Page 9 of Kill for a Kiss

When we reach the shed in the far corner, I finally release her. She’s too far from anywhere close to salvation. And she’s close enough for me to grab again without a problem. She scrambles back anyway, and presses herself against the wooden wall. She’s staying put, acting smart, and I didn’t need to say a thing. She’s complying all on her own.

I’d praise her, if I weren’t lost in her eyes. Still beautifully blue, even when her wide, panicked eyes gaze over the graves. Then to me, blinking those sea color orbs my way. Like she can see through my mask. Something twists in my gut. But I ignore it. Because I know she can’t.

I reach into my pocket, fingers brushing over cool metal. The key to the shed. A simple turn of it will lock her inside it, safe and contained. Always within my reach. Away fromthem.

But when I try to slide the key into the lock, it slips out of my hold, and hits the dirt. I frown. That’s never happened…

I crouch, snatching it up, jaw clenching hard enough to ache. I doit again, slower this time for precision, slipping the key into the lock, but the way my fingers tighten around it feelswrong.

I’ve done this dozens of times. A hundred. So why the fuck am I fumbling now? I exhale sharply through my nose. She’s watching me. I don’t have to use my peripherals to check. I canfeelher gaze on me, wide and unblinking, her breath coming too fast, too shallow, sounding further away. And something about it—no, something abouthermakes me tremble.

I finally turn the key, yanking the shed door open, and step sideways to reach for her and bring her inside. That’s the plan, at least, but I don’t do it. Not yet. Because I need a second. Just one second. Because my hands are fuckingshakingright now.

I hiss under my mask, confused and panicking. There’s an unfamiliar flutter under my ribs. It’s insane to feel it after all these years.What the hell’s wrong with me?

In these past years of honing my mercenary skills, I’ve never fumbled. Never hesitated. Nevershook. Except for that one fucking time. That was four years ago. This isnow.

Still, I feel the tremor in my fingers, the stiffness in my jaw, that growing ache in my chest. My body is betraying me in ways I don’t understand, my control slipping through my hands like sand. Because ofher. Because of—

A shuffling sound snaps me out of it. By the time I register what’s happening, she’s already gone. She’s running. Has been that entire time I couldn’t do something so fucking simple.

The moment of lost control shatters inside me, replaced by razor-sharp desperation. Ireact. I sprint after her, my strides long, devouring the distance between us. My heart pounds. My breath comes hard, harsh and aching, but I don’t let myself feel it. Not when Ionlywant to feel her.

She’s heading toward the music. The lights. The people. Thewedding reception. I bare my teeth in a silent snarl, feeling my hot breath curving under my mask.No, no, no.

She’s slipping through the vines, tearing through the narrow pathways, her arms outstretched as she clumsily stumbles forward. My fingers brush the back of her dress—just barely—before she wrenches forward with a burst of speed I didn’t expect. A shaky, soft gasp shudders through my entire system.I haven’t seen that kind of move since…

My feet almost freeze again. And my brows furrow when her foot catches on an uneven root, and for a second, she nearly falls. I want to be there to catch her. But she finds her footing, sprinting forward toward the lights.

The music is getting louder. The glow of lanterns bleeds through the vines ahead, casting moving shadows, flaunting the fact that she’sso close. But I…I’m closer. I have to be.

I’m going to catch her. I’m going tohaveher. And I don’t know what I’ll do once she becomes mine. Because this is different.She’s different. Because I’ve never ran like this before. I’ve neverwantedanything like this before. But right now, none of that matters. Because Ican’tlet her reach them.

I push harder, faster, my breath ragged in my ears, my pulse hammering. And then the vines break apart ahead. The reception comes into view. She’s almost there. So I reach for her.Almost.

She sprints with everything she has, her entire body practicallyscreamingto get away from me. And ithurts. It stings. It burns. It eats me up alive. Like fire. Fire that—

A dull, dragging ache spreads through my chest, like breathing in smoke.

She’s not just running. She’s running away from meagain. I should push harder. I should close the gap, drag her back, andfixthis before it’s too late. But I don’t. I can’t. Because the chase feels so fuckingwrong.

She crashes out of the vineyard, into music, into murmurs, into a celebration that doesn’t know what’s bleeding behind it. And then shestops. She’s run straight into someone. Someone who catches her easily. Someone who steadies her with a single, practiced hand.

It’s Clo, the matriarch of my terrifying family.

The moment she’s in Clo’s grasp, something in my chest completelyfractures. The sharp pain spreads like the string’s finally snapped.

The girl’s still gasping, still trembling, still trying to make sense of what’s happened to her. But she’s not in my hands anymore. She’s in Clo’s.

Panic drums into my limbs, shaking that tight wire free from my chest. This moment has unleashed something in me I can’t explain. I’m too afraid of what I’ve failed to do. Again.

My eyes track how Clo barely moves. She doesn’t even glance around. Because of course she fucking doesn’t. I’m nothing to her in this moment. Not worth noticing. Not worth acknowledging. Never was, unless I did her bidding. And I haven’t done that in years.

Clo’s focus is on the woman in her grasp, who’s unsteady and fighting for air. I watch as Clo adjusts her hold.

And the girl who belongs to me…doesn’t look back at me. Not even for a second. She struggles to steady herself, her fingers gripping Clo’s arm like she doesn’t realize yet that she’s no safer now than she was with me.

I should be relieved. This should make things easier. She’s not my problem anymore. Exceptshe is. Should’ve always been. Now that I see her in Clo’s arms. But I can’t show myself to the crowd, not with my mask on. Not when I’m still fucking shaking. It’s not just my hands anymore. I’m full-body trembling. And my mind’s worse, completely slipping in a way it hasn’t been since I ran away from this mansion, from my family all those years ago.