Page 65 of Pretty Poison

“Yeah, I kind of got that when I went on my first mission, but even Silas refused to harm an innocent.”

I laugh half-heartedly. “Yeah, even a man like him has boundaries.”And that’s fucking saying something.“I’ll come back with your information either tonight or tomorrow,” I add, rising to my feet. “And I’ll look into these scars. Hopefully, we can find something to get you out of here.”

“We’re not leaving anytime soon,” Savio says, with a dark, knowing look.

I give him a firm nod before leaving.

The cold air swirls around me as I step back into the corridor and a shiver rocks through me. It reminds me of my nights on the roof and the fact I haven’t needed one in a while. It’s like even though I’m stressed, pushing myself to the absolute limit every single day, with Liana around, I don’t need to be alone. She’s all I need in this world of chaos. She is my escape.

Twenty Nine

DARIO

As I make it back to my bedroom, I step inside, quietly pushing the door closed behind me.

“You’re back,” Liana says, waltzing over to me in nothing but a towel.

“You took a shower without me?” I ask, my eyes trailing down her body, the water beads still clinging to her skin. “What happened to saving water?”

“A bath, actually,” she clarifies. “I didn’t realise you’d be so long.”

“I was gone for an hour, little one. You couldn’t wait a whole hour?”

As her head recoils, her eyes narrow and her eyebrows furrow. “You were down there for three hours, Dario. It’s 1 a.m.”

I tilt my head, bringing my watch into the line of light, allowing me to see the time: 1:03 a.m.

“Fuck, I didn’t even realise,” I admit, apology filling my tone.

She offers me a warm smile, her eyes softening before spinning around to make her way to the bed. “It’s easy to lose track of time. It’s like the whole concept of time doesn’t even exist, completely disappearing as soon as you walk down there.” Sheperches herself on the edge of the bed. “Did you get your sketches?”

I nod, stalking towards her. “And then some.”

“They’re easy to talk to, right?” she says with a wider smile. “It doesn’t help the whole ‘losing track of time’ thing when they give you information left, right and centre.”

A small laugh escapes my lips. “You really do love them, don’t you?” I ask, crouching down in front of her.

Her smile fades until it looks like a small forced one. “They got me through the hardships of living with Gabriel. It all seemed a little less difficult with them around.”

“What about Anabel?” I ask, my hand finding its way to her bare knee. “The girl from dinner? Did she sort of fill the void when they left?”

She nods. “Does it make me a bad friend that I haven’t reached out to her since I’ve been here?” Her entire facial expression changes. She’s trying her absolute hardest not to let her brave face fall.

“It makes you a distracted friend, Liana, not a bad one. I’m sure she understands that you have to focus on yourself before anything else.”

“I was all she had besides her mother… What if she doesn’t understand? What if she holds a grudge because I let myself get too wrapped up in being here?”

“If she cares about you at all, she’ll understand how big a change this has all been for you. You needed to take time to come to terms with what was happening in your life before you could do anything else. Send her a message, Liana.”

“It’s late,” she says, her voice uncertain.

“If she doesn’t understand, then she was never your friend, was she? If she cares about you the way you care about her, she’ll see you as soon as she can to catch up. Send her a message and she’ll reply when she can.”

She nods, offering me another one of those smiles that make my knees weak. “Pass me a shirt.”

Squeezing her knee reassuringly, I retrace my steps and grab her a shirt, throwing it over to her as I get undressed.

As I turn back around, she’s already drowning in my shirt and crawling over to her side of the bed.

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