls of the buildings surrounding me start to wiggle like Jell-O, and everything spins.

A heavy dark fog takes over, and the last thing I see before I collapse is Lance’s face mere inches from mine.

“I’ve got you, C. Hang on to me, baby. I’ve got you.”

LANCE

Cricket can hold her liquor better than a three-hundred-pound grown man. I bet her blacking out has less to do with the drinks, and more to do with an emotional upheaval. I’m sure she wouldn’t like me touching her, but I’m not about to leave her in a dark alleyway with the crumpled-up piece of shit I knocked out.

I wrap Cricket’s arm around me. She’s conscious enough to sort of keep a grip around the back of my neck.

“Okay, C. Up we go.”

I scoop her up with ease, one arm around her shoulders, the other underneath her thighs. Cricket’s dense. She looks little, but she’s five feet, five inches of solid muscle. The only thing that wiggles on her is her full tits. She’s strong. She can take care of herself. And she most definitely would not like being held like a baby. As I carry her out of the alley, I’m half expecting her to leap out of my arms and point a gun in my face.

Instead, she nuzzles into me as her hand slackens and falls from my neck. She places her palm flat against my chest. Maybe this is how it has to be moving forward—Cricket drunk out of her mind. Then, she’ll talk to me and won’t fight it when I carry her.

We pass the front of the bar where I parked when a man in a suit busts through the front doors of Martinis. His gaze goes from me to Cricket in my arms.

“Oh, fuck,” he gasps out. “Did he—”

I clue in immediately to who he’s looking for. “Your friend is taking a nap in the alleyway.”

His cheeks flush. “I…I’m calling the cops,” he says.

I shoot him a dangerous look. “Be my guest.”

“No, no,” he blubbers as his eyes widen. “Not on you. On Stauch. He’s been such a mess lately. Screwing around with drugs…he’s so angry and aggressive…starting to lose his damn mind. Did he…” He points to Cricket. “Is she okay?”

“You’re lucky I found them.” I lift my brows at him. “Or your friend would be dead. She’s the wrong woman to corner.”

He looks confused. “She’s just a girl. Stauch could’ve really hurt her. I… I shouldn’t have turned my back and let this happen. She’ll probably be traumatized for life.”

“You’re wrong. She’s a lioness. She’s only like this…with me.” A pang of guilt washes over me as I finish my sentence. Cricket’s always been vulnerable and honest with me. A secret covenant between the two of us. Whether we were best friends or lovers—it was us against the entire fucking world. And I wrecked everything by running to Vesper.

Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to save her life. Cricket could’ve probably saved herself.

I clamp my eyes shut. “Listen to me. Your shit stain of a friend is going to wake up in a few minutes. You’re going to tell him that he hallucinated the entire situation, then, you’re going to forget our faces.”

“You don’t want me to call the cops?”

“On what? We weren’t here.” I give him a pointed look. “But mark my words, he will be watched, and we won’t give him a second chance. The next time he threatens my girl, or any woman for that matter, he’ll be explaining himself to his maker.”

The man nods eagerly. “He emptied our business account and got in bed with dealers. That’s what I was confronting himabout tonight. He needs rehab. I’ll handle it.” He steps around me and heads to the alleyway.

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