What he was like with you.That was actually hilarious. I mean as far as euphemisms go that was a real doozy. I laughed into my coffee cup.
“What’s so funny?”
“I think my life,” I said. “I think it’s my life that’s funny.”
I stood up and felt the room spin around me. I braced myself against the chair. The coffee cup suddenly so heavy in my hand.
“Poppy?”
“I’m sorry... I just—” Whoa. Maybe I was tired. Just really tired? There’d been a lot of stress.
“I hated that he hurt you,” Theo said. I turned to find him right beside me.
“You and me both.” Oh, my mouth was weird. I clenched my teeth and let them go. My lips were so... big.
“Poppy.” His hands cupped my shoulders and slowly ran down to my elbows, and I felt like I was melting. Right into the ground. Right into him.
I put my hand against his chest, pushing him away. I did not want him to get the wrong idea.
“I hate that I have to hurt you.”
“What? I’m sorry... I don’t feel too good.” Hurt me? Was that what he said? Or he hated that the senator hurt me? That made more sense.
He grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the door. I tripped and fell, and he all but dragged me as I tried to get to my feet. “Theo. Please... Theo!”
He half-pulled, half-dragged me down the hallway, and everything was tilting. “What is happening?”
“You’re fucking shit up.”
Yeah. I had a way of doing that. I was grabbing onto the wainscoting, trying to find a way to slow this all down. To get myself upright. To make things make sense. But the world was water around me, and my body wasn’t under my control.
“What did you give me?” I asked. He ignored me, and I fought to keep myself present. Aware. Fighting. Keep talking, I thought. If I stopped talking I would pass out, and then I’d be in real trouble. “Where are you taking me?” I asked.
“Where I should have just taken you the second that asshole caught a bullet in his head.”
“Did you... did you kill the senator?” I asked as he shoved open the door from the office wing into the main part of the house.
But Ronan was there. In a black overcoat and black gloves, holding a gun. Pointed right at us.
The world tilted again as suddenly I was held up against Theo’s body, and a gun I didn’t know he had was pressed against my forehead.
The world was an acid trip around me, but that gun was very real.
And so was Ronan.
“Rivers,” Ronan said. “You’re making a mess of this.”
Behind my back, Theo was breathing hard, his heart pounding against my ear.
“Clear out, Byrne. This doesn’t concern you.”
“It doesn’t concern the girl either.”
I’m the girl.Theo’s arm around my chest was making it hard to breathe and whatever I guess he put in my coffee cup made it even harder.
“Ronan,” I panted, terrified.
“Leave the girl and go,” Ronan said, ignoring me, his eyes on Theo. “Leave right now. I won’t follow you.”