All Chapters of It Kills Me: A Forbidden Dark Romance: Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

I was the only one in the Underground.The last bartender had tried to fuck me before she left, as if pussy would cure the blues.I ignored her and poured my own drinks. Didn’t realize the time until Astrid texted me. Are you okay? It was almost eleven in the morning. I’d been out all night and had no idea the day had already started because there were no windows down here.I didn’t go home because I didn’t want to deal with her.I didn’t want to deal with her now.I ignored her, my mind fuzzy from the lack of sleep and the quantity of booze. I’d been awake for over a day, and I’d probably collapse on the bar top at some point.She called me next.I ignored it. I felt like an asshole for doing it, but I knew she was okay. It was in her best interest not to talk to me because I would just ruin her whole fucking day. Would say shit I didn’t mean. Sabotage the first good thing I’d had in my life for a long time.Minutes passed, and my phone was quiet.Then I get a text from Axel. Call As

“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep⁠—”“Other men can’t,” he said. “I can.”I looked away again, wanting to hold on to that promise like a life raft out at sea.“There’s something I want you to know.” His voice lost its bite, turning soft like the storm clouds had passed.I looked at him again.He straightened in the chair, elbows on the edges of the armrests, his hands together. “I’m not ready to reciprocate your feelings…but one day, I will be ready.”I inhaled a sharp breath when his promise reached out and grabbed my heart. He’d never addressed the words I said. Continued to blanket me with his affection but sidestep the depth of my feelings.“I’m still stuck in the past in a lot of ways.”Shayla.“But just because I don’t say it…” His eyes shifted away, and he stared at a painting for a while. The silence lasted so long, it seemed like he’d completed his sentence. But after a minute, his eyes came back to me. “Doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.”It was almost ten in the evening when

I crept to the door and glanced at Carson’s dead body. Her skin was already pale and yellow, and froth had dripped from her mouth. Her eyes were open wide and fixed on the ceiling. This was a woman who’d claimed she loved Bolton, and he did her dirty just the way he did to his wife.It was tempting to reply, but I knew he wanted to know exactly where I was.I was a sitting duck in this bedroom and had to get out.The smoke was still heavy in the hallway, making visibility nonexistent. I hoped my guys had run for it and had been spared the painful death Bolton just gave his girlfriend. When I poked my head down the hallway, I couldn’t see anything. If I couldn’t see anything, then neither could he.I moved into the hallway and ran for it, and the second he heard my footsteps, he opened fire.I made it to the next room, another sitting room attached to a study. There wasn’t as much smoke in here, so it was easier to see. That meant Bolton would have a greater chance of hitting his targe

Chapter 13AstridHours passed, and we didn’t hear from Theo. He didn’t come to the house to get me. It was radio silence.Scarlett sat with me in the living room, her kids playing with their toys on the floor.Axel couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer, so he’d gone to take a nap.Scarlett watched her kids play before she looked at me again.“I know he’s okay, but I don’t know what’s taking so long.”“Call him.”“He would have called me if he wanted to talk.”“Anytime I called Axel, he always had time to talk to me. You know he’s okay, so call him.”I was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t called. All I’d gotten was a quick text and nothing else. I left the couch and stepped out of the room to make the call. With the phone to my ear, I listened to it ring.He didn’t pick up on the first or second ring. But he did pick up. There was a long pause because he didn’t say anything right away. “Hey, sweetheart.”I closed my eyes as I treasured the sound of his voice.He remained quiet as h

TheoWhen I woke up the next morning, Astrid was passed out beside me. She was tucked into my side like glue, her forehead against my arm as her hand gripped me. She breathed gently, her whole body relaxed.I watched her for a couple minutes before I made my way into the bathroom. The bruising along my side had gotten worse. The discoloration of my shoulder was hidden by the bandage I would have to change daily for a week. None of it was alarming, but it’d been for nothing since Bolton was still around.I couldn’t lift with my injuries, so I took a quick shower then headed downstairs. The house was quiet now because my butler had taken off with a bag of money in the trunk of his car. The chef was gone too—dead or bribed, I didn’t know. I hadn’t cooked for myself in years, but I would figure it out.I stepped into the kitchen and looked around, seeing all the produce that was still stocked. If my butler was on Bolton’s payroll, I didn’t understand why he hadn’t just poisoned me. Maybe