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Chapter 89
Chapter 89
“Everybody stay back,” Finn says, holding the blade just below the end of his cast, pressing it to the exposed skin of his wrist. The metal catches the ins in a way that makes my stomach twist. “This could’ve ended better, but you don’t stop until someone’s dead or in the hospital, Knox, So here we are
Knox doesn’t move. His hands are in his pockets, and his eyes are on his brother like he’s watching someone pull a party trick. It terrifies me, the way he looks so… unfazed.
Victoria looks horrified. She’s gone pale. I don’t know what I feel. Cold? Numb? Detached in that way you get when your brain won’t let you absorb something all at once. But I do know one thing–I don’t want to see Finn open his wrists. Not in front of me. Not ever.
“Is that supposed to move me, Finn?” Knox says, his tone flat. “You sent Mom to me with some lie about Lydia, hoping I’d come running. And now you think pulling a knife will somehow make me forgive you?”
“Lie about Lydia?” Finn says. “What are you talking about?”
We both look at Victoria. Her guilt is visible. She looks like she might melt right into the floor.
“I asked you not to mention it, Knox,” she says.
“Mention what?” Finn asks.
I come in, voice shaking. “Your mother says your sister is alive.”
Finn’s expression shifts from confusion to disbelief to raw, hot anger.
“Stop playing, Mom.”
“It’s true,” Victoria says, her voice breaking. “You two don’t have to fight anymore. Just end this war. Once and for all.”
“End this war?” Finn laughs bitterly. “You think Knox will forgive me just because Lydia’s alive? He’s built his whole personality on hating me.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Knox says. “I hate you. So why don’t you do us all a favor and use the damn knife?”
“Stop it, both of you!” I shout, stepping forward. “Put it down, Finn.”
His eyes are still fixed on Knox. “The only way I’m putting this down is if you leave him. I won’t let my brother keep fucking a woman I love.”
The room freezes. My heart starts hammering so hard it hurts. Every gaze shifts to me. Knox looks… entertained, of all things. Amused.
“Let me get this straight,” he says slowly. “You pretended to Mom that you needed brotherly affection just so she could lure me here, and you knew Sloane will come along to make sure I don’t kill you. And your plan was to pull a knife out and emotionally blackmail Sloane into getting back with you? That’s impressive, Finn. Really. You’ve outdone yourself with this new level of psychopathy.”
“I don’t care if she comes back to me or not. You can’t have her. I won’t rest until she leaves you.”
“I’m not leaving him,” I say. “When are you going to understand that, Finn?”
“Sloane,” Victoria starts, clearly panicked.
I ignore her, focusing all my attention on the man with the knife.
“We had a good run, Finn. But we were both lying to ourselves for ten years. It’s time to let me go. I’ll always care about you, but I’m in love with someone else now.”
Knox turns to me in surprise, and I wonder why. He’s practically told the entire room that he loves me. Why’s he shocked I said the same?
Finn tightens his grip on the knife.
1/4
Chapter 89
“Is that your final answer, Sloane?” Finn says.
“Put the knife down.”
He doesn’t. Instead, he tears the blade across his wrist. Victoria screams.
The knife clatters to the ground. Blood starts to drip in slow, vivid lines down his arm. It’s not gushing, not pulsing. Nothing arterial, but it’s enough to turn my stomach.
He drops to the floor with a grunt, his teeth clenched.
“Towels!” Victoria cries. “Get towels!”
I spin on my heel and race down the hallway into the bedroom, fumbling through the door to the bathroom, yanking towels from the rack with shaking hands. When I return, Knox has already taken Victoria’s place in front of Finn.
Victoria returns with a first–aid kit.
I hand Knox the towels, and he pads Finn’s wrist with terrifying efficiency.
“Should I call an ambulance?” I whisper.
“No,” he replies. “He couldn’t even kill himself correctly. He’ll be fine.”
“Fuck you,” Finn snarls. “And fuck you too, Sloane.”
“Just shut up and let your brother fix you,” Victoria snaps, pressing her hand to Finn’s shoulder.
