Page 92 of Twisted Violet

She doesn’t look at me, but something shiftsin her eyes. Her breath catches in her throat. Her jaw ticks like she’s trying not to cry, and then she breaks.

Silently.

Tears spill down her cheeks, no sound, no warning, just quiet devastation.

I climb onto the couch and wrap my arms around her, tucking her into me like I used to when she was five and afraid of thunderstorms. She folds into my chest like muscle memory, like she never forgot how to let me hold her, even though it’s been years since I last did it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” she whispers, voice hoarse. “I just didn’t want to burden you again.”

My chest clenches as I squeeze her tighter. “You were never a burden to me, Al. You’ve always been my lifeline.”

Alex swallows and blinks like she’s trying to digest my words.

“He sent flowers,” she says, broken. “He knows where I am.”

I go still.

And I’m suddenly fighting the urge to rip someone’s spine out with my bare hands.

“Are you sure they’re from him?”

She nods, her forehead still pressed to my collarbone. “He sent a text. He wanted me to know he sent them.”

I clench my jaw so hard it hurts.

Motherfucker.

I look up at the guys. Their faces say everything I’m thinking. Dallas looks wrecked. Rome’s gone stone-cold. And Niko’s already gone somewhere dark, like a switch has been flipped inside of him.

Good.

Let it flip.

Because if this bastard thinks he can crawl out ofwhatever hole he’s been rotting in and come for her again, he’s about to learn what it feels like to be hunted.

I turn back to Alex. She’s gripping the front of my leather jacket like she thinks I’ll disappear if she lets go.

“We’ve got you,” I say, threading my fingers through her hair. “You’re safe.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” she croaks.

I press a kiss to the top of her head, my throat tight. “That’s because he’s playing mind games, but he messed up by leaving a trail.”

Her fingers twitch. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I thought if I just ignored it, it would go away.”

“It’s not your fault.” I whisper. “You had to be so brave and so strong for so long now. Of course you tried to handle it on your own. But we’re here now…” I pause, looking around the room, “and we’ve all got you.”

Her body sags against mine like she’s finally ready to let someone else hold the weight, and I tug her even closer.

She doesn’t have to face him alone own anymore.

That’s what we’re here for.

And if that sick bastard really is back? If he’s watching her and planning something?

Then he just made the biggest mistake of his life.

THIRTY-FOUR