Throwing my blankets off me, I stared down at my hands.
Blood.
There was no blood.
I fell off the bed, landing in a heap on the ground.
The bedroom door flew open and Ashley’s arms were around me. At first, I fought against her touch, but then she held on to me, rocking gently.
“It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m here. I’m with you. You’re okay.”
This wasn’t fucking okay. This couldn’t be real.
I knew what I saw. I knew what had happened, and yet here I was, alive. The blade had pressed against my neck. He’d been strangling me, and then everything went dark.
The bastard had knocked me clean out.
Ashley helped me to the edge of the bed. I’d lost so much control, I’d started to cry. “Where are we? What the hell is going on?”
“They told me you’d been out and you would be a little out of it.”
“Who? They? You mean Vadik, Caleb, River, and Gael?”
Ashley nodded.
“What’s going on?”
“They er, they … they asked me to give you this.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a letter. “I’ve got to sit with you while you read it.”
“A letter?”
“Yes.”
I took the letter from her hands. Mine shook.
Weakness. I was tired of feeling weak and I wasn’t going to allow myself to feel that way anymore.
Opening the letter, I saw Caleb’s writing.
I swiped the tears off my cheek, took a breath, and started to read.
Dear Emily,
You’re alive. I know you came here expecting to die, but we couldn’t let that happen. We had to know you would live. That you would get to have some semblance of a life. No matter what.
I stopped reading as I just knew this wasn’t going to end well.
“Did you read it?” Ashley asked.
“Not yet.” I went back in.
Your father’s deceit was more than we could even begin to think about. His desire to be number one is what got him killed, and nearly you. None of us want you to die. As you’re reading this, you will know Ashley is with you. That is because this letter will be the last correspondence you will ever get. As far as the world is concerned, you died, as did Ashley. Neither of you exists. She has your new passports and identity. You’ve also got enough money to start over.
You cannot come back.
If you do, you’ll die.
We love you, Emily, so much, but we can’t let you die.
This is all of us letting you go. None of us want this. We wanted to have a life with you.
I couldn’t read anymore. Without going to the bottom, I tore up the letter and let the bits of paper rain down on the bed.
Broken.
They loved me.
They let me go.
“Em?” Ashley asked.
I shook my head. They got to say goodbye and I got nothing. Tears filled my eyes and I tried to control myself. I tried not to be sad, but I couldn’t stop.
I was dying inside.
They had let me go so easily. I had to be nothing to them.
“I don’t like this. They didn’t want you to be upset.”
I covered my face with my hands and finally let go. I cried so hard. Ashley’s arms wrapped around me, holding me close. This was worse than dying.
“I never got to tell them I loved them,” I said.
“I’m sure they knew.”
“Do you even know what’s going on?” I asked, pulling away.
Ashley turned away and nodded. “Yes. They told me who your father was. I had no idea, Emily, I promise. I … my mom.”
Then I realized Ashley was crying.
“Your mom?”
“She’s dead.” Ashley’s tears made a lot of sense now. She’d lost someone. Unlike me, Ashley had loved her mom.
Wrapping my arms around her, I knew I had to be strong. I was never going to see my guys again. They had done much worse than their fathers ever could.
Dean Parson had offered me a clean death. Fast, quick, swift. I hadn’t wanted to die, but what Caleb, River, Gael, and Vadik had done, they had offered me only a half-life. They had gotten under my skin, broken into my heart, and they had smashed it into a million pieces. There was no repairing the damage they’d caused.
They had killed me.
I was in love with four men and they had completely broken my heart. I didn’t know how I was going to live, but I had to, to make use of this.
Ashley pulled away, wiping at her tears. “Ice cream?”
I nodded. She took my hand, leading me out into the sitting room.
“Where are we?”
She nibbled on her lip and I was even more shocked by what she said next. Not only had they kept me alive, but they had moved me to a different country.
My new name and new life were now in England.
Yay.
To Be Concluded