Page 40 of Gorgeous Nightmare

“Tyler?” I rasp, my voice cracking.

“Miss me?” He grins, cruel and unusual.

Memories flood back to the times he sat with us at the skatepark. The times he ate at the same table as us. Laughed at our jokes.

“You’re fucking sick!” I growl.

“And you have no idea what she is,” he says, eyes gleaming like he won a prize.

“She was never yours to save, Ronan,” he says finally, before lunging toward Lex with a knife drawn.

I intercept him mid-air, the shots from my gun ringing through the air. The bullets graze his shoulder, causing him to spin.

He staggers toward me, roaring like a feral beast. “She’s mine!”

He reaches for me, taking a step forward, but doesn’t make it far.

Beyond him, Aisling rises to her feet, looking like a bloodied goddess.

She’s barely standing, eyes red from the pain, but the words fall from her lips likea promise.

“I belong to no one.”

She drives some blunt object into his neck with every ounce of strength she has left, probably the old rusted pipe Lex insisted on bringing.

Blood sprays everywhere like a macabre fountain. Tyler gurgles and chokes on the red liquid as it falls from his mouth before his limbs give out, causing his body to tumble to the floor before landing in a pool of crimson.

My jaw drops. Aisling takes a step toward me but instantly collapses. I catch her before she can hit the ground, cushioning her head as she fades in and out of consciousness.

“You’re okay, gorgeous. I have you,” I say, choking on my own words. I scramble to get her in my arms as the boys rush to the door, clearing the way for us.

I look down at her, passed out from exhaustion and broken. And yet, I still couldn’t be the one to save her.

TWENTY-FIVE HOURS AND SEVENTEEN MINUTES.

That’s how long it took me to find her.

Too fucking long.

And I still wasn’t fast enough.

She saved herself.

Sheended it. Not me.

And I’ll never forgive myself for that.

My little nightmare, after everything she has been through, still found enough power to save herself, even when I couldn’t.

The shame burns hotter than the rage now. But I bury it deep beneath my ribs, forcing it back behind the walls I’ve spent my lifetime building.

I can’t let her see me like this.

Not right now.

We make it to the Tahoe, and Cade rushes in front of us to open the back of the SUV. Lex moves to support Aisling on the other side as we slide her in, careful not to hurt her any worse.

“We gotta go,” I snap, my sanity barely hanging on. “Get us back to my place, Ash iswaiting for us.”

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