Page 82 of Curse

“Why do I even care? Fuck this,” I grumble under my breath.

Before the words are fully out of my mouth, he’s behind me. He grips my shoulders, spinning me around to face him and making me gasp, my bruised neck and shoulder throbbing.

His face is inches from mine, his eyes now ice blue and burning with breathtaking intensity.

“Yes,” he murmurs, voice low and dangerous. “Why do you care? You hate me, right? I’m a monster, remember?”

Wet heat pulses in my core, and I flush with embarrassment, praying that no visible spot appears since I’m not wearing underwear. I realize with a start that I’m barely breathing.

“What do you want from me?” I shove both hands into his chest, but he doesn’t budge.

He leans down, his warm breath skating over my jaw. “How about the fucking flash drive? Or are you still pretending you don’t know where it is?”

The flash drive. I’d forgotten all about that thing. I remember the drive flying out of my pocket outside Franco’sroom, me picking it up. Where is it now? Probably with my discarded clothes at the Edge.

Matti moves closer, backing me into the bed. “Answer me, Siena,” he growls.

It hits me that he’s using my name instead of calling me ‘kitten.’ In fact, he hasn’t called me that since we were in bed together, and something twists inside me with that realization. An irrational wish to rewind time back to that moment overwhelms me.

Then it hits me. Our time together wasn’t real for him. ‘Kitten’ is probably something he calls all women he wants to fuck. And he doesn’t want to fuck me anymore. Whatever happened between us was nothing more than a diversion for him, something to do until he found the flash drive. Now that I don’t have it, I’m less than useless to him.

“Siena…”

“Fuck you!” The volume of my voice shocks even me. “You don’t get to fucking tear my family apart and then treat me likeI’mthe fucking criminal. I don’t owe you shit!”

In an instant, I’m on my back on the bed, Matti straddling me. With one hand, he pins both my hands above my head while his other hand grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“You owe me your fucking life. Your. Fucking. Life. Don’t forget it,” he snarls.

His face is so close to mine, menacing, terrifying. Just like when he spanked me until my ass was red and sore. Searing pain shoots through my shoulder and every muscle in my body is aching and bruised, but the memory of being with him sends a shot of electricity straight to my pussy. I hate myself for it, but I’m almost desperate for him to do it again. Almost.

“The minute you killed my sister, you put my life in danger,”I whisper.

He doesn’t move. His jaw tics and the corner of his mouth twitches in disgust. It’s so fucking obvious that I can’t believe it didn’t even occur to me until now: he hates me. With that realization, exhaustion falls over me like a blanket.

Licking my lips, I clear my throat, my voice so soft and pleading that I almost don’t recognize it. “Matti. Please. Please just let me go. I can’t give you what you want,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

For a fleeting second, his expression softens. Sadness flickers across his face before hardening again. “You mean ‘won’t,’” he sneers.

“I mean ‘can’t.’ I did have the flash drive, but I honestly don’t know where it is now. I couldn’t give it to you if I wanted to.”

“But you don’t want to, do you? Even though I asked you for it?” His voice is jagged, laced with poison.

I have no fight left in me. “Matti…” I’m hoarse, and I clear my throat, trying to keep the heartbreak that is ripping through me out of my voice. “We both know I’m not your girl. I never was. Please. Let me go.”

He looks like I slapped him.

There’s a soft knock and the door creaks open behind me. He looks up sharply to see who it is, his expression icing over, all signs of emotion gone. Instantly, he releases me and climbs off the bed, yanking me up with him.

“You want to go? Then get the fuck out.”

Confused, my heart pounding, I turn to see Olivia standing in the doorway, duffel bag in hand. Her wide-eyed gaze darts from me to Matti and back again.

Matti’s mask of indifference slams into place. “Take her home,” he says flatly.

“Home home?” I ask, confused. “Or the Edge?”

He doesn’t answer, and I turn back to Olivia as she motions for me to follow her. My heart pounds as I glance between her and Matti. He’s already turned away, staring out the window, his back a wall of finality.

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