20. Juliette
Juliette
D ante had a strange look on his face every time he glanced my way.
I started to fear that he could read my thoughts, or even worse, what I was about to do. It made me nervous, but I pretended to be unaffected.
Dante took my hand and held it firmly as we rode the elevator up to the hotel suite. When we’d stepped in, a group of rowdy teenagers piled in and I pressed my back against the wall, leaving space between us.
They kept laughing, throwing glances my way, leering at me.
“Look at my wife one more time, and you’ll lose your eyeballs by the time the elevator door opens.”
Dante’s warning slithered through the air. The chatter suddenly stilled, and it was so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat.
Ding.
The elevator stopped with a beep and the doors slid open. Like the devil was at their heels, the teenagers rushed out and disappeared from our view.
“What was that about?” I hissed under my breath.
He didn’t answer. He just leaned back against the elevator wall with a smile, but his eyes remained sharp. Dark and possessive. It sent shivers down my body.
The elevator door closed as it started gliding up again.
We had another two floors to go. To the penthouse suite.
Only the best for the groom and bride.
Apprehension shuddered through me. I wished now that I hadn’t been so brave with Dante the first time I ran into him.
I played the part of an experienced seductress instead of a woman with invisible scars.
The ones that wouldn’t heal, festering in my mind while I hid it all under my obnoxious persona. But it had all caught up to me.
My breaths came short and heavy as I felt my thoughts begin to spiral. My heart thundered against my ribs. The urge to flee was strong, but I remained still, my eyes locked on a single spot on the elevator door.
Ding.
The door opened too quickly.
“You ready?” Dante asked as he pushed off the interior wall, then took my hand. He tugged me forward, my feet practically dragging across the floor. They felt heavy, like each foot weighed a ton and it was an effort to move them.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” I bit back icily, hiding the fear that was quickly overtaking me.
He said nothing else. The next thing I knew, he was swiping the keycard and we were inside. It was only when the door clicked behind us that he released my hand.
Dropping his keys and wallet onto the table by the door, he strode through the room and into the closet. Jesus, was he going to strip right away?
“Change out of the wedding dress, Juliette. Sleeping with that dress on will smother us both and I have no intention of dying just yet,” he stated softly as he disappeared into the closet.
No, no, no. It was mid-afternoon. Barely. I wasn’t ready to start the wedding night.
I remained standing, glued to the spot. My eyes darted to the table and my heart fluttered. It couldn’t be that easy. Could it?
Dante’s car keys sat right there in front of me. I held my breath for five seconds, then snatched them up, and without a second thought, I burst out the door and stumbled blindly down the hallway.
I didn’t bother with the elevator. It would give him a chance to catch me while I was waiting for it and I couldn’t risk that.
Instead, I took the emergency staircase.
The stupid heels slowed me down, so I kicked them off and started running down the stairs.
I gripped the fabric of my dress, rushing down each step and expecting to hear him call out at any moment.
Yet… nothing. Only the sound of my breathing and the soft padding of my steps. Once on the garage level, I lifted my dress up further and broke into a run. The concrete felt cool under my feet. Blood pounded in my temples. I ignored it all.
The tiny bit of reason I had left deserted me the moment I said those vows and the desperation to escape had been building ever since. I frantically clicked the button on the key fob, searching for Dante’s car. There!
The headlights to a blue vintage 1962 Chevrolet Corvette convertible flashed in welcome. Thank God he decided to upgrade that feature on this car, or I would have been screwed.
This is happening. It’s really happening.
My run was cut short when I spotted a familiar head of blond hair.
I froze and bit back the panicked gasp. It was Priest, leaning against the column separating two sections of the garage.
He looked sharp in his tux. A lit cigarette was halfway up to his lips, but he wasn’t smoking.
He simply twisted it between his fingers, his eyes flicking my way.
Without pausing to think, I closed the ten feet of distance to Dante’s car and slid into the driver’s seat.
My hands were shaking, and it took me a few tries to finally push the key into the ignition.
My eyes kept reaching for the rearview mirror, but oddly enough, Priest didn’t appear to be coming after me.
