Then, before Coltello has time to respond, he’s slammed the gas pedal to the floor, sending us hurtling down the road.
25
Logan
“Lia. Lia.”
She remains resolutely turned away from me, huddled against the window.
I’ve spent much of the drive glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, growing increasingly nervous.
I’d been dead set on showing her just what kind of a man she’d fucked with. I’d walked into that diner full of rage. And the entire time she’d been on my lap, I’d been drinking in the sight of her tears, of my power over her.
But now, as she leans her head against the window, I get the feeling she’s not just ignoring me.
She’s in pain.
Real pain. The kind that makes my own heart hurt.
I’m aware she was suffering before she escaped. At the time, that knowledge satisfied some dark part of me. But something changed during the month she was away from me. Something clicked, and now, it’s just too hard seeing her looking so hopeless. So I take the plunge, giving in to what I’ve been struggling against since the moment I laid eyes on her. I reassure her. Or, at least, I try to.
“Lia,” I murmur, hunting for her hand. I clasp it in mine. It’scold and limp. “You know… You know I didn’t mean any of it.”
That gets a reaction out of her. She lets out a dry laugh.
“You know that, don’t you?” I insist.
She slowly turns to me, her glittery green-blue eyes out of focus. “So you didn’t mean to sell me,” she says slowly. “You didn’t mean to kill me last month either, I guess. You never even meant to kidnap me in the first place. Or bring me to Carmelo. Stupid me. Thinking any of the things that come out of your mouth are true.”
“Sellher?Killher? What the fuck, man?” I hear Everest’s dumfounded voice in the backseat, and I curse at the fact that I’m busy driving, because I’d really love to punch the fucker.
“Get back to babysitting,” I snarl.
“She’s sleeping,” Everest snarls right back. “I knew you were fucked, man, but I didn’t realize you werethisfucked. Why the hell are you treating her so bad? You’ve been in love with her since you were six!”
“Fuck off,” I bark. “I’m not in love with her, so shut the fuck up!”
The glint of something that had appeared in Lia’s eyes dies down just as quickly at my words, and she turns back to the window.
I can actually see her shut me out in slow motion. Just like in high school. Only I can’t understand why I care this time. Iownher.
Back then, I was just a weak idiot, desperate for her to let me in. Now, I’ve just outsmarted the underboss. I had that girl on my lap while I outsmarted him. She may not have wanted to be there, but it hadn’t mattered. I had power, I was on top. Yet now, I’ve been reduced to a pile of helplessness as I watch her sink into herself.
“Lia,” I start again, hating myself for trying to get to her now just as much as I hate myself for what I did to her before.
But she deserved it. She deserved it!
She doesn’t say a word, and gloomy silence settles over us.
“So when are we getting there?” she asks dully, breaking it at last.
“Where?”
“To your hotel room. The one with the decent coffee.” She lets out another laugh, just as colorless as the one before.
“We’re not heading there, obviously,” I say, swerving onto another lane. “We’ve very obviously not going there. You know that, don’t you?”
“Right.” She sits up just a bit. “Right. You’re not selling me. I keep forgetting that.”