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"It's just you and me, Phoenix," Veronica purrs. "Time to decide. Her life or your revenge?"
Revenge. The word echoes in my mind like a discordant melody. Do I dare risk Tilly's life for the satisfaction of watching this treacherous woman suffer? I swallow the acidic lump in my throat, my gaze fixed on Tilly's terrified, hopeful eyes.
With crystal clarity, I know that my revenge must take a backseat.
"Alright," I grind out. "You win. I'll let you go, but Tilly stays with me."
Veronica's face lights up with glee, her fingers typing a sequence into her wrist device. "Wise choice, Phoenix. Always knew you were the smart one. Just remember, one wrong move from you or your friend here, and I detonate the explosives. Tilly's fate rests in your hands now."
I burn with impotent rage as she saunters past me, her eyes shining with insane triumph. She won't get far. I'll track her to the end of the earth if I have to.
My body buzzes with restrained violence, ready to snap and crush her beneath my feet. But I can't, not with Tilly's life in balance.
Tilly's broken sob has me glancing at her again. Her frightened eyes bore into mine.
I pivot toward her. My heart clenches at the sight of her battered form, her lip trembling as she struggles to meet my gaze. Crossing the room in two long strides, I kneel before her, cupping her tear-stained cheek with a tenderness that contrasts the storm raging within me.
"It's okay, baby," I murmur, slicing through her bonds. "I've got you now."
The ropes fall away, and she crumples against me, her slender frame wracked with sobs. I fold her in my arms, tucking her head beneath my chin as I rain gentle kisses on her crown.
"H-How did you f-find me?" she hiccups against the column of my throat.
Drawing back slightly, I brush the matted hair from her face, revealing those soulful eyes that haunted my dreams. "Remember when I said I'd always be able to find you?"
She nods, her brow furrowing in confusion. Gently, I draw back the sleeve of her tattered sweater, exposing the tiny scar below her wrist—the implantation site of the microchip I'd embedded beneath her skin the moment I took her.
Tilly's eyes widen, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' of surprise. "You put a tracker in me?"
I brace myself for the accusation, the anger, the fear that she'll recoil from me like so many others. Instead, she merely buries her face in the crook of my neck, her fingers clutching at the fabricof my shirt.
"Thank god you did," she whispers, her breath fanning against my skin. "If you hadn't, that psycho would've?—"
Her voice cracks, dissolving into a fresh wave of tears. I tighten my hold, pressing my lips to her hair in a lingering kiss.
"Shh, it's alright now. I've got you." I allow the depth of my emotions to bleed into my words—the bone-deep relief at having her back, the resolve to annihilate any threat to her safety. "Veronica's never going to lay a finger on you again. I promise."
Tilly nods against me, her tremors subsiding as she draws strength from my presence.
"Who was she, Phoenix?" Tilly asks, her voice quiet and fragile. "Who was Veronica to you?"
Her question hangs between us, a weighty thing laden with the gravity of the moment. I tense, my breath catching as a torrent of unwanted memories threatens to overwhelm me. The scent of her shampoo mingles with the tang of her fear, stirring a maelstrom of emotions deep within me. Her eyes search mine, an ocean of confusion and trust awaiting answers.
I struggle to find the words, the knot in my throat tightening like a noose. The past I've tried so hard to bury is suddenly here, suffocating me. Part of me wants to shield her from the darkness, to spare her the painful truth of my scars. But another part knows that if we are to move forward—if she is to truly understand the depths of my obsession and why I claimed her as I did—she needs to hear this.
Steeling myself, I tighten my arms around her. "Veronica was... someone from my past. Someone who hurt me."
Tilly pulls back, her gaze probing, and I know she senses the layers lurking beneath my words. "Hurt you how?"
I swallow hard, my throat suddenly arid. I can almost feel the hands on me, the touch that was supposed to be comforting but left me soiled. "When I was a kid, I ended up in the foster system after my mom left me when I was five." I try to keep my voice steady, but it cracks on the last word. "Veronica was my foster mom."
Understanding dawns in Tilly's eyes, and I see the realization of the abuse reflected in her tormented gaze. Her fingers reach up to touch my face, her eyes searching mine. "Oh, Phoenix. What did she do to you?"
The pain of long-suppressed memories claws at my chest, but I force myself to continue for her. "She was supposed to take care of me, but instead, she took advantage. She groomed me, used me for her own sick desires." I grit my teeth, not looking away from my girl's empathetic gaze. "It wasn't just the sexual abuse; it was the psychological manipulation, the way she made me feel special one moment and discarded the next."
Tilly lets out a pained breath, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry, Phoenix."
Her words open a dam within me, releasing raw emotion. "That bitch broke me. She made me question my sanity and my worth. I became obsessed with control, with making sure no one would ever hurt me like that again." My voice lowers to a rasp, the weight of my past bearingdown on me. "That's why I took you, locked you away. I told myself it was to protect you, but it was also about control—mine over you."
