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“It’s painfully clear you’re not the brains of this operation. But I did find out you’re working for your cousin. That British accent...I’d bet my last bullet your handler is Arthur.” Color drains from his face.
“Save your life, Ben. He’d kill you in a heartbeat to save himself. That’s who the Bowens are. Unloyal. Greedy. Cowardly cunts.” Ben’s jaw ticks. Finn glances at me, impressed. “We are not,” Ben groans.
“Ben Bowen. Arthur really must be scraping the bottom of the barrel for men to send you after me. You’re an embarrassment.” “Fuck you.” He
“What’s the plan, Ben?” “Arthur wants you dead. I want Hallie back.”
“She’ll never forgive you. You’re sick. All of you. The Quinns need putting down.” A growl erupts from deep in my chest. “So aggressive. You need locking in a cage.”
And the moment we hit the dirt, the second his hands touch my skin, I know. Familiar. Safe. No fear. Just heartbreak. My eyes squeeze shut. My mouth can’t form a scream. He rolls on top of me, and I’m frozen, breathless.
“You piece of fucking shit,” I whisper, choking on the words. My sob is violent. I cover my mouth, shoulders shaking. No. Not him. Not my Conan. He wouldn’t do this to me.
“Hallie.” His voice shatters me. A blade wrapped in velvet. “Get off me!” I scream, slamming my fists into his chest. “Get off!”
“This is the real you?” My voice cuts like venom. “Unfortunately. Yeah.” His breath stutters. Mine breaks. “I’m so sorry, trouble. Please, let me explain.”
“I’d never hurt you, Hallie.” I laugh. Hollow. Shattered. “You wouldn’t? Well, what the fuck do you think you’ve just done to me? You’ve not just hurt me, Conan. You’ve fucking broken me.”
This is annihilation. “I—I didn’t know it was you. Before it was too late.” “Now you’re just fucking lying to my face. How is New York, by the way? Training hard?” I seethe.
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. How can I make this right?” He wipes his tears away like they’re not cutting him apart. “You can’t. Just let me go. Not just from these woods. Pretend you never met me.”
“I can’t pretend I never met you, Hallie. Because the weeks I’ve known you have been the best time of my life. I can never let that go. I can never let you go.”
“Hallie! Hallie! Please!” I stop. My eyes close, a sob dragging through me. “Enough, Conan. Let her go,” Declan orders. I don’t want to look. I can’t. I’m not strong enough to watch him fall apart.
me, I can’t watch the man I once loved break in front of my eyes.
“Don’t leave me. I’m begging you. Hallie!!” His screams echo through the tre...
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“Finn, please don’t let him near me,” I whisper. He nods once. He gets it. “Just keep walking. Reggie and Rowan are on their way. They’ll drag him back and sort him out.”
Get the fuck off me!” I shout, shaking the three men from me. They tighten their restraint, my arms locked behind my back. “Hallie!” It’s a desperate cry. The disappointment on her face. Not hurt or upset.
Life after losing Hallie? I don’t know how to do it. Is this just how I will live now? Empty? Like I’m missing the other half of my soul? I will never love again. There is only one woman who owns my heart. I had my chance at happiness, and I fucked it up.
My father died because of me and my stupid fucking rage. No matter what I do, I always make myself the goddamn villain.
Hallie is safer far, far away from me, before I ruin her too. More than I just did. She never asked for this lifestyle. Neither did I. It was never a privilege. It’s a fucking curse. But it’s one I have to deal with. I just don’t know how the hell I’m ever going to live without her.
These were my games, under my rule. I was meant to protect her, and instead, I ruined her.
But I can’t give up on you. I miss you so much, Hallie. I didn’t know it was possible to feel like this about someone until you.
don’t know how to earn your forgiveness, so I’m going to try everything, starting with the car. She’s the exact same as mine down to every single spec, well, except the paintwork. So maybe, one day, when you feel like seeing me, we can have that race? I hope we can one day.
