Page 114 of The Outlaw's Savage Revenge

“True,” I mutter, securing the gauze with a wince. With an IQ of 162, Kat’s a broken genius who can’t handle normal. The more unhealthy it is, the more she craves it.

The rustle of leaves fills the silence as I grab the clean shirt draped over the back of the chair.

“You know,” Kat says quietly, “sometimes I wonder what it’d be like if this chemistry was between you and me.”

“Really,” I scoff.

Her eyes gleam. “You would have no hangups showing what you felt. God, you can’t mask your emotions for shit.”

A rough chuckle escapes me. “That’s not a good thing.”

“No, it’s not. Anyway, Scar would never let it happen. He’d never let me ‘corrupt’ you.”

I rear back. “What do you mean?”

She tilts her head, her voice turning sly. “Imagine if you started acting like you wanted to fuck me. Now, that’d be something.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Kat,” I snort.

“Hear me out,” she presses, her tone almost playful now. “Okay, maybe not exactly fuck me, just . . . pay me a little more attention. Phonecalls. Lingering looks. You know Scar does what you do.”

“Leave me out of your twisted mind games, Katarina,” I snap. “If you want Scar—”

“Go get him myself, I know. Ugh, Pretty, you’re so fucking boring, you know that?” she hisses, her irritation only thinly masking the calculation in her baby-blue eyes.

Then, casually, she switches subjects and drops the grenade. “Speaking of mind games . . . what about your little secret, Luna Romano?”

My spine stiffens. “What about her?”

“Does Scar know you’re obsessed with her?”

Obsession is starting to feel mild. Try compulsion.

I huff out a humorless chuckle. “I’ll let him decide since they’re hanging out right now.”

Kat sucks in a breath, her eyes widening in alarm. “What the fuck, Cade! Why would you take her to San Diego?”

I gesture at my side. “Because I’m not invincible, and Scar is the only one I trust to protect her right now.”

Her expression twists with disdain. “Well, you decided to go off script, playing Bonnie and fucking Clyde and caught a few bullets. Your problem. Don’t drag my relationship into it.”

I bite back a laugh at the idea of what she calls a “relationship” with Scar.

“You’d better mask how you feel for that woman,” her voice drips venom. “Or I swear to God if Scar goes after her—”

“You’ll do what?” I growl.

Kat flinches, instantly recoiling as if I slapped her. Her eyes soften, filling with conflicting shadows of need and self-loathing. Those shadows that years of therapy haven’t erased.

Fuck. This is the reason why I kill.That look.

“I know what I’m doing, Kat.” I gentle my tone.

Her smirk returns, confidence sliding back into place. “Pretty, you lost every sense of direction a few weeks ago. I’ll save you the embarrassment of telling you exactly when.”

The screen goes dark before I can respond.

I sit back and close my eyes against the tension thrumming through me, but the silence only amplifies the chaos in my head. This is beyond fucked up, only I can’t figure out who’s more twisted—Kat, Scar, or me.

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