Novels by LIVETH. E

LAURA“I’m so sorry,” I said, panicking.“It’s fine, dove. This is too much for you. I get it.”I retched again. I couldn’t control myself.“Let’s get you out of here.”“Please do,” I pleaded in a whisper.“God, I’m so sorry,” I continued to apologize as he unbuttoned his shirt carefully. He threw the shirt over the heap of bodies, and I retched again.“Hey, hey. I’m sorry. We are leaving.”I nodded in acceptance. He lent me his hand when I suddenly noticed the knife cut at the side of his waist.“Oh my God!” I shrieked. I rushed to his side immediately.He held me together and closed the door behind us.“It’s okay, Laura. It’s just a flesh wound.”My sirens were blaring so loudly that I couldn’t hear him. I searched his body frantically, my heart breaking a little more with each scratch I found.“Why’d you let them do that to you?”He chuckled. “I didn’t let them.”“Are you laughing?” He stopped.“Were you laughing?” I screamed angrily.“I’m not,” he responded with a coy smile. “I’m

LAURA“You caused this,” my mother cursed through the phone. “You weak little thing. I told you what kind of man he was and what to do to let his guard down. You did what you wanted. Now look at what it got us.”“It was impossible to make him fall for me. It never would’ve worked. The man doesn’t have a heart.”“I saw the way he looked at you, Laura. It was already in motion. All you had to do was give in.”“God, I’m not about to have this conversation with you. It’s pointless.”“I had to watch you get stolen by that bastard and watch you beg him to keep me alive in the same lifetime.”“I wasn’t stolen. I’m not a thing. There was a deal that I agreed to. To save you.”“Oh, so it’s my fault? You got bewitched, Laura. Admit it. He was so unreal, and you were intoxicated by the idea of him. A man, wild, handsome, protective.”“Fine, Pen!” I screamed. I’d had enough. Nothing I did was enough. “Fine. You win,” I said, each word interrupted by a shaky breath. “Can you say you have no fault

LAURA I can go on my own, Camila.“No, you can’t. That should be pretty clear by now.”“God, I’m not running, I promise. I just don’t want to ride with Damon. Maybe I can join you.”“It’s not my call, Laura. It’s the boss’s order.”Her tone had changed, clearly from disappointment or something else. Everyone seemed to hold a grudge against me for some reason.With trembling fingers, I opened the car door. Damon’s eyes were fixed on me. I shook when I saw the weight of his stare. I sat down quietly and leaned into the door on my end, putting as much distance between us as possible as the car drove off steadily.I folded my arms nervously on my thighs and looked out the window.“Anything you want to tell me?” he asked.At first, I pretended not to hear him, but then I decided there was no need to hold back.“How did you find out?”He slouched. “I’ve got eyes on you, Laura. You underestimated me with your stupid, cheeky plan.”Shame crawled over my face, burning my cheeks red.“So you l

LAURA“What now?” She stared at the floor of the ambulance, ignoring me.“Kiesha, is something wrong?”“For fuck’s sake, shut up! I need to think.”“Don’t talk to me like that. I might be quiet and mostly ignorant about stuff like this, but I’m still an adult.”She grabbed her head. “Fine! There’s someone else. And your mother just called me to tell me there was a fucking but in her plan. A but!”“You’re going to have to say more because I don’t understand shit that’s coming out of your mouth.”“God, Laura. I agreed to this stupid game because I had someone I wanted to protect. And your mother said she could help me.”I arched my brows.“Don’t give me that look. You think I’m doing this so I can run away with you because we’re besties? You saw my house. So why would I want to run away with you because you’re mad that a madman wouldn’t fall in love with you?”“Whoa. Calm down, Kiesha. I know that you think I’m stupid, but it’s heartbreaking that I have to constantly remind you that I’m

“I should’ve known this would be more difficult than we imagined it to be,” I complained as Laura and I walked down the stairs. “I’m panicking so badly. I feel like Lacey would take one look at us and figure out that we’re lying. It terrifies me.” “Can we stop talking about everything that could go wrong and focus on making sure this goes right? It annoys me that you’re being so negative right now.” “Oh, I’m sorry that I’m not suddenly enthusiastic because my love interest dumped me.” “What fucking love interest? I’m not in love with him. I’ve said that a hundred times.” “Well, you lied to yourself a hundred times, not me. As for me, I’m extremely true to myself, so I’m panicking. Also, there’s a part of your brain that knows Damon wouldn’t hurt you if he found out, but me? My head will be disjointed from my body.” “That’s the biggest misconception you’ve had so far.” She threw me a serious stare. “Damon might not kill me, but he’d make sure I live through hell. Honestly, I d

KIESHAI loved that Laura was mad at Damon. She became more agreeable and rational. Her sudden change had me thinking if her whole personality was a sham. But then again, I know what strong emotions could make a person do.“Are you sure I don’t have to come with you?” I asked Pen as she zipped the bag full of cash. “I think it’s better if I do.”“No, it’s not,” she responded, getting irritated. She was always irritated.“Why?” I asked, still unsure of her choice.“It’s a negotiation, Kiesha. Don’t be a baby.”“Stop. I’m not your child. Don’t call me a baby.”She sighed. “You’re a weakness. If you tag along and, God forbid, show even the slightest bit of excitement, that bastard might take the money and decide he doesn’t want to let her go. Because, above being an infected cunt, he’s a sadist.”“What does that even mean?”“It means the real catch for that bastard wasn’t your sister. It was you. He loved to see you suffer and cry while he had his way with you. He loved to see you fight