Page 121 of Cruel Revenge

I would almost believe her except for the way her voice breaks and tears fill her eyes.

Without another word, I use my grip on her hand to tug her as close to the edge of the bed as possible. Once I can reach her, I haul her into the bed with me.

She tries to get out, but I hold her tight.

I need her right now, and I think she needs me just as much.

Finally, she gives in and puts her head on my shoulder. “I was scared I wouldn’t make it in time. There was so much traffic, and the clock was ticking, and then I walked in and saw the way she cut you, and I didn’t think that you were going to survive that either. It didn’t seem possible.”

I take her hand, kissing her fingertips, and place it over my heart. “Feel that? I’m right here, and I’m with you. I might feel like shit, but I’m here.”

She sniffles, looking more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen her. “I couldn’t kill her for you.”

“Good. Now we can hunt her down together.”

Skyla shakes her head. “No, Aiden gave the order to stand down. I told him that I would do whatever he wanted if it meant him saving you.”

I cup her face in my hands, wiping away the tears with my thumbs. “You don’t have to do shit all he says, all right? Besides,you were there saving me along with him, right? So, he didn’t do the saving by himself.”

“I let her get away either way. The choice came down between her and you, and I couldn’t choose her. I couldn’t go after her and kill her when I knew that you were hanging there, and you might die if I didn’t help you.”

“Thank you for choosing me. Please, don’t be upset about that.”

Guilt gnaws at me as I look down at her.

My stomach ties itself into a tight knot, and a sour taste fills my mouth.

I know that she and her family have spent too long hunting down the Rinaldos, and with Zoe in the wind, their war isn’t going to come to an end any sooner.

They’re going to have to keep hunting them down, and there’s no telling how many more people they’re going to lose in the process.

This is all my fault.

If I hadn’t walked out on Skyla, if I had stayed to talk, maybe things would be different right now.

“And I’m sorry.” I press my lips to her temples, hating the way her body shakes against mine. “I’m so sorry. I wish things would’ve been different.”

She swallows hard and starts to pull herself together. “There was a choice to make, and I made my choice.”

The question on the tip of my tongue is bitter.

I don’t want to voice it or put my fears into words. I don’t want to know what she really thinks about what happened, but there’s a part of me thathasto know.

“Do you regret that choice?” I look down at her as her gaze flickers to mine.

My heart threatens to beat right out of my chest. Blood rushes in my ears and all the pain fades away.

The only thing that exists right now is me and her. Nothing else in the world matters.

I just need to know that we’re going to be okay. I need to know that at the end of the day, I’m still going to have her. That I haven’t fucked everything up.

After having her for as long as I have, there’s no way that I can go back to living without her.

I don’t exist without her.

When she continues to stare at me, I think she might not have heard me. Or maybe she doesn’t want to tell me the truth.

It could be any number of things, but all I know is that this moment right now feels worse than hanging from the chains.

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