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She turns and puts her arms around his neck, and he whispers something in her ear. Her head throws back in laughter, and she lets him twirl her around.

“What are you doing?” I hear Josh yell over the music, gripping her by her elbow. It’s not hard enough to hurt, but it’s insistent. His eyes are imploring her more than his hand.

“Josh? What are you doing here?”

“Is this your boyfriend?” the cowboy interjects, stepping back an inch.

Nicole raises her eyebrow in question, and Josh splutters. God damn that man. He’s dragging her along over and over. Every time I see these two together I can’t work out what's happened. Other than the fact it’s her brother’s best friend. They’re clearly in love with each other.

He says nothing, and she rolls her eyes, shifting her body back to the cowboy. “No, he’s not.”

She drags the cowboy by the hand toward the door, looking back at me and mouthing, “I’ll call you,” as she skips out the door. The cowboy is holding on to his hat for dear life as poor Josh sinks his drink at the bar.

Blakely loops her arm into mine, and Marianne picks up her purse.

“I just know I’m going to have the worst hangover all day tomorrow and then back to work Monday. Fucking kill me now,” Blakely whines. She really does have the worst boss. A super creep if there ever was one.

“You should quit,” Marianne says for the hundredth time.

“Sure, Little Miss Four Jobs and Counting. I’ll quit myonewhen you quit at least two of yours,” she snips back, grinning. Marianne rolls her eyes. She’s still a little quiet around us both, but I’m hoping with time, she’ll warm up.

I say goodnight to the girls, giving Josh a little pat on the back as I walk out. He gives me a nod before lifting his beer for another pull.

As I’m in my Uber, I check some of the comments on my latest video. Hundreds are still asking where the Masked Man is. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but I thought they would have relented by now. But truthfully, I want to know,too. I can’t stop thinking about Austin. All the promises he has made. He said we would be together; he told me he loved me. I don’t know if I’ll ever love again or if he’ll be stuck in my heart forever. Could I really live a life without him? Knowing how good we can be together, I’m not sure. I want him to choose me. Choose a life together that’s on our terms. But if I can’t have that, I’ll settle for knowing that he doesn’t see himself as the villain. I want him to be happy and know how loved he is by so many people.

Pulling up to my new building, I miss the space that my family home offered. I love my new apartment, but a one-bed has significantly less space to live in. I have some dedicated space for my work, but it’s a squeeze that I’m adjusting to.

I set up my phone to do a live stream. Something I’ve never done before. No script, no planning, just enough tequila to give me the nerve and not enough to make me regret this in the morning. At least, I hope not.

I hit record and start talking.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Austin

The smooth deep voice of Alfie Adams fills my ear as I answer my phone. He’s calm, but quick to the point. “Your girl is breaking the internet, Austin.”

“Olivia?”

Fucking hell, if I see a video of her naked, I’m going to quickly forget my no-kill policy.

“Is there anyone else?”

“Of course not,” I scoff before heading straight to her channel.Yes, I have it bookmarked.

There she sits, just her with a white backdrop. It’s a livestream, and my god, she’s so beautiful. She’s done up like she’s going out. Like I don’t know already. Callum gave me an update last night that she’d gone to Texas for a business deal, but that was the most I knew about her location. She entered a bar at 8 p.m. with Nicole, the clothing brand owner we met in L.A., along with two other girls named Marianne and Blakely. Marianne is clean, and Blakely has a sealed record from when she was a minor. But she has a stable job and rents her own apartment, so she seems to be on the up and up. Not that I have room to criticize. I did kill eleven men last week. Oh, actually, Luca told me it was twelve. My chest stings at the thought of him.

“I’ll give you a minute to watch it. Call me if you want to talk, okay?” Alfie brings me back to the present.

“I’m not going to. I can’t.”

“It’s for you, Austin. She wants you to listen to her.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, if you’re not the Masked Man she’s referring to, then this is going to be awkward.”

“Fuck off,” I laugh.