Page 197 of Never Die for a Sinner
Christian drinks too, slow and thoughtful, then sets the bottle down with a softclunk.
“How is she?”
The words come out like glass. Fragile. Dangerous.
He doesn’t answer right away. Just studies me with that unnerving stillness of his, like he’s peeling back layers I thought I buried deep enough.
“Not great. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but she just moved back to her gran’s house,” he says finally. “But of course, you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Of course, I did. I’ve only spent the last three nights waiting outside in case anyone decides to show up.
“I told her not to get attached,” I mutter, and it sounds pathetic—worse than an excuse.
It’s also hypocritical.
From the moment Ava stepped into my life, it was like the world made sense. Something mattered, and it wasn’t just my family or my job. Fuck,Imattered.
Not that it makes a damn difference.
Christian’s brow lifts. “Yeah. I’m sure that really softened the blow.”
The silence afterward is like a weight on my chest. It presses on my ribs until every breath feels like penance.
I sigh, turning back to the boat. “Doesn’t matter. It was going to happen eventually.”
Christian chuckles under his breath, shaking his head.
“You’re really committed to being the biggest dumbass this side of the Pacific, huh?”
“Fuck you.”
The asshole doesn’t know what the fuck I’m dealing with. He doesn’t know the only sleep I’ve gotten all week is when I’ve passed out, only to wake up from a nightmare, reaching for the empty spot next to me.
He doesn’t realize that I’ve watched the cameras at the house every. Fucking. Day. Just waiting to catch a glimpse of her, only to come up short.
He doesn’t realize I’m fucking dying without her.
“No, fuckyou, Levi.”
“What do you want from me, Christian?” I snap. My voice cracks as I hurl the wrench. It hits the far wall with a hollow clang and vanishes into the dark. “You want me to say you’re right? Want me to stroke your ego?”
“I want you to realize you’re ruining your life by being a pussy.”
“Fuck you,” I snap. “You don’t know half the shit I’ve dealt with. You were too busy running off after Mila to even think about what was going on here.”
“You think I don’t know what Dad did to you?” His face is growing redder and redder by the moment. “You seriously thinkI don’t realize you went against what I said and murdered the fucking bastard?”
Well, fuck.
We stare each other down—the only sound the heavy rain outside and our heavy breathing.
“So, what? You want to lecture me? Want to turn me in?”
“Of course, I’m not going to turn you in. I wanted to do the same thing. What Iwantis for you to get your head out of your ass and realize you’re going to die a sad, lonely, pissed off old asshole if you don’t fix this shit.”
“I don’t want to fix things, you big asshole,” I snap. “She was a good fuck, but it’s over. We had a deal, now it’s done. She knew what she was getting into. I didn’t fucking force her.”
He opens his mouth to argue back, but stops abruptly, cocking his head to the side.
