Page 107 of Taint My Soul

MASON

Seven days.

Seven days, I have been waiting every night. Waiting for him to show up at my door and keep to his promise. Lying on the bed, replaying what happened that night

Replaying his touch on my skin. His gentle kiss. His carefulness. Doing everything within my power to drown out the dark voices around me.

But it still lingers at the back of my mind, whispering horrible things into my ears like a threatening ghost.

I don’t just have to deal with Vincent, Neo, and David now, but Saint, too.

I should have known this was bound to happen. I should have stopped myself from crossing a line. I should have kept my head down, as Vincent had instructed. I deluded myself into believing that a few hours of warmth could easily change the verdict of what’s supposed to happen to me in the end.

We weren’t supposed to exist outside that contract.

I shouldn’t have touched him even after the contract was over. I should have sealed my heart because opening it got me into this mess.

It’s been days now since I saw him.

Since I saw any of them.

I never went back to the apartment. I didn’t even go back to the small town where I used to live. That would be the second place they’d go to look for me, and I’d smashed my phone and gone into hiding with cash only.

Hopefully, I can stay hidden long enough for them to lose interest in me. But a part of me knows the truth. Every fiber of my being remembers the days when I walked like a body without a soul, where I was always terrified of the future because eventually my uncle would come looking for me. Nights where I’d wake up drenched in my sweat from nightmares. Days when I was anxious about being in a public space, frightened that maybe he was hiding in the shadows, watching me.

Seven years.

Seven fucking years of my life. I barely had it together. I was always afraid, always looking over my shoulder, always waiting for the moment when he’d come out of nowhere and strike me.

Now Saint’s putting me in the same position again. Through the fear, I still recall everything that had happened that night. Every kiss. Every touch. Every fucking laughter.

And I ruined that moment.

I ruined it for him.

I ruined it for myself.

I’m good at destroying anything my hands touch.

I rise from the bed and move toward the window. A car drives by on the lonely road. This part of the city isn’t always busy, and even if Neo was looking for me, it’ll take days at least before he finds me.

Before I’m brought to my knees again, gun to my head.

If Saint will kill me, then I don’t think I’ll sit around and wait. I don’t think I could move on with my life knowing full well that I’ll always have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

I can’t relive those seven years of my life again.

I can’t move on, waiting for that one moment when the wolf would come out of the shadows to hunt me.

If this will be my end, then fuck it, I should die at his hands.

My fingers clench around the curtains as I return to bed, taking my jacket from the disheveled sheets. I lock the door on my way out, treading down the well-lit hall and taking the stairs to the glass double-door entrance. I give a smile at the woman at the receptionist desk as I stride out to the perfectly mowed lawn and walk across the street.

It doesn’t take long for me to get to the bus station and drive into the heart of the city. My eyes scan the underground parking lot, heart thudding in my chest as I approach the elevator. I hasten up, striding across the smooth grey pavement until I get to the steel entrance of the elevator. My hand lingers over the up button. I chew my bottom lip in contempt, and I let out a shaky breath as I take a step backward.

Before I can press the button, a broken voice catches my attention. I turn on my heel and my eyes shine with shock when I lay my eyes on Bernard. Oh, my God. His face is covered in stitches. Above his brows, across his cheek, across his lips. My heart sinks with despair.

I did this.