“You think I don’t fucking know that? You think I don’t want to hand you my bowie knife to gut me for doing this? I fucked up. I fucked up bad, but I’m not gonna let this touch her. You have to promise me this doesn’t touch her.” Desperation rings in his tone.
“There’s only one way I can promise that.”
“Tell me!”
I glance up at the monitor and watch as Temperance surveys the contents of my fridge.
She’s going to fucking hate me for the rest of her life.I squeeze my eyes shut.
“What? Tell me!”
I can live with her hating me forever, as long as shelives. That’s the only thing that matters.
“You have to die, Ransom. And I’m going to be the one to kill you.”
12
Kane
I’m going to lose her. There’s no question about that. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is how soon.
Ransom agreed to my plan, and now my life is like the sand draining in an hourglass. The closer I come to the end, the sooner Temperance will be safe.
I could spend the rest of the time we have left being pissed off because I finally found the woman who could handle the life I live, only to lose her just as quickly.
Or ... I can make every single second of it count.
I’m choosing the latter.
I know it’s the selfish choice when the screams of my name echo off the rock walls of the basement room at the club. The club that brought us together.
It should only be fitting that the woman I suspect of putting this entire mess in motion confronts us as we leave Haven.
I can almost empathize with how frantic Magnolia is,untilshe tells Temperance exactly what kind of cargo Ransom was smuggling. Now I want to fucking strangle her.
“Was that really fucking necessary? Does that make you feel better?”
Temperance looks up at me, her eyes begging me to tell her Magnolia’s lying. “Is it true?”
No matter how pissed off at Ransom I am for putting us all in this position, I hate seeing Temperance’s heart breaking. I try to soften the blow any way I can.Fucking Magnolia.
“It’s true. And I’m sure that’s why he couldn’t finish the job. He couldn’t live with himself if he did. Your brother has lines too. We all do.”
“I can’t believe he would ...”
“Believe it,” Magnolia says, “because he did. But now someone has to tell me what the hell is happening. Where did he go? If he ran, I’m going with him.”
It takes everything I have not to tell her that she’s never going to see him again, but I lock myself down.
“Can we please go?” Temperance sounds broken, and there’s nothing I want to do more than get her the fuck out of here.
“What? You can’t stomach the thought of things your brother does to pay the bills? Feeling a little high-and-mighty since you got that fancy paying job from Ke-Ke?”
I open my mouth to verbally shred Magnolia, but Temperance speaks first.
“You don’t know shit about how I feel right now. And how could you not tell me you were with Rafe? You draw me in here, telling me half-truths and giving me bullshit warnings. What game are you playing, Magnolia?”
“The only game I’ve ever cared to win at—life.”