Heartbreak Me (Heartbreak Duet 1)

He has nothing in his hands, and the only sign of danger is that he’s in my fucking home.

“Nicholas.”

His smile grows wider. “Thea. I’ve been waiting for you.”

I clutch my keys in my hand. “Why are you in my home?” I start stepping back when I hear a muffled cry, but I can’t see where it’s coming from. “Nicholas, who is with you?”

He shakes his head, that smile never leaving his face. “Do you honestly think I would let someone hurt you?” His teeth are showing, and it isn’t a pleasant sight.

“What are you talking about?”

Nicholas stands, takes one step forward, and I take one step back. There’s a couch between us, so he will have to jump that to reach me. I’m sure I could reach the door in time before he caught up with me.

He holds his hands up in the air. “I would never hurt you, Thea. Never.” Nicholas keeps his hands in the air.

“Who is with you?”

He nods to the couch I can’t see in front of. “Look for yourself.”

So, I do. I lean over, and when I do my eyes go wide at the sight before me.

My sister and Benji are both tied down with gags in their mouths as they sit on the floor in front of the television.

“I couldn’t wait for you to start their punishment. So, I cut their hands and broke their ribs to show them what you went through.” He looks down at Lucy. “She was very willing to tell me everything that happened to you, even bragged about it,” he snarls at her.

My hand flies to my mouth as a strangled cry leaves me. I look to Lucy to see her eyes are full of tears, and she looks at me for help.

Benji keeps on looking at Lucy like he can save her. He can’t. Lucy isn’t as tied up as he is. Benji has extra rope around him, so his bindings are tight.

“You think they will learn their lesson?” he asks.

I look behind me, hoping someone will help. But no one can. It’s us, and that’s it.

“Nicholas, you need to let them go.”

He waves at them. “They can’t walk, and I haven’t finished teaching them not to touch what is mine.”

“I’m not yours, Nicholas.”

His eyes fixate on me, and his smile drops. “You think Atlas loves you? He doesn’t.” Nicholas looks at his watch, then back to me. “He should be in an accident… right… about… now,” he draws out. “So we can go wherever you want. Lucy told me everything. He was using you and making you do things you didn’t want to do. I would never, Thea, ever make you do that. I would treat you like the queen you are.”

“What did you do to Atlas?”

Nicholas looks back to his expensive watch. “He was bound to have an accident with the way he drives.” He winks as Lucy whimpers. His eyes flick to hers, and she flinches. “She loves him, did you know that? She told me to kill you and not him.”

My eyes find hers, and she looks away. There is no guilt whatsoever. I know he’s telling the truth.

“I can kill her for you. Make it slow and painful.”

Lucy looks to me now, her eyes wide and pleading. A part of me wants to walk out my front door and pretend this never happened. Unfortunately, that part that is always saving her won’t let me.

“Don’t hurt her, Nicholas. Let them go.”

“No can do, Thea. They need to understand.” He walks over to them, leans down to Benji who is fighting against his ties, and pulls out a knife. In one quick movement, he puts it to his throat and slices. Benji falls to his side as the blood pools on my floor.

I scream; it rips out of my throat.

Nicholas doesn’t even look up as he moves on to my sister. Before I can move, my front door is kicked open, and Atlas walks in, his mouth is bloody, and his hand almost looks twisted. His eyes find mine before they move to Nicholas. When he goes to do the same to my sister, she manages to move, but Nicholas is fast and stabs the knife straight into her leg, smiling as he stands.

“You’ve come to play too?” Nicholas bends down, reaches for the knife, pulls it out of Lucy’s leg, and wipes it on his black trousers before standing. “If they can’t kill you, I guess I’ll have to, so we can be free to be together.” Nicholas looks to me, and I lean over and spew on the floor right in front of me, which makes my ribs scream in protest.

Atlas walks toward him, reaching for something in his back pocket as he gets closer. He lifts and shoots straight between Nicholas’s eyes while I watch as he drops to the floor.