Page 64 of Bully's Darkness
I’m already shaking my head frantically. “I didn’t. I haven’t. I want to stay out of it.”
“So you keep saying,” he mutters, picking up my mobile. “But then he gives you a sob story and you believe it. You forgive him. And he doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve you.”
A chill ripples through me. I glance towards the hallway, trying to judge if I can make a run for it. He sees it. “Don’t,” he warns. “Let’s not make this ugly.”
I clench my jaw then take a calming breath. “You loved her,” I whisper, fighting the tears in my eyes. “Like I love him.”
His eyes snap to mine. “Don’t compare what I had with Lila to you and him,” he sneers angrily. “Because of him, I had to ruin the one thing I loved.”
For a second, we just stare at each other. My heartbeat is in my throat. I’m afraid if I breathe too loudly, he’ll pounce. “How did you find out about them?”
“She told me,” he says coldly, flicking through my phone. “After she found out she was pregnant.” A gasp escapes me, and I slam my hand over my mouth. He glances up, smirking. “You didn’t know that little piece of information?” I shake my head. “I can’t have kids,” he says, like it’s just a fact. “So, I did some digging. Wasn’t hard once I knew where to look. And when I told her the baby couldn’t be mine . . .” He trails off, a sick sort of satisfaction curling around his words. “She told me everything.” I go still. My legs feel like they’ll give out.“Tying her up helped,” he adds with a twisted little laugh. “Torturing her . . . yeah,that really got her talking. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. I think,” he tilts his head, almost thoughtful, “I think she was relieved.”
“Then she killed herself?”
He grins wider, almost laughing. “She didn’t have the balls.” He shakes his head like he’s lost in the memory. “I had her fired, made sure they had all the details to open the investigation. I even let my guys rail her like a fucking train, and still, she wouldn’t end it. She wanted the trial to go ahead because she knew Bully wouldn’t talk. It was her chance to lie her way out of it.”
I frown. “But you had the video evidence.”
“That was gonna be my big reveal,” he says, amused. “But then, she started getting crazy, threatening to call the police, to tell them she was ‘raped’ by my guys.” The way he says the word, like it isn’t true, makes me sick to my stomach, but I bite back my tears. “I had no choice. To make it believable, it had to end before the trial. I couldn’t risk her being let off, cos then she would have had no reason to end her life.”
My frown deepens. “You killed her?” He’s deranged. His whole demeaner is off, like he’s finally over the edge.
His evil smile confirms it. “She couldn’t stay in this world without me.” He sighs heavily. “Now, you’ve got a choice, mama,” he says, voice low and coiled with threat. “And let’s be crystal clear.” He places my phone on the table with a soft, deliberateclick. Then he steps in, too close, stealing the air from the room. “You need to pick a side.”
My throat is so tight, I can barely swallow. “What if I don’t want to pick?”
He smirks, like he’s been hoping I’d say that. “Then I’ll pick for you.”
I flinch as his hand lifts, not in a strike but something worse. His finger brushes slowly across my collarbone, and I recoil,closing my eyes in revulsion as he trails it over the swell of my breast.
“First things first,” he murmurs, tapping the ink that marks me—Bully’s name etched just above my heart. “We’ve got to get rid ofthis.”
I raise my hands to shove him back, panic choking me, but he grabs my wrists and pins them to my sides like it’s nothing. Then, before I can twist away, I feel his breath on my skin and then teeth.
Hebitesdown, hard, right over the tattoo.
Pain sears through me. I gasp, a cry rising in my throat, but he shoves his fingers into my mouth before I can make a sound. I gag, choking, every muscle locking in fear. Tears stream down my cheeks.
When he pulls back, he’s grinning. My blood is smeared across his mouth. He licks it, and my stomach churns. My body goes rigid, heart hammering so violently, I think it might crack a rib. “Better,” he sneers. “I’ll clean up, then we can make it official.” I stare blankly, not daring to move as his eyes assess my body. “You’ve no idea how many times I’ve jerked off to you in the shower.” He laughs. “Mama, I’m gonna fuck you raw.”
I fight the urge to vomit as he turns away to reach for a towel. Casual, like this is just another day for him. My eyes flick down to the counter, where the towel had been, and there’s a knife.A sharp one.
My breath catches. Every nerve in my body screams not to move, but I ignore them. Slowly, carefully, I slide my hand across the counter. Inch by inch. His back is still to me as my fingers brush the handle until I grip it tight.
My pulse is roaring in my ears now, everything else falling away—his muttering, the towel, even the sickness.
He starts to turn and his eyes widen. Ilunge. The blade sinks deep, right into his eye. He screams. A raw, animal sound thatrips through the apartment. His hands fly up, but I’m already backing away. The knife still in his face, blood gushes between his fingers as he collapses to his knees, howling in agony.
The front door slams open behind me. “Liv!”
But I’m already falling, sliding down the wall, shaking violently.
I don’t know if I’m going to throw up or pass out, but for the first time in what feels like hours, I canbreathe.
Chapter Eighteen
Bully
