Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Storee,” he replied, his voice low and husky.
We stood there in silence for a moment, just looking at each other. His expression was unreadable, his intense gaze piercing through me like a hot knife through butter.
“I know you’re expecting an apology,” he said finally, taking a step toward me. “But I’m not going to give you that.”
I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat. “Right. You don’t like apologies. I know.” I took a step back, feeling a wave of anger wash over me. “So why are you here then?”
“I know you’re angry. And you have every right to be. But I want you to understand why I did what I did. Why I watched you all those months. Why I hunted you.”
Locke took a step closer to me, reaching out to touch my arm. I flinched, pulling away from him. I wasn’t strong enough to resist his touch. I knew this.
“Are you going to try to explain away everything? Like it’s all okay? Like you didn’t deceive me? Violate me?”
“Is that what you feel? Violated?”
I crossed my arms, not wanting to give away the fact that I had been hoping he would come here and beg forgiveness, take me into his arms, kiss me, and promise me the world. “I’m not sure what I feel.”
“I want you to know that I didn’t do it out of malice. I did it because I care about you. I wanted to protect you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Protect me? By stalking me? By chasing me and fucking me in the forest without me knowing it was you? Are you serious right now?”
Locke took a deep breath. “When your father died, I didn’t know who did it. I had a good idea, but I didn’t know for a fact. I also didn’t know if your life was in danger next. Again, I was pretty sure you weren’t going to be harmed, but I also wasn’t sure. All the uncertainty drove me crazy. The guilt I carried about Gabriel’s death ate me alive. And the only thing I had to ground me even the slightest was you. I sure as hell wasn’t going to risk anything happening to you.”
I leaned in, narrowing my eyes. “And how does secretly fucking me fit into all that?”
“Because I didn’t want it to be anyone else doing it,” he countered. “I couldn’t stand the idea of you being with another man.”
Locke reached out to touch my face. I jerked my head away, feeling his touch as if it were a burn.
“Don’t do that,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “Don’t pretend that this is okay. It’s not.”
Locke sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I came here to tell you something else. I decided to finally look into who killed your father.”
My heart stopped.
“I’ve been keeping my head in the fucking sand for far too long.”
My ears rang. My throat closed.
“You deserve closure. You deserve to know the truth. We both do.”
My stomach churned.
“I found out who did it,” Locke said, his voice low and serious.
My blood froze as I looked up at him.
He reached out to touch my arm, but I didn’t flinch this time. Instead, I let him touch me, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine.
“My goal was to kill him. Make him pay. Do what I should have done the minute it happened,” he said, his voice fierce. “I had two goals in mind. Making sure you’re safe. Making sure justice is served.”
My mind raced, trying to process everything he had said.
“But I found out today that someone got to him first. Someone already killed him shortly after Gabriel’s death.” Locke’s eyes were on me, waiting for my response.
“I know,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “What do you mean you know?”
I parted my lips to say the words I never thought I’d tell a single soul, closed them, but then finally said, “Because I was the one that killed my father’s murderer.”
Locke’s eyes widened. “What?”
I nodded slowly, feeling the weight of my confession bearing down on me. “I killed him. I found out he was the one responsible for my father’s death, and I wanted to make sure he’d pay. I wanted revenge, and I couldn’t stop myself. I wasn’t going to allow my father’s murderer to walk away.”
Locke’s expression was unreadable, his eyes dark and intense as he absorbed my words. “You killed him,” he repeated, as if trying to wrap his head around the idea.
I nodded again. “I did.”
Locke stepped back, shock evident on his face.
“I didn’t know who to turn to, who to trust. I couldn’t even talk to you about it because I was afraid of everything and everyone. I was angry, and like my father… impulsive.”
He shook his head, looking at me with disbelief. “Why wouldn’t you come to me? To Merrick, Soren, or Braken. We could have helped you. We could have—”