Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“I take offense at that. I said I’ll protect you. And this?” I point to Kurt with the knife. “This isn’t ‘for fun’. This is justice.” Fuck. Even I don’t believe that. The truth is that I had an itch to scratch, and the holiday season always gets me like this.
“Why don’t you bring justice to me?” Blake asks bluntly.
I roll my eyes. “I just… I like our time in the cabin. Are you not having fun?”
Blake dashes forward and stabs my chest with his index finger. “So you are stalling! When you know I’m stuck and worried he’ll send someone after me. My own brother is trying to kill me, and you’re willing to let this go for now, because you like being with me in the woods and pretending it’s Christmas every day? How long did you think this was going to last?”
I spread my arms and don’t back down, because my mind is boiling. This was supposed to be a treat for both of us, the loveliest of afternoons.
“I don’t know! Until you fall in love with me?” There, I said it, my true intention out in the open.
Kurt howls into the gag, arching off the rock as if he were dying of lockjaw, but Blake ignores him. A storm is raging in his beautiful green eyes, and I know its wrath is aimed at me. “You think I can really trust anyone that much after everything that happened? After my own brother deserted me, then tried to murder me for money?” He steps back with an exasperated sigh. “I don’t think I’m capable of feelings like that.”
I put down the knife, in case he’s skittish, and step closer to him with my heart pounding. “But… I love you,” I say helplessly. Those three words can never encompass the depth of my feelings, or what it’s like to hold him in my arms at night, but it’s all I’ve got.
He purses his lips, as if he were trying to say something, only to give up. “What the hell? You don’t love me. You can’t love me because you barely know me,” he shouts, throwing his arms to the sides.
He might as well have grabbed the knife at our feet and stabbed me in the heart. I opened up my ribcage for him to see my raw insides, and all he has for me is acid. I stare at him, dead serious. I will not back down from what I said.
“I know you better than you know yourself, and that’s why I love you. I know you secretly want to watch me take this guy apart,” I gesture to Kurt without looking away from Blake for a second. “I know you don’t care to go to the police about your brother or me. You want to take matters into your own hands. I also know you claim to avoid sugar, but always put two spoonfuls in your coffee. You say your favorite color is black, but when we do crafts, you always go for shades of blue. You love to say ‘no, please, stop’ to me when you mean ‘give it to me harder’.”
Blake stumbles back, as if I’ve taken a swing at him, his shoulders so stiff I want to press him against the wall and work on them until they relax. But he shakes his head again, regaining his composure. “If you loved me, you’d make sure I felt safe and gone after Carl instead of wasting your time on some random criminal.”
I snarl at him like what I am—a cornered animal. “Fine. Have it your way!” I turn around, grab the knife, and stab it straight into Kurt’s heart, because I don’t even feel like playing with him anymore.
Chapter 21
Blake
I got what I wanted.
So why am I not happy?
According to Nico’s map app, we should reach Aspen after driving for about thirty hours, which is a lot, but we can’t risk taking the plane. Problem is, I don’t drive, and Nico needs to rest and sleep, which made us settle on a three-day travel plan, which will go to shit if anything goes wrong on the way. My brother’s organizing a big party for all his friends on Saturday, and since all attendees are required to wear masks, there won’t be a better chance for us to reach him.
But it’s the sexy millionaires’ kind of Christmas party, so apart from masks, we need clothes that look hot and glamorous. At least when you squint, because that’s the best we’ll probably get at Corn View Mall, Nebraska. It’s also a good place to stock up on bullets and snacks filled with high-fructose corn syrup.
Two days into our trip, the silence between me and Nico is deafening, so for once I don’t mind loud Christmas tunes and children screaming about wanting to see Santa in his grotto.