Page 57 of Buried in Blood
I glare. “You always do. Like a fucking collector. Take something beautiful, break it, and call the pieces art.”
His jaw ticks. “She reminded me of her. Not the way she looked. Not even how she spoke. Just… the ache. The loneliness. That need to be seen.”
He leans closer. “I’m good at seeing people, Dante. Even when they don’t want to be seen.”
I shake my head. “No. You’re good atusingthem.”
Damien smiles faintly. “Same thing, if you do it right.”
A sick chill coils in my spine.
“You want the truth?” he asks. “Fine. Destiny came with me willingly.”
I blink. “What?”
“She loved me. That was real.” His voice is lower now, softer. “She came with me because I promised her something different. Something better than the lies your family fed her.”
I clench my fists. “She was seventeen.”
“She wasdesperate.And I was the only one who made her feel like she wasn’t invisible.”
My stomach turns. “So what happened? You get bored? Did she stop obeying fast enough for you?”
His face hardens.
“She betrayed me,” he says flatly. “She crossed a line, I told her never to cross. She went behind my back. And when someone shows you they don’t respect your rules…”
He shrugs. “You remind them.”
“You sold her,” I hiss.
“I gave her a choice,” he snaps back. “She made the wrong one.”
My hands shake with the weight of it.
“Shetrustedyou,” I whisper. “She thought you were her way out.”
“Shewas,” he says. “Until she wasn’t.”
The silence thickens. My ears ring.
“You’re sick,” I say.
“No.” He stands slowly, brushing invisible dust from his pants. “I’m necessary.”
I look up at him. “You think Harmony will survive you?”
He smirks. “She already has.”
“What about me?” Brooke chimes in.
Damien freezes, turning his gaze to her.
“What about you?”
“I…I’m yours, aren’t I?” She asks cautiously.
He tilts his head, studying her expression.
