We’re driving along the same road I drove past all those years ago, and the heavy rain on the window is giving me flashbacks. The car stops abruptly along the road, and I struggle to park without getting lost in dark memories.
Even though it’s pouring outside, I still jump out and head straight for the car in front of me, clutching the knife I took with me firmly in my hands.
But as Jasmine steps out, so does the driver, and I am not prepared.
It wasn’t Liam who was driving. It was Luca.
And we’re at the same cliff where my whole life was destroyed in a single devastating second.
At the very edge of the cliff, a man leans over to peer at the water that I almost drowned in three years ago.
Jasmine approaches the man, her hands clutched together, while Luca stays back.
But when that man finally turns around to face her, I am not prepared.
At all.
My voice is mousy soft as I mutter, “Liam?”
Chapter 31
Luca
* * *
Twenty minutes ago
* * *
I push open the elevator doors and rush through the hallway while the phone against my ear continues to beep. Finally, Liam picks up.
“Don’t come here, or I swear to fuck—”
“Too late, motherfucker, I’m here.” His voice is manic. Not at all like the brother I remember.
“What the fuck do you want?” I growl as I go through the revolving doors.
“You know what I fucking want.”
He sounds like me.
“No. We’re going to fucking talk. Right now,” I say as I head out into the street where I hop into my car. No fucking time to wait for a driver.
“I’m done talking. I’m tired of waiting. I need this to end,” he replies. He definitely sounds unhinged.
“I have Jasmine,” I reply.
This quiets him for a moment.
Even though it’s not true yet, it will be soon.
“And she wants to talk to you.”
Liam growls, “Fine. Meet me at the cliff.”
Jill
* * *
Present
* * *
All these years of guilt, anger, and fear collapsed into one moment in time, dissipating into a black hole like a star at the end of its life.
I almost can’t believe my own eyes, yet there he is in the living flesh.
My body instantly gravitates toward him, my legs almost carried by the wind itself.
“Liam?” Jasmine mutters. “How is this even possible? I thought … I thought you were dead.”
The horror in her voice is one I recognize all too well.
“How?”
He walks to her and grabs her hand. Luca’s body twitches and tenses as he homes in on every move his brother makes.
“I don’t know,” Liam says. “It’s too much to tell you. But I’ve been dying to see you.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t understand what’s happening. Luca told me that I needed to come here with him to save Jill.”
The moment she mentions my name, Liam’s eyes widen, and he searches the area. “Is she here?”
I step out from behind a bush and reveal myself. I’m not at all prepared for those beautiful soul-struck eyes to burn into mine, nor the fury blazing behind them.
And when he opens his mouth and speaks, I know for sure it’s him. “Jill …”
The sound of his voice brings me to tears and commands me to walk toward him.
“JILL, NO!” Luca yells, the visceral, animalistic sound coming from his throat making me hesitate to get close.
“Stay out of this!” Liam growls at him.
Luca suddenly jumps between us, arms wide, gun at the ready. “You want her? You’ll have to go through me.”
The mere sight of him in front of me makes me want to spew lava at him. After all the lies, how dare Luca still try to keep me away from Liam? “Get out of the way,” I snarl.
“No.” He looks at me over his shoulder, the look of pure determination in his eyes hard to stomach.
“How long did you think you could keep this a secret from me?” I ask, my nails digging into my hands.
“I wanted to explain over the phone before you cut me off,” he retorts, trying to grasp my hand. “We have to go. NOW.”
“No!” I jerk my hand free and shove him away. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
After all the things he said, all the ways he made me believe my own feelings for him, he turns around and betrays me in the worst way possible.
I can’t forgive him for this.
I stare him down. “Get out of my way.”
“Luca, you heard her,” Liam says.
“Don’t listen to him, Jill,” Luca says, throwing me a damning look. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“By keeping me from the only person who could’ve made it all okay again.” I blink away the tears. I don’t want to spend them on him. “All these years, I thought I’d killed him. I paid for that. And now it turns out he’s alive, and you never even told me. You let me live with that guilt.” My hands palm into fists. “I fucking hate you.”