Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Hudson

W hat should have been a ten-minute pickup so Atlas could talk to Kelly, who'd been dodging his calls, ended up being a blood bath—literally. I didn't expect to find Kelly dead in the bath with her wrists slashed open tonight.

I was pissed I had to deal with that shit when I hadn't wanted to leave Starling. Not when everything was still so raw between us. I left her underneath the blossom tree so she could clear her mind, but when I checked the camera's, knowing I was going to be late, I never expected this.

There's no pulling back my anger now. It's taken on a life of its own.

I watched them love each other in my bathroom. I watched them fuck each other in their bedroom and realized what I felt for Starling was far beyond rational. I thought I could fuck her out of my system, fuck her, and throw her back, and all would be right in my world again.

But then he touched her. He was inside her, taking what was mine. And there's no two ways about it—Starling is mine. If there was ever a chance of me letting her go, she blew it. Something inside me broke free while watching her with him. Something ugly and dark that demands blood for what they've done. At this point, I don't care if it's his blood or hers.

"We had a deal."

"You had a deal."

I squeeze a little tighter. Her eyes fill with fear, making my dick throb in my pants. "So brave." I grin. When her heart rate spikes, I know my smile is every bit as sinister as it feels.

"I warned you."

I see the panic take over as my threat hits home. She claws at my hand, her eyes wide in horror, as I drag her down the hall and open the door to the room they share. I loosen my hold just enough for her to take a breath before I pull her inside and over to the foot of the bed. She whimpers as I stare down at the boy who has a claim on my woman and resist putting a bullet in him.

I release her and watch as she grabs her throat, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looks from Abbot to me.

"Don't," she whispers.

"We had a deal. You were the one to break it."

She steps closer, her hands up in surrender. "Please," she begs. "Don't do this."

I stare at her with a blank face as she presses her palms together in prayer motions. I could tell her that even God can't help her now, that no man would ever get between us. But then I look at the bed and remember that one did, and she let him.

I pull my gun from the back of my pants and tap my chin with it. Her face goes white.

"What will you do for me?"

"Anything," she whispers without hesitation.

I trail the barrel down her chest and swirl the tip around her nipple. "What could you possibly give me to make it worth my while?"

"Everything."

I pause and look at her face. Even though she's terrified, she's completely serious.

"There won't be any more second chances."

She nods rapidly. I move the gun to her temple. Her eyes slip closed, but she stands tall like the queen she is. She has no fucking idea that in her weakest moment, she surrenders with the grace of a warrior.

"Hands on the bed."

She opens her eyes and looks at the bed, then back to me. She shakes her head, but when I point the gun at Abbot, she puts her hands flat on the end of the bed, her body shaking.

She's bent at the waist now, her perky ass sticking out and just begging to be taken. The blanket she was wrapped in on the floor somewhere, forgotten.

I step up behind her. With one hand, I pop open the fly of my pants and pull out my cock—that's been hard since I saw them fucking on the cameras earlier. I don't give her time to prepare. She doesn't need it. She's slick with Abbot's cum.

I thrust into her hard, wanting her to hurt like she'd hurt me. Though I'd never admit that out loud.

Somehow, she snuck in under my defenses. If she knew the power she had over me, she'd lead me around by my dick. She's proven she can't be trusted. That's okay, though. My black heart has no problem fucking her until she spills those white lies from her pretty pink lips.

"If you let go, it's over. If you look away, I'll make you get on the bed, and I'll fuck you beside him."

She doesn't react. She just takes what I give her and doesn't move as I fuck her. Closing my eyes, I put her through a punishing pace, trailing the gun down her spine.

She doesn't make a sound, doesn't utter a single word, as I remind her in the most brutal way who she belongs to.

She doesn't react. She holds on tight and takes what I give her. When I cum, I fill her up, erasing Abbot and covering his essence with mine.

I pull free, knowing she didn't come. She's already had all the pleasure she's going to get tonight. Did she really think I'd just let it all go?

Not a fucking chance.

I tuck away my cock and press a kiss between her shoulder blades. Standing, I grab one of her ass cheeks and open her up so I can see my cum run out of her. Mesmerized by the sight, I slide the gun through it, coating the barrel, before dragging it up over her asshole. She freezes. I bring the gun back down to her entrance and tease her pussy with it.

When her legs shake hard enough to buckle, I stop, wrap my hand in her hair, and tug. "Up."

She stands, and I turn her. I hesitate at her haunted expression. She's completely shut down. Even though I knew I needed to break her, I didn't realize that seeing her shatter would break me, too.

I ignore the unsettling feeling coiling inside me like a snake ready to strike and bring the gun to her lips. "Open."

She locks her eyes on mine and opens her mouth. I press the gun between her lips, but nothing. It's like I just hollowed out everything that made her, her.

Shoving the gun back into my pants, I gently take her hand and walk her from the room. I close the door, leaving Abbot in the same position he was in when we entered, completely unaware that Starling just traded his life for hers.