Because he is my person. I know that. And soul mates aren’t supposed to treat you like this. But soul mates don’t hide who they truly are from each other—monster or not.
“You don’t mean that. Not really. Please, Hallie. Don’t leave me. I fucked up. I know that. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Just let me explain.” “What the hell is there to explain, Conan? You had me kidnapped, then thrown in the fucking woods for a sick game of survival. One that you, you sick son of a bitch, run. You created a game for your fantasies—fine. But that doesn’t include me, does it? You think I want a man who hunts women in the woods to fuck them? How many of the girls did you stick your dick in while I was competing?”
“Hallie. I’m sorry, okay? I had no idea you were a contestant. That you’d be mixed up in this fucked-up lifestyle. We host the games to hunt the real evil men in this world. Like the man who entered you.” “Right. Of course. Evil hunting evil. How perfect. You can all just kill each other, yeah?” “It’s our way of life.”
“He did it to get back at me, Hallie. It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I had no idea of his real family, his real last name. If I’d have known…” “You’d have killed him quicker?”
“Yes. And I’d kill him all over again for you. I’d kill anyone who hurts you, trouble.”
“Then you have permission to do whatever you need to do. I told you before, I’m included in that list.” He lays the gun flat on his palm in front of me. “No.”
“Nothing. You are nothing to me.”
“You’ll always be everything to me, Hallie. Even if you hate me for the rest of your life. I’ll love you until I die. You are my first and only love, trouble.”
know, Hallie. I know that. I—I’m just lost. I’m trying. I want to give you space, but I don’t want you to think I’m giving up. But then I come here just because I’m desperate to see your face. I don’t know. In my fucked-up brain, I’m thinking eventually you’ll see I’m not the man you think I am. That I am the Conan you fell for. And that you’ll hear me out, properly. You’ll let me back in. That’s all I want. A chance to make this right, Hallie. To prove to you that I can be the man you need. Because I don’t know if I can live the rest of my life without you, so I at least need to try every
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“I told you. No matter what, you will always be protected.”
“It’s just, I’m drunk and I missed you. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. I meant to text you, but I’m a bit tipsy and called you by accident,” she rambles.
“I miss you too, darlin’.”
can’t.” Her voice breaks and the line goes dead. Fuck. I try to call her back, but she rejects it. And when I go to text her, it never sends.
He’s Hallie’s world, so now he’s mine too.”
“A true psychopath can bullshit their way out of diagnosis, Conan. No one would lock me up anywhere. And if they tried, I’d slit their throats first.”
Conan,” Finn warns. I see red. “He’s got his fucking hands on her,” I growl.
“What the hell is Conan doing here?” I ask Lily. She sheepishly looks past me. “I may have invited him.”
“I don’t want to talk. Because I’m weak for him. I’ll just fall under his spell.” “You miss him, Hallie.”
I’m facing Conan. Who looks absolutely murderous. He shakes his head. I blow him a kiss, exaggerating my hip movements. I don’t even know what this guy behind me looks like. I don’t care.
The next thing I know, my back is slammed against the wall. His lips a breath from mine. “You’re crazy, Conan.” “So I’ve been told.” “I had it covered.”
“I’ll keep saying it until you believe me, trouble. I don’t care if it takes weeks, months, or years. You best believe I’ll keep saying those damn words in every possible variation until I prove myself to you.”
“Shh. You’re ruining it.” He arches an eyebrow. “Ruining what exactly?”
“Kiss me and find out.”
“Fuck it,” he mutters. He grabs me by the back of the head and slams his lips over mine. And I slide my arms around his neck to pull him even closer. As his tongue dances with mine, his fingers dig into my ass. I lose myself in the moment. In Conan.
“This isn’t us getting back together. I want this to be a hate fuck. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Does a hate fuck still work if we both hate the same person?” I whisper, running my tongue up her neck.
