Page 191 of Fatality

I look down, I was just trying to excuse Liam’s actions, when Jules is right.

He wasn’t drunk, he was clear-headed enough to know exactly what he was doing.

He meant to kill me, he wanted to.

“And I’m actually glad Evren was there, or we’d be on our way to the Postmortem Unit right now.”

I flinch as if she’d struck me.

“I’m sorry...” I manage to say, my voice trembling.

“No! Riven, don’t apologize to us. Never!” Charlie scrambles over to me. “This is Evren’s fault and Liam’s, not yours.”

Charlie wraps her arms around me. I don’t hug her back, but I bury my face against her chest, my shoulders trembling with silent sobs.

Something inside me finally breaks, as she gently rocks me back and forth, I cry—really cry, sniffling and sobbing like a lost child.

I feel Jules join us, wrapping her arms around both of us.

I really needed them. My girls. They’re the only sane thing keeping me standing.

CHAPTER 40

Evren

Tear Me Up – October Ends

The roar of my Charger doesn’t do a damn thing to calm me down.

The Upper Layers stretch above me in their usual bullshit perfection. Glass, chrome, black steel—tower after tower disappearing into the clouds like they're trying to outrun the rest of us. Their shiny façades throw holograms everywhere, drowning the streets in blues, golds, and crimson, selling people lives they'll never fucking have.

Silent maglev trains cut between the skyscrapers while executive transports drift overhead in neat little lanes, surveillance drones floating after them like obedient guard dogs.

Not a single thing out of place.

And it pisses me off even more.

I can’t stop seeing her face, the deep purple her skin turned when she couldn’t breathe anymore because of that motherfucker.

I shut my eyes and replay that horrific shit in my head, seeing her get choked out by him, turning a sickly shade of purple while going all limp in his fucking hands.

Felt like my heart imploded, bursting into flames hotter than lava or colder than ice.

I couldn't hold back, I was consumed by a fucking tidal wave of rage and pure terror at the thought of losing her.

My mind went berserk wanting to brutalize that piece of shit, just wanted to kill the motherfucker right then and there, more than all those other assholes I've taken out in business deals or races.

I reveled in the sick satisfaction of beating his ass and chopping off his fucking hand—and I’ll do it again without even blinking, without hesitation.

I don't even give a fuck.

I open my eyes and the only thing I see in the rearview mirror is a monster, a damn monster of obsession and possession.

I was already one, but she made me become a worse one.

I'm panting, each breath harsher than the last.

My eyes begin to glow with everything raging inside me, the image of her almost dying is burned into my mind.