Page 28

BLAISE

T he sharp crack of Ronan's hand against Jenna's face echoes through the wine cellar. She crumples to the ground, her palm pressed against her reddening cheek. Blood trickles from the corner of her mouth.

My finger tightens on the trigger. Every muscle in my body coils, ready to spring. How dare he touch her. But then I remember her betrayal. I think about how she’s still trying to protect him when she should be apologizing to me.

“I should have set the cottage on fire too.”

Jenna stays curled on the floor, shoulders shaking. The sight of her tears tries to work into my sympathy, but I fight it. I’ve worked hard for this moment. I need to revel in it.

"I didn't know," she whispers. "I was just a child. I thought?—”

"You thought what?" Ronan's voice drips with contempt. "That I actually cared about you? That anyone would?"

The gun wavers between them as conflicting impulses war inside me. Protect her. Hurt her. Save her. Destroy her.

She looks up at me, those green eyes swimming with tears, and for a moment I see the innocence there, the genuine shock and horror as the truth crashes down around her. Maybe she really didn't know what she was doing ten years ago.

But then I remember my mother's screams. My father's body. The inferno that stole everything from us. All because this girl wanted a boy to notice her.

The rage wins out, turning my heart to stone. I steady the gun, aiming at Ronan's chest. Let her watch someone else she cares about die. It's only fair.

“You don't understand." Her eyes plead with me. "They've been good to us. My mother would have died without their support?—”

"And my parents are already dead because of your loyalty to them!

" The fury explodes out of me, making her flinch.

"Even now, knowing what they did, you're still defending them.

" I walk over to her, seething with rage. “And let me remind you of who made sure your mother got a new heart. It wasn’t this motherfucker. And who took her to the hospital because the Keans whom you so adore threatened to fire you if you did? It was me, Jenna. And after all that, you still choose them.”

The rage burns hotter, threatening to consume me. After everything, the dates, the kisses, the intimacy we shared, she's still theirs.

“Why would I choose you when it wasn’t real?”

Except it was real and it’s killing me. Fuck.

The movement catches my peripheral vision, and in the split second of my distraction, Ronan bolts.

"No!" I swing the gun back toward his retreating figure, squeezing off a shot. The bullet strikes stone, sending fragments flying.

I fire again. Miss. The sound of his footsteps echoes up the stairs as he disappears back up to the house.

"Damn it!" Ten years of planning, destroyed in seconds because I let myself get distracted by her.

I turn back to Jenna. She's still on the floor, eyes wide with terror. Good. She should be afraid. I want her to feel a fraction of what my family felt that night.

Except looking at her tear-streaked face, my chest aches. The urge to comfort her wars with my need for vengeance. I hate that she has this power over me. That even knowing what she did, part of me wants to protect her.

I go to her. "Are you hurt? Let me see?—”

She slaps my hand away and scrambles away, using the wall to help her stand. "Don't touch me. I can’t believe you used me. That everything between us was a lie."

"Not everything." The words slip out before I can stop them. Damn it. Even now, I can't maintain the cold facade I need.

"Really?" She wipes blood from her lip, eyes blazing. "Which part was real? When you seduced me? When you took my virginity? Or when you made me fall in love with you just to get to Ronan?"

I don’t like how her accusations feel, which is crazy considering it’s all true. I achieved what I set out to do. But instead of feeling victorious, I feel like shit.

“All to make me pay for something I did as a child. Well, congratulations, you succeeded."

“That thing you did as a child killed my family. It killed nearly a dozen of the staff who worked here. Staff you knew. Do you really not see that?”

“How could I have known?” She shakes her head and pushes past me.

"Jenna—”

“Don’t. You're just like him." Her words cut deep. "Using me. Making me think someone could actually love me. God, I'm such an idiot."

"You think I manipulated you?" I advance on her, fury burning away any lingering tenderness. "What about how you led killers right to my family?"

"I didn't know!" Jenna backs up against a wine rack. "I was just a stupid kid with a crush.”

"And that makes it okay?" My voice rises, echoing off the stone walls. "Your schoolgirl fantasy was worth my parents' lives?"

Her eyes seem to show remorse, but she hasn’t once said she’s sorry. "Please, I never meant?—”

"Never meant what?" I slam my palm against the rack beside her head, making her jump. "Never meant for them to die? Never meant to help murderers into our home? Tell me, Jenna, what exactly did you think would happen when you showed Ronan the secret passage?"

