Page 76 of It Destroys Me

“How?”

“Kiss me. And kiss me like you fucking mean it.”

Disgust filled my insides, along with betrayal. The only man I wanted for the rest of my life was Theo. He knew I loved him…because I’d said it more times than I should have, said it even though I knew he wouldn’t say it back. This was all a façade and he knew that, but I still felt like shit for doing it.

I sucked it up.

I stepped up to Bolton, closed my eyes, and the second my mouth was on his, I pretended that he was Theo. That we were at home in his bedroom, that we’d just walked in after a nice dinner at his restaurant. His big arms held me to his chest, and he smothered me with his warmth. My mind made it feel real because it had to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to give the performance of a lifetime.

I pulled away first, and when my eyes opened, I saw the man I hated. All the heat I’d felt for the man behind me was gone at the sight of Bolton. But I knew I’d done my job because he looked at me the way he had before…like he loved me.

“Wait two hours, then drop him off,” Bolton said to his men.

Oh my god, I did it.

Bolton turned to look at Theo.

Theo had turned the other way so he didn’t have to watch the horror show. He kept his eyes averted.

“I took Scarlett as a sign of mercy.”

Theo’s eyes flicked back to him.

“But if you try to come after Astrid again, I’ll take the kids.” He stepped toward me and grabbed my hand.

I let him. And it was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.

My eyes met Theo’s.

His met mine.

The look only lasted a second, but it was the most painful second of my life. I hoped he would forgive me for what I’d done, would understand it was a sacrifice I had to make to keep him alive. This situation was always going to end this way, with me stuck with Bolton. So I’d rather it end with Theo alive…instead of dead.

Chapter 16

Theo

The van pulled up to a random street, and they threw the door open.

I was shoved outside, my handcuffs were removed, and then they pushed me to the ground before they got back into the van and took off.

I didn’t fight, because I had nothing to fight for.

I sat on the curb with my arms on my knees, a camp of homeless people across the road sleeping in their tents. I was in the glow of the streetlight, a car parked a few feet away from me. I should jump to my feet and get to work, but my hands were still tied behind my back, even if the cuffs had been removed.

I sat there for an hour before I got to my feet and walked. My phone had been left with Octavio because I didn’t want Bolton to have information he shouldn’t. Instead of waving down a taxi, I walked across town until I approached Axel’s house.

The gates to his property were gone…just gone. They hadn’t been knocked down or dented in. It seemed like a crane had removed the doors from their hinges and literally moved them elsewhere. I walked onto his property and quickly realized no one was around. Bolton’s men had been called off after he’d gotten what he wanted.

I just hoped he kept his word.

When I went to the front door, I saw that it had been kicked in. Half of it was off the hinges completely. I let myself inside and stepped into the foyer. “Axel?” I raised my voice and called up the stairs. “Axel?”

“We’re in here.” Axel appeared out of the study in his sweatpants and nothing else, his face strained like he’d been so stressed, he’d broken all the blood vessels in his face. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he’d cried more in the last few hours than he had in his entire life. He looked infinitely more heartbroken than the night he’d let Scarlett believe he cheated on her.

“Scarlett is here?” I asked as I walked to him.

“Yeah.” He swayed on the spot, looking like a ghost of who he used to be. “She told me you came for her.”