I watch Knox’s hands work. He cleans the wound, pressing the towel to slow the bleeding, then applies antiseptic like he’s done this before. Like he’s patched up wounds deeper than this. Maybe he has. He wraps Finn’s wrist, tugging the gauze tight enough to hold pressure but not enough to cut circulation.
Finn doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t resist. His breathing slows. His eyes close. He looks… peaceful.
Maybe Victoria was right. The little shit actually wants his brother. That’s what this is. All this drama, this stunt with the knife–it’s not just about me. It’s about getting Knox’s attention, getting him close. He’s wrecking my entire weekend just to have his brother patch him up.
I watch them–Knox crouched beside him, hands steady, face blank–and I swear, I almost want to grab the knife myself and finish what Finn started. Open up the other arm, this time deep enough to hit something real. Something that bleeds out properly.
When Knox finishes, he straightens.
“I don’t ever want to see you again, Finn,” he says.
“Knox,” Victoria pleads. “Not now.”
“Oh, you’ll be seeing me,” Finn sneers. “You and your backstabbing bitch.”
I step in just in time, my hands around Knox’s arm before he launches forward. I knew he wouldn’t let Finn’s words slide, and there isn’t a part of Finn that can take any more punches.
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she?” Finn spits. “She makes you fall for her, makes you need her. She did it to me. She’s the reason I don’t have friends. Then she left me. Broke my fucking heart.”
“Let’s go,” I whisper, tugging Knox toward the door.
“That’s right. Run off. As soon as someone comes around with bigger issues, she’ll hop off your dick and onto theirs.”
I drag Knox out the door. It feels like hauling myself out too, like if I don’t get out now, I’ll lose it.
2/4
11:24 Sat, 24 May GUB
Chapter 89
We make it down the stairs, out into the street, and into the car. I think about asking him to swing by my place for my overnight bag, but the silence between us is too heavy. So I stay quiet all through the drive to his place.
When we get there and have kicked off our shoes at the door, Knox heads straight upstairs, and I follow.
He stops at that special door and keys in the password. My eyes struggle to adjust to the red light as we get inside. But Knox is already moving
He crosses to a wall panel, opens a hidden door, and reveals a part of the room I never noticed before. There’s a setup there. It looks like a medical–grade bench with wires and a control unit. I rush to him.
“Knox, what is that?”
“You don’t want to see this, Sloane. Wait outside.”
“What is going on?”
“This is how I control my emotions.”
He discards his shirt and lies down, attaching those wiry pads to his chest and arms. The sight of it all makes my skin crawl.
“What does it do?”
He hits a timer. Numbers light up. A voltage count.
My breath catches.
“No way, Knox. I won’t let you do this.”
I step forward to pull the pads away, but it’s too late. The machine whirs, and his body seizes.
I scream.
His teeth grit, eyes shut. It passes. He slumps.
“Stop it, Knox,” I say, tears already welling. “Please.”
“You should really wait outside, Bunny.”
“No.”
“Just go. Please.”
“No, Knox.”
He presses the button again.
This time, I move faster. I strip off my dress, climb astride him, and feel the faint tremble under my skin. I take two pads from his chest and press them to the inside of my thighs.
The jolt slams through us both.
I scream again, body arching.
When he realizes what I’ve done, Knox jolts upright, slamming the machine off. He yanks the pads from me and gathers me into his chest. And then he cups my face.
“What the hell did you do that for?”
“Jesus, that hurt,” I whisper.
4/4
Chapter 89
“You thought it was supposed to be pleasant?”
“I wanted you to stop.”
“And I told you to go.”
“I won’t leave you alone to electrocute yourself.”
“I wasn’t electrocuting myself.”
“I don’t care. If you put that machine on again, it’s going to be me and you getting zapped.”
His expression shifts. The tightness in his jaw doesn’t go away, but his eyes change. I can’t tell if it’s relief or disbelief or just plain overwhelm, but it’s there. His hands are still holding my face, thumbs brushing under
my
Then his voice drops, barely more than a breath. “You crazy woman.”
cheekbones.
And before I can answer, before I can say anything snarky in return, he leans in and kisses me.