I take her back to her room and tell her to get washed up. I watch as she walks robotically into her bathroom and closes the door. I listen for the sound of her crying but hear nothing.

When the shower turns on, I turn toward the open closest and notice the gift I left for Starling, still wrapped, sitting on the top shelf. I lift it out and run my finger over the bow, unsurprised she hid it out of sight. I put it back and focus on the task at hand.

I pull out a knee-length white sundress with laces at the chest and place it on the bed. Staring at her shoes, I opt for a pair of white Converse and toss a long belted gray coat on the bed with the dress. I don't bother with underwear. She won't need any.

Leaving her for a moment, I jog upstairs and throw a few things I might need into a bag and toss it over my shoulder before pulling out my phone and calling Atlas.

"This better be good," he answers.

"I need to borrow the plane for the night."

"Anything I need to be worried about?"

"No. I'll have it back by tomorrow."

"That's fine. Call if you need me. I'll answer as long as I'm not inside my wife." He hangs up.

I shove my phone in my pocket and head back down to Starling's room. I can still hear the shower running, so I drop the bag on the floor and walk into the bathroom. The steam billows out around me as I walk toward where she's standing behind the glass wall, looking down at something in her hand. When I reach in and turn the water off, she continues to stare at her hand. I follow her gaze and see her holding a pink razor.

"What are you doing?" If she thinks she'll be able to hurt me with that, she's sadly mistaken.

"Breaking a promise," she replies quietly, surprising me.

"You're good at that."

She drops the razor, and it lands near her feet, her eyes never leaving it. That's when I notice the trail of blood running down the inside of her leg. I reach for it, but she backs away and climbs out, taking the towel from the hook and wrapping it around her like a shield.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Do you care?"

I don't answer, and she doesn't push. She walks back into the bedroom, pausing when she sees the clothes on the bed.

"Get dressed."

She hesitates but doesn't argue. She heads to the dresser, but I stop her.

"Everything you need is on the bed."

She shakes me off and walks over to the bed, looking through the things I placed there.

"There's no underwear."

"Like I said, everything you need is there. Hurry up and get dressed. We have somewhere to be."

She pulls the dress over her head and eases it down to cover herself before she tugs the towel free and drops it on the floor. I watch as she ties the laces that crisscross her chest and slips her feet into her shoes. Grabbing the jacket, she drapes it over her arm and looks at me to say she's ready.

"Where's your ID?"

She frowns. "In my bag. I think it's still in the car."

I nod and grab my bag, holding out my free hand to her. She takes it and lets me lead her downstairs and out of the house.

Glad that the rain has stopped, I toss my bag on the back seat and make sure Starling is buckled in before getting into the driver's seat and asking for her ID. She leans forward, pulls her ID from her wallet, and hands it to me. I take it and slide it into my pocket before I start the car and drive off. Turning the radio on low, I look over at Starling, who has turned her head and is looking out the window.

Focusing on the road, I drive to the private airfield, knowing the pilots will be ready even though I only gave them a forty-minute heads-up. The plane's always fueled and ready to go in case Atlas needs it on short notice.

By the time we get there, my anger has leveled out. I'm nowhere near calm, but putting distance between Abbot and Starling has helped me keep the green-eyed monster in check, at least for now.

I park the car and look over at Starling, finding her fast asleep with dried tear tracks on her face. I gently cup her jaw. My thumb traces the dark circle under her eye, and I feel a moment of regret.

Climbing out, I grab the bag from the back seat and take it to the plane. I let the pilots know I'm here before I go back for Starling. As gently as I can, I scoop her into my arms and cradle her against my chest. I carry her up the steps and onto the plane, carefully setting her down in one of the leather seats and buckling her in for take-off. Taking the seat beside her, I move her head to lay on my shoulder and settle in for the flight.

Starling sleeps through the whole flight, which I'd find funny if it didn't worry me so much. Just how little sleep is she getting lately?

Once the plane lands and we're ready to get off, I lift her up and carry her down to the waiting town car the pilot called ahead for. Once we're settled inside, the driver pulls away from the plane and heads north. She stirs as I slide my hand over her thigh, just under the hem of her dress. Suddenly, the car brakes, and Starling is jolted awake.

"Sorry, sir," the driver says, looking in the rearview mirror before returning his eye to the road. "The idiot in front of us just slammed on their brakes."

I can't help but smirk. It's nice not to be the one driving and dealing with idiots for a change.

Starling looks around with a frown, bolting upright when she realizes she's leaning against me. "Where are we?"

"You'll see."

She looks at me with a frown before she remembers the series of events that led us here. She moves away and turns her body to look out the window, her mask of indifference snapping back into place.

That's okay. I have a feeling it won't last long.

When we stop, I hand the driver a few hundred dollars. "We won't be long."

"Of course, sir," he says as I climb out, grab my bag from the trunk, and move around to open the door for Starling. I offer her my hand, and she takes it, climbing out and waiting while I close the door.

She freezes when she gets her first real look at where we are.

"What's happening?"

I look at the little white chapel and smile. "We're going to a wedding."

"Who's getting married?"

"We are."