my fragile new

ol. I turned onto a quiet side street, a shortcut I often

ett was pressed against a brick wall, her face a mask of terror. Two large, burly men were cornering h

r. Patterson wants you to come

struggling against h

ard, his expression cold.

escalation I had feared, the moment I had warned her ab

yself, just as I had sworn I would. But I saw her face, the same terror that had been on my mother

n, watching the nightmare play o

his hand, ready to strike h

ght. It was pure, primal instinct. I grabbed a heavy, discar

way fr

e grunted in surprise and pain, stumbling back. The second man turned toward me, his ey

lett! Go!"

a mixture of terror and disbelief. Then she

. I was no match for him, but I fought back with a ferocity I didn't know I possess

regret that," he

halt at the end of the alley. The bac

ed it all wrong. He saw me, the woman who had left him, standing over his men, his new life fleein

growl. The cold, emotionless mask was gone, replace

struggling against the man holding

stand to see me happy. You had to destro

n. He lived in a world of his own making, a world where he was

a cold fire. He stopped in front of me, so

is voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "I tried

I told you what to do i

he other one pulled a heavy metal pipe f

, the fight draining

e pipe. The impact on my shin was a sickening, white-hot explosion of pain.

releasing me. The pain was excruciating, a living thing that consumed

pity. Only a chillingly f

he said. "Now you'll le

mpled in the alley with his two thugs. They looked down

e pain had been coupled with heartbreak and a desperate, pleading love. Now, there was nothing. The last ember of attachment, the last microsco

my phone. My fingers, clumsy wi

he answered, his vo

ng on a sob of pure physical agony. "My l

Lying in that filthy alley, I felt a strange sense of peace settle over the pain. He

ac flight, I had him bring me one last thing from my apartm

t, the one with the name Ava Patterson on it. I took out the wed

my old name, my old life turn to black ash for the second and final

g anymore. I was moving toward a new future, one that Liam Patterson