Page 49 (1/1)

Our heavy breathing filled up the bathroo expression flitted across Axel’s face, he turned on his heel and stor that he was leaving, my heart overrode my head and I called out, "Elpi!"

He stopped dead in his tracks, glanced back, and with pure pain in his eyes, said, "Turns out I was right, Aliyana No fucker can forgive my past, no matter how hard I try to move on Ain’t no redeiven, Aliyana You lied toface Worst part is, I believed you I believed youmess" Eyebrows pulled down, his facial expression beca hurts most"

He opened the door and left, before I could even su slowly down the wall I slumped into a messy heap I couldn’t holdback the heavy flow of tears

Chapter Thirteen

Axel

"Who the fuck are you, Elpidio?"

Aliyana’s, no, Ally fucking Prince’s words haunted oddamn mind as I drove my Camino like a damn bat of hell toward my studio I’d bailed on Austin and Levi I hadn’t told anyone I was leaving I couldn’t I couldn’t face everyone in that damn rich-assed suite, everyone ished I wasn’t there The people who thought I was trash, looked atat un and fucking murder them

Aliyana! Christ, how could she fear me no that I’d shown her the real et that I did what I did in lia? I took the only path available to , I keptpaid in blood, King blood… but what the hell else was Ito fix problen for a liquor store, I abruptly turned right and screechedout of ht for the rows of whiskey And grabbed a bottle of Patron and J&auermeister while I was at it

I needed to drown in liquor for a while

I wanted to forget who I was for a while… at least for tonight Forget it all The last feeeks, the last few years… everything… just for a fucking while

But as I walked to the cash register, the daed, the fa me stop dead in et, God had other plans

Closing , "A in her white shirt and pink Doc Martin pink boots, swinging her hips as she painted the wall of the gallery

Hearing the little Mexican guy unlatch so fro me, a terrified expression in his eyes His hand was tucked under the caged counter I really had to work hard not to losehard inside to learn how to rein in led with it

Marching forward, the man’s face paled as I slammed the three bottles on the counter and pulled out some cash He sed, then shakily reached out his hand to take the cash

Narrowingthe bottles and skulked out of the door

As the cool evening air hitas I tried to cal for breath, I headed to lanced toout the back of the strip mall My stomach churned Everyone of the every inch of their skin… and inked teardrops running down their cheeks, proving who they belonged to

Staring at the brothers laughing as they stood together, dealing coke or whatever the fuck it was they were pushing, I felt a ed in this life ith the Heighters

With Gio

A sharp pain sliced through ht of Gio He’d pulledto live for I spent every day with him, he was my best friend… and I’d had hi haunted et my best friend killed to protect uilt of that did to me