BIANCA
“Eeek!”
Vincent lunged at me, swaying from the blow to his head. I hefted the lamp up again, swinging, desperate to get the hell out of there. When I caught sight of Stella lurking behind him, my fury rose.
The lamp came down again, this time catching him in the arm. He let out a snarl and tackled me, knocking me to the ground. His hand cradled my head as we went down, preventing it from slamming on the hard floor. The lamp tumbled away, out of reach as Vincent held me down.
“Stop, B. Don’t.”
I attempted to smash him in the face again with my head, but apparently, he was a fast learner and rested his forearm at my throat to stop me.
“Stop,” he panted out again. “What are you doing?”
“It’s not obvious?” I ground out. “I’m trying to get away from a house filled with murderers and bitches.”
He let out a sigh, his breath feathering across my face.
“Baby B, no one is here to hurt you.”
“Tell that to Fallon.”
“What happened to Fallon?” Stella peeked around the doorway. “Hail’s looking for him. He’s been missing for a couple of days.”
“Because he’s fucking dead,” I snarled, my heart breaking all over again for so many different reasons. “They killed him.”
Stella’s eyes widened. I hated the bitch, but in that moment, I’d love nothing more for her to rush back to Hail and inform him the kings killed one of his men. If they wanted their precious war, they’d certainly get it with Fallon’s death. He was an enforcer’s son. He was a lord. I was sure Mikhail Ivanov wouldn’t let his death go unpunished.
“You-you killed Fallon? Levin said—”
“Shut the fuck up, Stella. I didn’t kill anyone,” Vincent said, staring down at me.
“Then where is he?” I demanded, my voice cracking. “I saw Levin shoot him. Twice!”
Vincent closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. “B, Fallon was going to sell you out. Let it go.”
“You let it go. I’m going to sing like a fucking canary once I’m out of here. You’re going to have to kill me to keep me quiet. You’ll have to whack me!” Hysteria washed over me as I screamed as loudly as I could beneath him.
“Stop! Fucking stop!” Vincent clamped his hand over my mouth, his dark eyes flashing. “What the fuck? Chill.”
My chest heaved as I tried to breathe through my nose, the tears prickling my eyes. Vincent’s bruised face morphed into an expression of sadness.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered. “I swear to you everything is going to be OK. Please, B.” He leaned down, resting his forehead against mine, but I jerked my head to the side, and he ended up nuzzling my neck.
“Fuck, I hate you this way. I know you’re hurting. It won’t last forever, OK? Come on. Please. I meant what I said in the woods.”
My body shook as I remembered his words. I love you. He’d held onto me so tightly, his tears mingling with mine before he pulled himself together to leave me.
To fucking leave me.
“I hate you,” I choked out, my heart hurting. “I hate you so much.”
He stiffened against me, silent, and then he nodded.
“I know, and I accept that. But I’m going to fight for you, B. You’re mine. Ours. That’s never going to change no matter how much you scream you hate me or them. I know you. I fucking know your heart. Buried beneath your hatred is pain. I feel it too.” His voice trembled. “Together. We’ll get through it together.”
I clenched my teeth, hating the anguish he spoke of. I wanted him so much it hurt, but I wanted to punch his face in too because Fallon was gone.
Fallon.Just thinking his name made the wounds in my heart bleed again.
“Come on, baby. Don’t do this. I need you to be happy today. Please, don’t cry. I promise we’ll leave here. We’re going back to Bolten. Things are going to get better. Just give us a chance to explain things. OK? Can you do that for me? Give us the benefit of the doubt?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t giving anyone shit.
“B…”
But I’d never get away if I kept fighting. I needed them to let their guards down. Once they did, I was running to the end of the world and hiding.
“You promise?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Just get up and be a good girl. Stella is going to help fix you up for tonight.”
“I hate Stella.”
He smiled, the action not reaching his eyes. “Me too.”
“I’m right here, you jerks,” Stella called out, sneering down at us as she stepped into the room.
“Wish you weren’t,” Vincent said with a sigh.
I had no idea why she was there. It was probably more of their secret bullshit. God knew Dom and Vincent sure spent enough time meeting with her before all this shit went down. Levin was probably telling the truth about Dom and Vincent taking turns on her in the men’s bathroom at homecoming.
Remembering that only made my anger boil.
Keep it together, Bianca. Be cool. Calm. Let them relax.
“I want to get up.”
Vincent studied me for a moment before shifting his weight off me and standing. He held his hand out for me, and I took it, allowing him to pull me up into his arms. My heart stumbled as I stared into his dark eyes. His forehead was bleeding again along his hairline where I’d clocked him with the lamp. Had it been any other time, I would've kissed his hurts and tended to them for him. Now, I restrained myself, hating the war waging within me. He was part of the reason why Fallon was gone. Hell, he’d even shot at us.
“Let’s get you a shower.” He clasped my hand and led me to the bathroom. Turning back to Stella, he said, “Set everything up. We’ll be right back.”
I could practically hear her eyeroll as she let out an exaggerated sigh. Vincent ignored her and closed the bathroom door. The room suddenly felt too small as I stared up at him.
Wordlessly, he reached out and skimmed his fingers beneath my shirt as he made to pull it up.
“I thought I'd lost you,” he murmured. “It broke me.”
I swallowed. I let him take my shirt off. Immediately, I wrapped my arms protectively around myself, covering my breasts so he couldn't look at me. He seemed hurt by the motion, his eyebrows drawing together on his forehead.
“I cried”—he whispered, stooping to push my panties off—“when I thought I’d lost you.”
“Please,” I pleaded softly, stopping him.
“What is it?”
“Can you turn around? I don’t want you to see me.”