Page 88 of Obsession (Temptation 4)

I couldn’t put myself through that again.

I wouldn’t put myself through that again.

My ears pounded, pulse increasing as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I didn’t see anything else. Didn’t hear anything else. All I saw was the knife.

Nick claimed he didn’t have a choice.

Well, neither did I.

I grabbed the knife from the floor and pressed the blade against his chest. His eyes flung wide, terror swirling within.

“Julia, this isn’t you,” he attempted to argue, his voice barely more than a whisper, the sirens close. “You’re too kind. Too gentle. Too loving.” He struggled to draw in a breath deep enough to fill his lungs. “You’re not a killer.”

“This is what you did to me, you sick fuck!” I exclaimed, hands trembling as tears streamed down my cheeks. “This is what you turned me into. It’s not fun when the shoe’s on the other foot, is it?” I tightened my grip on the knife, attempting to summon the strength to do what needed to be done.

It should have been easy.

Hell, Nick made it sound easy, like taking a life was as effortless as making a cup of coffee.

But could I live with his blood on my hands?

“Julia…”

“This is the only way,” I choked out, meeting Lachlan’s gaze. “If I don’t do this, if he doesn’t die…” I trailed off, bile rising in my throat.

“It won’t ever end,” he finished.

I used my shoulder to wipe away my tears. “I can’t live like this anymore. It has to end.”

“It does.” He nodded, understanding crossing his expression as he stepped forward, kneeling beside me.

He covered my hands with his on the handle of the knife. “When we started this, I swore to you that no matter the obstacles we faced—”

“We’d face them together,” I finished softly.

He nodded. “Together.”

I shifted my attention to Nick, finding satisfaction at the terror in his eyes.

“Like you said,” I began, my voice cold, not sounding like my own.

Red and blue lights flashed outside the window, but I didn’t stop. Didn’t retreat. Instead, I leaned toward him, not allowing him to look anywhere else but at me.

“This was always how it was going to end with us. Till death do us part, Nick.”

I glanced at Lachlan, giving him a slight nod. He tightened his grip, our combined strength forcing the blade into Nick’s heart, blood staining his shirt and our hands. His anguished cries filled the room, the sound harrowing. Then it stopped, his body going limp, the life draining from his eyes.

“You first, you fucking bastard.”

Needing to make sure he couldn’t come back from this, I twisted the knife, my muscles shaking with the adrenaline filling me just as footsteps thundered down the hallway, coming to a stop in the doorway.

I whipped my head up as Agent Curran took in Nick’s lifeless body, Lachlan and me still clutching the knife lodged in his chest.

Then he skated his gaze over my frame — my dress ripped down to my waist, blood covering my chest where Nick had fallen on me after Lachlan shot him.

When he finally lifted his eyes to mine, he swallowed hard, nothing but respect and understanding covering his expression.

“You did what you had to do,” he stated.