Page 145 of Anton

He jerks away as though my skin scorched him.

“What does 119 mean?” I ask as I create more distance between us.

He appears confused at first, then his eyes grow.

“Just fucking say it. Because it can’t get worse than this.”

His fingers run through his hair while I wait for the words to come, already knowing I’ll hate them.

“You were supposed to be my 119th kill.”

Nausea slams into me so fast, I almost stumble. He’s there to catch me, his arm sliding through mine.

“Don’t touch me!” I shove past him, grabbing my clothes from the floor. “I’m leaving. If you follow me, I’ll⁠—”

“You’ll what?” He grabs the back of my head, his fingers clutching tight.

My sinister grin must surprise him, because his grip loosens a fraction.

“I’ll kill you,” I tell him.

A muscle in his jaw twitches. “I’m not letting you leave.”

“Then you can go ahead and slice my throat right here. Or maybe use a gun. I don’t exactly know what the plan was.” I laugh, hysteria taking over.

The man I fell for was my killer. They really need to make a movie about this.

“Let me go, Anton. I won’t ask again.”

When I lurch at his chest this time, he drops his hands. “Don’t go.”

“You don’t get to do that.” I yank the shirt over my head. “You don’t get to order me around.”

“Where are you going?”

“That’s not your business anymore.”

“Thora, please.”

My chest pitches at that single word, the desperation behind it rocking me. His fingers twine through mine, and the second they do, everything inside me cracks even more.

But he can’t make this better. He betrayed me just like my family. Everyone in my life is a damn homicidal maniac, and I’m sick of it.

I rip away from him. “You should have told me.”

He laughs dryly. “And you would have understood? Do you know what it means to go against my brother’s orders? Do you know what he’ll do when he realizes I’m never going to finish the job?”

When I don’t say anything, he winds his arm around my waist.

“I was going to ask you to run away with me.” When I stare up at him, all I see is pain. “Guess that isn’t happening now.”

My chest caves in at the thought.

Would I have actually left it all behind for him? Dropped my entire world and fled? I guess we will never know.

“This is too much.” The tears come harder, blinding me. “I can’t…I can’t be here. Just let me go.”

He moves back, then reaches for me again before stopping himself, his arms falling back to his side. “Text me when you get wherever you’re going. If you don’t, I will come after you.”