Page 76 of Break Me
Maybe that was once true.
But not anymore.
Rolland takes a step toward Benji and my ears are still ringing from when he shot the goddamn doorknob off. I see it now, hanging off the door.
Benji doesn’t back down.
I know he won’t. Just like Riley, if it came down to it, he’d take a bullet for her. For me…
And just as Rolland starts to take another step toward him, I reach down, silently, and pick up Riley’s knife. It’s smaller, but it’s got a sharper point. I’m sure Rolland’s own heart is pounding so hard in his head he doesn’t notice me behind him. If Benji does, he sure as hell doesn’t react. He hasn’t looked at me once in this room.
“Put down the gun, Rolland,” Benji commands.
Rolland only laughs. “Why’d you have to take her from me?” he asks, his voice low. His arm is still outstretched, still aiming at Benji. Riley is looking between the two of them, her entire body trembling.
“She was never yours,” Benji growls, his eyes narrowed like chips of emeralds.
“She was always mine!” Rolland screams. I raise the knife in a shaky hand, and still, no one looks at me. Everyone underestimates me.
I hear something from down the hall, but I don’t have time to think about it. As Rolland hears it too, he turns, momentarily lowering his gun because he’s distracted, and I take that single moment to take the three steps forward and drive the knife into his fucking back.
After the blade sinks in to the hilt, I step back, letting go of the blade, my hands flying to my mouth.
I just stabbed someone.
I just put a knife in a man I don’t know.
A sob escapes my throat and Riley’s arms are around me in seconds.
Rolland drops the gun, and sinks to one knee and finally, finally, Benji’s eyes meet mine.
He’s fucking smiling.
I drop to my own knees, Riley dropping with me, and Rolland tries to say something but I can’t look at him to see if he knows it was me. I don’t want to hear him sputtering on his own blood.
Caden bursts into the room, chest heaving, his eyes wild. He sees Riley and walks over to her immediately, passing his father without so much as a glance.
Caden crouches before us, his eyes glued to Riley’s, his hand on her back.
“Baby girl,” he breathes. “Are you okay?” He’s wearing a white shirt, a black jacket overtop it, dark jeans. His hair looks like he’s raked his hands through it a million times on the flight here. I take in all these details so I don’t look at Rolland.
Riley nods, pulling me tighter against her, and Caden stands to his feet. Then he turns to face the man I now know is his father.
Rolland has crumpled to the ground, and he’s reaching around his back, his fingers grazing the hilt of the knife. Benji only watches all of us, his arms folded over his chest.
He’s letting Caden take this. He’s letting him deal with his own father.
Caden towers over his dad, down on the ground.
“You fucking piece of shit,” he says calmly, his words at odds with his tone.
Rolland blinks up at him and I finally look at his face. I see, with a sick satisfaction that makes my breath hitch, that he’s pale. So fucking pale.
Caden seems to notice it, too. He smiles. “I always hated you, did you know that?” he asks his father. He crouches down in front of him, his wrist on one knee as he watches his dad die. His eyes are cold, his stare unrelenting.
“Always. I don’t remember a time I ever loved you. I don’t think Jack did, either. But you were so unimportant to us, we never talked about you. I must have always known you were nothing but filth.”
He reaches over, almost as if he’s going to clap his hand on his dad’s shoulder, but instead, he pushes him onto his back, driving the knife in deeper. Rolland screams, and blood bubbles from his mouth. I close my eyes tight and lean in closer to Riley, who seems to be holding her breath beside me.
