Page 103 of Endure the Pain

How…My heart picked up speed, pumping adrenaline and the urge to run through my veins.

His arms tightened around me as if sensing it. I forced myself to calm. Putting my hands on his chest, I pressed my body against his. His eyes narrowed in confusion, a clear indication that I had surprised him.

He didn’t shove me away and it gave me the confidence to do what I needed to next. I trailed a hand up behind his neck. Pulling him close at the same time I pushed up on my toes, I brought my lips to his. His whole body went rigid, and his fingers pressed firmly into my skin. I snaked my tongue out and lightly brushed it across his lips. That seemed to melt him, and he shoved a hand into my hair before taking over, plunging his tongue past my lips to stroke mine.

Knowing I had him distracted, I pulled away slightly and rammed my knee up between his legs. He let out a grunt and fell to a knee. I stepped out of his reach and turned to Brenna. Dean, Asher, and Finn were weaving through the dancing crowd behind her.

I grabbed her wrist and moved to meet them. “You know the plan,” I shouted over the music at Dean and handed Brenna over to them. I looked at Asher. “Get Vincent and go. I’ll catch up.”

Dean and Asher opened their mouths to argue, but I cut them off. “That’s an order,” I said.

Dean reluctantly handed over a keycard and the four of them left in one direction while I went in another. Jamie being here meant Louie wasn’t far. I exited the club and headed for the stairs instead of the elevator. I kicked off my heels and ran up the cold metal steps until I reached the third floor. I rushed down the hall to room three-twenty-seven. It was a room that was rented under my fake alias in case something like this happened. Thesuite that we all shared was checked-in under Dean’s alias, and after we had received our keycards for the room, Vincent had changed all the information in the hotel’s computer system to show a random person was renting it instead.

Be it Stefan or Jamie and Louie, they were mainly after me. Room three-twenty-seven was a diversion I’d use to give everyone else time to escape. And if I was unable to escape, at least the others were free to come and rescue me later.

Before entering the room, I stopped by the table up against the hall wall. There was a phone on the table to call down to the front desk if need be and a huge vase with fake decorative flowers. I felt around the underside of the table until my fingers ran over the Glock I’d taped there. I wrapped my hand around its grip and yanked it free. After ripping off the excess tape, I cocked it and unlocked room three-twenty-seven with the keycard Dean had given me.

I pushed the door open slowly with the barrel of my gun. The lights were on. I had purposely turned them all off. Once the door was fully open, I could see Louie sitting in a chair waiting for me. He appeared relaxed, blue eyes watchful as I stepped into the room.

“Are you going to shoot me, beautiful?” he asked, his stare dropping to the gun I had pointed at him.

I refused to acknowledge how my heart ached at seeing both him and Jamie. Not only from the sting of their betrayal, but because I still loved them. I probably always would. I’d given them a piece of my heart and they'd never given it back.

My darkness helped keep me in check…

They think of you as lesser because you’re a woman.

They wanted to send you away.

They tried to control you.

They blame you.

My hand squeezed around the grip of my gun, my rage clearing a path to clarity and determination. I lowered my gun. “What are you doing here?” My voice was cold and distant.

“You know why we’re here,” he said.

I eased further into the room. “I’m afraid that I don’t.”

The room door opened behind me and I whipped around to see who it was. Jamie stormed in, carrying my heels that I had discarded in the hotel’s stairwell. “You dropped these,” he snarled and tossed them on the bed. He didn’t stop walking toward me and I lifted my gun to stop him.

He halted and glared down at my gun. I smirked up at him.

“You think that was funny?” he growled.

“Did you honestly think I would throw myself at you after what you’ve done?”

I saw Louie stand up out of the corner of my eye and I was tempted to glance at him, but Jamie would have taken that moment to disarm me.

“It seems we started off on the wrong foot. We only came here to talk,” Louie said.

“Bullshit,” I bit out.

“We did. I swear,” he insisted.

“Even if that were true, I don’t want to talk to either of you,” I seethed. “So you might as well just leave.”

A sardonic smile pulled at Jamie’s mouth. “We aren’t going anywhere.”