You're Next (Devil's Backbone, #3)

by Tate James

“Good morning, Abby. How are you doing today?” I stumbled. Abby? Holy fuck. No. Suddenly, the mumbled response the vacant woman had given me made sense, and the knowledge rang like a fucking bell inside my head, loud enough to deafen me. The ducks. Ducks. Devil’s Backbone Society. Holy fuck, had I just met Abigail?

“You’re going to be the death of me, Duckling,” I muttered under my breath as I buckled myself in and turned on the engine. Ashley was asleep, I was pretty sure, so I flinched when she replied. “I hope so,” she mumbled. “As soon as these drugs wear off…I’ll kill you myself.”

“Just sleep, Duckling,” he murmured in that low, comforting voice. “I’ve got you.” I believed him, sagging into his embrace and letting my heavy lids slide closed once more. Sleep would help to clear the drugs, surely. Nate wouldn’t let anything bad happen while I slept—of that I was confident. “I’m sorry, Layne baby.” His whispered apology roused me some time later. “I’m not being a pervert, I swear, but I want to get you out of these hospital clothes.”

“I regret everything. I don’t know how to say how sorry I am or how badly I wish I’d made different choices. I didn’t just break your heart, Duckling. I destroyed mine.”

“What the fuck? I’m killing you. This isn’t fucking foreplay, you sick puppy!” Then

“What the fuck is happening? I tried to kill you, literally end your life, and you just…came in your boxers. This can’t be real. I’m still dreaming, aren’t I?”

Heath: Every moment with you feels like a beautiful dream I never want to wake up from. You're the love I never knew I needed, and now I can't imagine my life without you. Thank you for coming back to us.

“Do you want him to join us, Squirrel?” Royce

“No,” I said out loud, my mind made up. The way Nate’s eyes tightened made it all worthwhile, and I couldn’t fight the smug smile pulling at my lips. “No. He made his feelings very clear. He can watch if he wants, but he can’t touch—not until he’s ready to grovel, apologize, and admit he was wrong.”

trust that you and the guys know what you’re doing here, Royce. Don’t make a fool of me for that trust. For the love of your mother, kid, don’t get killed.” Royce shook his head with a cocky grin. “Please. We’ve lasted this long. It’d be a pretty anticlimactic ending if we all died now, right?”

“I do love you, Royce. Enough to jump out of a plane just to see you sparkle.”

Some people said I love you, but Nate gave me a sledgehammer and asked me to demolish his mom’s home. Same thing.

“Wait! I want to know more about your experiment!” Jocelyn tossed her head back with a laugh. “Oh, honey, it’s adorable you think I’m going to stand here and spill my life story in a clichéd villainesque soliloquy. This isn’t fiction, sweetheart. The big bad doesn’t need to justify their choices to help you sleep better at night. Sometimes sad things happen, and we don’t get closure.”

“I love you, Layne. You’re my everything.”