Page 64 of Wanted
“You did.Bravo,” Ezra said with a fond smile and slow-clapped for emphasis.
Knox wasn’t sure whether he was being mocked or not but decided to not hold a grudge and took both coffee and the food on a tray, heading out to surprise his man.
Was that a weird way to think about Liv?
Liv. Liver Polk. The asshole who always took the last slice of pizza. The guy who stood up for him at school and got beat up for it. His best friend.
They were more than that now, even though he didn’t know how to call their new relationship. But they fucked and had hidden a body together, so that had to count for something, right?
It was just hard to shed the idea that he should be competing with a guy instead of pining for him. They’d work it out though, just like they did between the sheets.
Knox slipped into their temporary bedroom with a tray he could be proud of, glad to already hear Liv’s voice, but when Liv didn’t respond to his greeting, a cold sensation settled in his gut.
Still curled up under the blanket, Liver was shaking, his legs contracting as if he were trying to run or free himself. One of his hands was stretched away from his body though and clawed at air as he moaned a faint, “No. No no no...”
Knox put the tray on the desk so fast he spilled some coffee and dropped to his knees on the bedding. “Liv? Liv? Livvy?”
Chapter 21
Liv
The foundation ditch wasa black abyss sucking in all the light, but Knox’s form was showcased like a circus act, with the blood pouring from the four wounds in his chest shimmering like glitter. The rods that impaled him twisted all the way to the sky as he took his last breath, reaching for Liv without a word.
Desperation pulled Liv closer, but just as he was about to step into the air, to sink into the void or touch him for the last time, something collided with the side of his head and knocked him into the dirt.
“No!” he cried as Knox disappeared from sight. But when he tried to get up, his limbs refused to move, as if he’d been paralyzed. Increasingly frantic, he trembled, attempting to move without success. The world spun when Vlad pulled on the front of Liv’s top. The ugly bastard looked just like he had on his last day, so maybe it was his ghost haunting Liv and sinking his knee to his chest to keep Liv from breathing?
Powerless to save himself or comfort Knox, he watched as Vlad’s massive fist flew into the air. It descended onto him, over and over. Each blow had Liv’s vision blurring, his ears echoing with the distant sound of Knox’s cries, until his skull cracked and—
The amount of air flowing into his lungs as his eyes opened choked him, but when he tried to rise, ready to fight, warm arms closed around his chest and held him down.
“Hey. Liv. It’s me. Are you okay?” Knox asked, his blue eyes alert and spearing right through Liv. It was so good to see them again, no longer drifting away from life but focused, and so alive that he clutched at Knox and buried his face in his chest. Reality set in, leaving him scowling with embarrassment.
It was just a dream.
Fuck.
How the fuck could it have felt so real?
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”
Knox hugged him. “Zombies again?” He laughed, but stroked Liv as if he were a baby in need of comfort.
The sunshine hitting Liv through the small window pulled him farther into a reality that smelled of coffee, bacon, and something sweet, but the sinking feeling in his stomach was still there. Vlad coming for him from the underworld. Knox dead.
Knox could have died that day. Liv was sure of it, and yet… what if he’d acted too hastily? What if Vlad could have been appeased?
“Yeah, yeah, zombies. Too many horror movies, right?” Liv lied just like he had back on the train, when Knox had woken him up from a similar nightmare. He didn’t want to be a wuss about something that could no longer be changed. The only way was forward, and yet, doubts and guilt were still very much alive at the back of his head and crawled out when his guard went down.
He was a murderer.
Was it fucked up that he didn’t want to confess to what had happened and take responsibility? Did that make him a coward? Knox had said he wouldn’t let him take the blame, so confessing might have meant Knox ending up in trouble too, but what if that was just a weak-ass excuse for being afraid of prison?
“I’ve got just the thing to help with that.” Knox beamed at him, then reached for a tray. He put it between them on the bed, presenting a breakfast Liv hadn’t even dreamed of.
Two plates stacked with pancakes, topped with bacon, drizzled with maple syrup, and a cup of coffee each to go with it. The food was so hot steam was still rising off it, and Knox looked so proud of himself, Liv could eathiminstead.
“What is this? Where did you—?”
