He dodges the attack like it comes easy to him, so I hit him again and again, nearly missing the last time.
“You’ve gotten braver,” he says. “But not brave enough.”
Suddenly, he manages to grab ahold of the pole and pushes it aside so violently I lose control.
He snatches it out of my hand and throws it aside.
“You thought I needed my guards to take you?” he says. “Wrong.” Every step he takes forward, I take backward. “I know how to handle a girl.”
“I would rather die than have your hands on me!” I squeal.
He chuckles. “Oh, you will die … but not until after I have what I want.”
The darkness in his voice makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I bump into the window and turn my head to look down.
Nowhere else to go.
What do I do?
I can’t end up in his hands. I won’t.
“Don’t even think about it,” Lex growls.
I don’t think. Not even twice.
I push open the window and throw myself through it.
A sudden hand gripping my arm has me floundering halfway out the window. With a thrashing heart and a ragged breath, I’m looking at the concrete, floating between a certain death and a life not worth living.
“Don’t,” Lex growls. “Don’t throw it all away, idiot.”
“Please, let go of me,” I beg. “Just let me die in peace.”
Lex pulls me back in and sets me down on my feet. But not without forcefully grabbing my arm and placing a hand on my cheek. “This is what you’d choose?”
“What other choice do I have?” I say, fighting the tears.
A vicious smile slowly spreads on his face. “Your poor papa would be so distraught to see his only daughter throw herself out a window.”
“My father never cared about me, only his reputation and money. He called me a monster,” I say through gritted teeth, forcing the tears to stay at bay. “I have no one. No one at all. I havenothingleft to lose.”
Lex tilts his head. “Oh, you’re wrong, little girl … oh so very wrong.” He leans in. “Don’t you want to know the truth?”
“What truth?” I mutter as he slides aside my hair.
One tiny whisper… three words … tilt my world on its axis.
“He is alive.”
CHAPTER7
Beast
Hoursago
Nightmares becomeme as I roll around in agony, blistering flames surrounding me everywhere. It’s so hot I can barely breathe, and it feels like I’ve been run over by a truck.