Page 78 of UnWholly Angels

“No matter how you play the game, this story does not end with you winning, or running off into the sunset to live a happy life. Maya belongs to the Vitales.” The blade cut straight across, but not enough to dig into the layer I needed to survive. “This will be your last warning, Riley Kingston. Heed it before she’s gotta watch your casket lowered to the ground.”

Before I knew it, the knife left my body. I’d heard him wiping the blade along his pants. My head slammed back to the floor, and he rose without a word, taking long strides to the door and leaving just like that.

Now, I had to pick up the room, clean up, and act like nothing happened.

I need to call the one person who would understand.

I need you, Freckles. Please pick up.

Maya

I jolted awake with a sinking feeling in my stomach, or was it just…Oh fuck yes! It was my phone. Hopefully, Riley and the guys were back from the bar. He’d kill me if he saw the state of the house. Children were fast asleep upstairs while the adults lay sprawled out on the floor in different areas. Drinks and snacks were laid out everywhere. I chose to opt out of drinking but still had fun. Charlotte and Rowan were nice, and I hoped that I would see more of them once Riley came back.

Careful not to wake anyone, I stepped over the half-dead bodies and ran to the kitchen to answer. “Hey, how was it?” Seeing the state he was in made my blood run cold, and I wanted answers immediately. “Riley, what the…Riley, look at me, please.”

When our eyes locked, his empty, emotionless look terrified me. He faced straight ahead, jaw clenched so tight I thought it would break, bruises lined his chest, and he was sitting awkwardly. It also looked like he’d been cut with something. His neck was a bloodied mess. When he did finally speak, it didn’t make any sense.

“You know my favorite song, right? The one I’m always blasting and singing along to?”

I started seeing the signs, but I was in denial. Not Riley. Not my Riley. “He’s in hell, you know that? He dies and ends up in hell. He keeps trying to escape, but he can’t,” his voice cracked with the last words. “I’ll never fucking…I should have listened.”

“Riley, I’m going to ask you one question, and I need you to be honest with me, okay?” I had to take the reins right now. I needed to be there for him. “Did someone hurt you?”

He scoffed. “Maya, a little rough sex isn’t going to kill me.”

I heard a slight commotion in the living room, but ignored it, keeping my attention on Riley. He was completely out of it, and my blood started to boil from the truth neither of us could accept right now. “Do you want me to come to you? I’ll find a way.”

“Nick told me that I normally wouldn’t go for someone like him. Why did I do it, Maya?” his voice cracked. “I took it exactly like I was expected to.” The phone shook in his hand, and I could see his chest rumble with the sobs he attempted to hold back. Riley was trying to shield the emotions that sat below the surface. He should know by now he couldn’t wear that mask with me, never with me. “I’m not so sure I feel much of anything anymore, Maya, and that scares me.”

Riley was spiraling, and I needed to get to him. Wasting no time, I took the stairs two at a time to pack what I could in my duffle bag, throwing random shirts and pants as fast as I could and zipping it up, not even bothering to see if they matched. I’d run if I had to. I was so focused that the clearing of a throat on the other end had me holding the phone up, forgetting I had him on the line, when I heard the unmistakable pop of a beer bottle cap. “No, Riley. Please don’t. I’m coming for you.”

“Don’t bother. Leave me alone, Maya. I don’t even remember why I called.” With that, he hung up, and I moved faster,practically jumping to the bottom of the stairs and dashing for the door.

“Hey,” Rowan yelled. I whipped around to see him already dressed in a suit and heading my way. “I’ll get you to the hotel, then you’re on your own.”

I shrugged my shoulders, annoyed. I didn’t need anyone to hold me back right now. “You drive fast?”

“You ever been a backpack?”

“A what? You know what…Never mind. Take me to Seattle. Get me to Riley.”