Tears stream down her face, but I won’t be swayed by them. "He said he just wanted to see me. That we could spend time together?—"

"And you believed him. He was seventeen years old. Did you really think he’d be interested in a kid?" Disgust coats my words. "So eager for attention, you never stopped to question why he finally showed an interest. Just like with me."

"That's different." Her chin lifts defiantly. "What we had was real. I felt it."

"Did you?" I lean closer, using my height to intimidate her. "Or did you just want it to be real so badly, you ignored all the warning signs? Again."

She flinches like I've struck her. Good. Let her hurt like I've been hurting for ten years.

"Your desperation for love got my parents killed." The words tear from my throat, harsh and raw. "Your blind trust in the Keans destroyed my family. And you're still defending them!"

"I was thirteen!" She shoves against my chest, surprising me with her strength. "They took care of me, gave me a home when I had nothing. What was I supposed to think?"

"You were supposed to think about someone besides yourself for once." The bitterness I've carried for years pours out. "But you couldn't even do that, could you? Not then, not now."

She sags into the rack like all the air has left her. "I just wanted him to like me. He was the only person who ever noticed me besides my mom. Who made me feel special."

My hand tightens around the gun at my side. I shouldn't care about her pain. I've waited ten years to make her suffer like this.

She lifts her gaze to me. "I didn't know what they were going to do. I swear, Blaise. I thought… I thought maybe we'd meet in secret, like in the stories my mom used to read me. I never imagined…"

She wraps her arms around herself, rocking slightly. "When the fire happened, they told everyone it was an accident. That the Ifrinns died in their sleep. That the Keans were heroes for honoring the Ifrinns by rebuilding and taking care of the surviving staff afterward."

I really want to hate her, need to hate her. But watching her fall apart, I see the child she was. Lonely, naive, desperate for connection. Just like I've been these past weeks with her.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, the words catching on a sob. "I'm so sorry. If I'd known… if I'd understood what Ronan really was… God, what have I done?"

Her genuine remorse cuts deeper than any calculated manipulation could. It would be easier if she were truly evil, if she'd known exactly what she was doing when she betrayed my family. Instead, she was just a foolish girl who made a terrible mistake, one that destroyed both our lives.

I hear commotion upstairs and know that we’re running out of time. I have to get my shit together. I can’t let my emotions take over now.

Reality crashes back and I realize that I've failed. Not only did I miss my shot at Ronan, but I've blown my cover completely. Any second now, Kean soldiers will swarm this cellar to kill me. And Jenna too.

"Shit." I check my ammunition. “Come on, we need to get out of here.” I reach for her to lead her out the tunnel.

She jerks away like my touch burns. “Don’t touch me.”

"You're not safe here anymore. Ronan knows you helped me. He'll make you pay for it."

“I didn’t help you?—”

“He’ll think you did. Just like I thought you helped him.”

“I didn’t.”

God, how do I make her see? “We don’t have time to discuss this. You’re in danger.”

“You could kill me?—”

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. I don’t kill women. The Keans do. You know it now. They killed my mother, so many of the staff who worked for us.”

“What about my mother?”

“I’ll protect her too. But we have to go. Now.”

Shouts echo from above, growing closer. We're out of time.

"What do you care?"

"I don't want you dead. I've never wanted you dead. I know you hate me right now, but I can protect you. Your mom too. We'll send for your mother once you're safe." I reach for her again.

“Are you acting like you care now? Using me like you’ve done this whole time?”

"That's not—" I cut myself off. What can I say? That I fell for her despite my best efforts? That every moment wasn't a lie? She'd never believe me now.

"I trusted you." Her voice cracks. "I gave you everything. My heart, my body…" She presses a hand to her stomach so briefly I almost miss it. "And it was all just part of your revenge plot."

“That is all true. But right now, you have to decide if you want to go with the asshole who broke your heart or face a murderer? Do you want to live or die? This asshole can keep you safe.”

"Safe?" She laughs bitterly. "You're the most dangerous person I've ever met.”

"Jenna—”

"No." She cuts me off and jerks away again. "I never want to see you again. Ever."

She turns and flees out of the wine cellar, leaving me alone in the cellar. The sound of her footsteps fades, mixing with the approaching guards’ steps.

I should run. Every survival instinct screams at me to get out while I still can. But watching her disappear feels like losing my family all over again.