Page 108 of Wicked Promises
He pulls away, cups my jaw like a father might, and then…
Well, he just walks away. Toward the guard, through the doorway.
I shake off the chills.
Margo takes my hand. “Well, now we both have allegedly murderous parents.”
“That only counts if they commit two separate murders, I think.”
My girl leads me out, to our locker to retrieve our things and then into the cold. I take a deep breath in, the sharpness of the air waking me up a bit. I needed this like a slap in the face.
Wake up.
“I never asked… how did he die?” Margo asks.
I blink. “What?”
She stamps her foot into the snow-dusted road, pausing by the back bumper of Theo’s car. “I didn’t even know he was dead. What was I supposed to ask Dad—‘How did you kill him?’ No thanks.”
“I…” I shake off the memories. Battle them away. In as monotone a voice as possible, I say, “He was stabbed.”
She reaches for me.
“I can’t, Margo,” I say quietly. I step away from her.
She sets her jaw and comes for me anyway.
I never thought I’d be the one running, but here I am. Backing away from her like she’s fire and I’m ice.
My shoulder hits the car’s side mirror, and she pushes me against the door.
“No running.” Her eyes narrow.
I start to shake my head, but she presses her finger to my lips.
“You can’t run from me—and you definitely can’t run from whatever you're trying not to remember.”
A snowflake lands on her head, and more follow. I follow them with my eyes, contemplating. Her finger is still on my lips.
I talk through it. “If my mom did it, then what does that mean? She helped put an innocent man in prison. Did Uncle David know? And does that explain the conversation I overheard between Tobias and herbeforemy dad’s death? If she was planning it, truly, then she looped in a lawyer. She found a fall guy. And everything I know is a fucking lie.”
“Yeah.” She drops her hand and blows out a breath. “But you know what that means? This is bigger than either of us.”
My head is killing me. “We should get back.”
Robert and Lenora weren’t exactly approving of me whisking Margo off, but they softened when she said where we were going. And they don’t know the half of it… but they’re doing their best.
When I arrived to take Margo to the prison, a cleaning team was dealing with her room. She and Robert were both dozing on the couch in similar poses. It was kind of adorable. But now, all I can think about is getting her back safely. Protecting her.
With all the revelations about our family history, there’s still someone stalking her.
She steps away from me. I immediately miss her body heat. She must, too, because she comes rushing right back. Her arms wrap around my neck. She stands on her tiptoes to reach my lips, but her kiss is forceful. Aggressive and… short-lived.
She pulls away, and there’s blood on her lips. “That’s for trying to run.”
She watches my mouth.
I lick my lips, surprised to taste it, too. The pain makes sense.