Page 68 of Dangerous Silence
“Axe?” she asked.
I turned forward, concentrating on anything but her.
“When will I see you again?” she asked. Her voice was small, like a child’s, as if she couldn’t bear to hear the answer. And I couldn’t look at her like that. There was too much that she needed, things that I wasn’t capable of giving. Even once the war was over, I knew our truth. She would never be safe with me. And that’s what I needed for her. Safety.
“You won’t,” I said.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her tone hurt. I turned to her then, her quivering lips, her eyes glossy and full of loss. “Why?”
She deserved an answer.
“Because it would be easier for both of us if I killed you,” I said.
I leaned across and opened her car door, then sat back in my seat, my hands resting on the steering wheel, waiting for her to go. I knew I would never hurt her. I would never let myself.
Which was why she had to go.
She didn’t move. I turned the key. The engine started.
“So this is it?” she said, her tone rising in anger and strength. “You’re giving up, just like that?”
“I’m giving you a chance to live,” I said. I waved a dismissive hand.
Still, Demi refused to leave.
“Get out of the car,” I said.
She stared at me, but then she finally grabbed her bags, pulling toward the open door. With her feet on the ground, she looked up at me, tiny and full of rage.
“You know, yesterday,” she said. “I meant every word.”
I love you, Axe. I do. I love you so fucking much.
But it didn’t matter what she said.
“If this is what’s better for you, then I’ll go, Axe. But only if it’s better for you. Not for me.”
I gripped the steering wheel so hard it crunched under my grip.
“Go, Demi,” I said sternly. Go. Be yourself. Golive.
Demi sucked in a breath, then closed the door and turned to the school. I watched her go past the tennis courts, the buildings, those slackliners, until she was smaller than a speck of dust. She never once looked back.
I reversed out of the parking space, leaving the university. Once I was on the road back to Sage City, I called one of my men to watch over her, and he said he would head up as soon as he finished his drops. I told myself that this was supposed to happen; this was good for Demi. I may not have been marrying her like Shep wanted, but she would be alive.Safe. Able to grow and love and survive.
I went to the Adler House. Gerard, for once in his life, was supposed to meet with the three of us to discuss the final phase of the war. My ears pounded at the thought. If it weren’t for the family legacy, he would have been thrown out of the business by now, but the lucky bastard survived on shared blood alone.
But when I got to the study, only Derek and Wil were waiting. What a surprise. The two of them straightened as I burst in. A fire roared to the side. I wanted to smother it until it was ash.
I took a seat on the couch. “We’re just waiting on Gerard, then,” Derek said.
“If he shows up,” I muttered.
Wil turned to me. “Whoa, there,” Wil said, shaking his head. “You actually spoke up about it. You all right?”
This waswhyI didn’t talk. They made a big deal out of nothing. I grunted, crossing my arms. If I held onto the lack of response, they’d back off.
But not today.
