Page 188 of Never Die for a Sinner
“Doyouknow Cross?”
No. It can’t be true.
I refuse to believe the same man who made me soup and held me while I cried when my grandmother died and panicked when I disappeared is only entertaining me because he’s using me.
But all the signs are there . . .the little voice in the back of my head whispers.
The contract. The flash drive. Not wanting to get any closer to me than he had to.
“Why would I have information on the Burelli’s?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
“Because, Ava. Who do you think your father is?”
“No.”
Alex doesn’t have to speak to confirm what I already know.
Oh my God.
I stumble back, clutching the counter beside me for support.
He used me.
I fell for the man who’s using me like a tool in his game.
The room tilts, my breath coming shallow and uneven.
He’s lying. He has to be lying.
But his eyes—dark, gleaming, far too steady—don’t waver.
“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” Alex presses, stepping closer, his voice low and coaxing, like a snake slithering through the cracks in my defenses. “That nagging sense that something was missing. That someone was keeping things from you. All those years of wondering who your father is. Did you really think it was for your protection?”
My throat closes. “Stop.”
He doesn’t. “Your father isn’t some ghost story, Ava. He’s alive. And very much involved.”
I shake my head so hard it makes my vision blur. “You’re wrong. He loves me,” I whisper, but the words feel thin, fragile, like glass ready to shatter.
“Or maybe he just loves what you represent. A bargaining chip. Access. You’re not a lover, Ava. You’re leverage.”
The word cuts straight through me, colder than a blade.
I grip the counter until my knuckles ache, staring at him, desperate to find the lie in his face. But he doesn’t blink. Doesn’t soften. He waits, patient and sure of the poison he’s planting in my chest.
“I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you,” Alex says, interrupting the thoughts spiraling in my head. When I meet his gaze, it’s full of pity.
“Get out.”
He reaches for me, and I bristle at his touch. “Ava—”
“Get.Out.”
Alex grimaces, his hands falling to his sides. He heads towards the door, while I stay frozen in shock.
“Ask him who Nolan Marks is, Ava . . .” he says quietly. “Then tell me that he cares about you.”
He walks out, leaving me staring at the door while the world comes crashing around me.