Adrenaline sped up through my veins, leaving me panting like I had run a marathon. As my bare foot slammed against the accelerator, the engine roared in protest, and I sped up through the garage and out onto the busy Las Vegas street.
When we first arrived, I heard Emory mention the cliffs thirty-five miles northwest of the strip.
It was where I’d race to. I had no idea what I’d do when I got there, but I needed peace and quiet.
There was no way anyone would find me there and I needed time.
Time to think. Time to figure my way out of this.
My shoulders ached from the tension. It’d been there all along, only increasing as the day went on.
As I turned onto the highway, I let myself spare one last glance at the rearview mirror.
Still nobody was following me. I could hardly believe my luck.
I kept driving, my mind in a state of turmoil.
I had no idea how I got there, but the next thing I knew, I was pulling up at my destination.
The lookout that would have usually been busy with tourists was empty this time of day.
Stepping out of the car, my legs were shaking as I ignored the stones that bit into my bare feet.
Each step closer to the edge of the cliff almost brought me to my knees, yet I stood.
I probably looked tall and proud, but in truth, I felt broken.
It didn’t matter because as I stood on the edge, pebbles digging into my feet, I finally felt free.
Free for the first time since I was raped.
Free for the first time since I learned who I was.
Free for the first time since I started to make those accountable for my pain pay.
I stared at the ledge of the steep mountain, the breeze pushing against my dress. Almost as if it demanded I take a step back. Instead, I tempted fate and took another step closer.
For some stupid reason “Hush Little Baby” played in my mind.
Not the children’s version, but the one sung by Ashley Ryan.
I never had a mama who protected me. Aunt Aisling couldn’t protect herself, never mind me.
She’d been too focused on Wynter’s career to see the signs.
Besides, the same was too great to admit it to anyone else. It was my cross to carry. My burden.
So I’d taken matters into my own hands. By now, they were drenched with blood. It only took learning about my birth parents’ brutal death to push me into a murderous rage. I lowered my eyes, almost expecting to see my palms stained red.
They weren’t. The French manicure and white dress mocked my lost innocence. It almost made me laugh at the irony.
Balling my fists around the lace, I closed my eyes. Maybe it all had become too much. The sins. The lies. The pretense.
Even now, it led me into a forced marriage.
Dante wouldn’t want me if he knew the true me. The damaged me. I hid it all underneath my rebellion and not even my cousin, who had known me my entire life, could spot it.
A scream bubbled in my throat. I was that lost girl again. Terrified and alone. I didn’t scream that night all those years ago. I only cried and begged.
But today, I couldn’t hold it back anymore.
I let out a scream so loud that it scratched my throat.
The breeze carried it down the canyon, right along with my pain and memories.
I had tried so hard to keep them locked away.
I had tried so hard to convince myself it didn’t happen. That it had happened to someone else.
Yet, here I was. It would seem ghosts did have a way of catching up to you.
I lifted one foot and inched further to the edge. Was this the end of the road for me? There was no more earth to step on. Only thin air.
Adrenaline twisted with fear shot through my bones and warned me to take a step back.
I should end it all , my mind whispered. But could I do that? Wasn’t I stronger than that? I was scared, but maybe also just brave enough to try and push through it. Maybe I could just let Dante fuck me and—
My breath cut short. Goosebumps rose on my skin and cold sweat beaded over my forehead. A shiver of terror zapped down my spine. It was irrational. I’d tried for so long to get rid of that fear of being suffocated. A body heavy on top of mine.
My lungs tightened. My head swam. Despite the fresh air and the wind, it felt like oxygen was in short supply.
One minute I was standing still, wind in my hair and horror in my heart. The next, a set of strong and warm arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me backward.
“What—”
“If you jump, Juliette, so do I,” Dante said, his voice muffled against the back of my head. “You want to fly, my wildling? We’ll fly together.”
Panic punched through me, but oddly enough, it was quickly replaced by a relief so strong, I felt tears burning in my eyes. My body started to tremble. My hands covered his strong forearms, nails digging into his skin.