Fighting the need to throw up, I grabbed clothes from my bag and hurried to put them on, not giving a shit how I looked. I took my phone off of the nightstand, shoving it in my pocket and slipped on my shoes. I snatched the file from the desk before racing down the steps. I had to get far away from here and fast.

He lied to me. Everything has been a lie. Running for the door, I shoved my arms in the sleeves of my coat, my heart aching with every beat. He said they killed my father, he said he would protect me but it's all been a huge fucking lie.

He killed my father for working with the Russians. Now that he has all of the evidence against them, the evidence I handed over on a silver platter, there's nothing stopping Declan Byrne from killing me next. It's not like anyone would come looking for me. I have no one, no family. It's been brought to my attention that the ones I used to call my friends could really give a shit less about me.

My trembling fingers wrapped around the door handle, turning the cold metal and pulling open the door. I was paralyzed on the spot. My breath stolen from my lungs the moment his hazel eyes met mine. He knew instantly something was wrong.

"Scarlett what's wrong?" He demanded in a concerned voice, pushing his way into the apartment and tossing the pizza box on the counter.

I took small steps back from him, my pulse beating in my ears. His eyes dropped to the file in my hand making his brows pull together.

"What's that?" He let go of the dog leash so Nux could run to his water dish, his leash still attached to his collar and dragging on the floor.

"You... you said you would never lie to me." My voice was a whisper.

"What?"

"You said you would never lie to me!" I screamed, not able to control my emotions. I stepped forward, shoving the file in his chest. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. They burned hot trails down my cheeks. The fear that was constricting my lungs was slowly starting to turn to a burning rage.

"Baby, what-"

"Don't you fucking call me that!" I snapped.

He opened the file and the moment he read the words his head snapped up to me. "Where did you get this?"

"You told me it was the Russians."

"Scarlett, where did you get this?" He pressed, moving a step closer to me.

"You told me my dad went to them that night with the ledger. You said they killed him to stop him from going to the FBI but it was you. You killed my dad!"

He shook his head no.

"You wanted the flash drive. You knew he was going to be in the city with it and you ordered the hit on my dad."

"No, Scarlett, this is a fake document." He pleaded, holding up the file.

I continued, the ire rising in me to the point that I was clenching my fists at my sides, my nails biting into the skin on my palms. "And I was just a fucking idiot who got played. I risked my own life to get his ledger to you and then spread my legs like a cheap fucking whore."

"Scarlett, no, please." He moved closer, reaching his hands out to me but I took giant steps back.

"Stay away from me." I seethed through clenched teeth.

Declan's spine straightened, his expression turning hard. "Listen to me. I don't know where you got this but it's fake. I didn't order the hit on your dad, okay? It was Nick."

I couldn't help the disbelieving laugh that escaped me. "First you told me it was the Russians, now you're saying it was Nick? What the hell happened to 'I'll never lie to you'?" I threw his words back in his face.

"This was all a lie!" I yelled out in a fit of rage. I can't believe I was so incredibly stupid. "You've ruined my life!"

I went to push past him so I could leave but his arms wrapped around me and pulled me so that I was standing in front of him. His fingers gripped my biceps to keep me in place in front of him while I struggled to get free.

"Baby, listen to me, I didn't kill your father." He was trying to control his emotions, to remain calm but his voice was catching in his throat. "I didn't use you, Scarlett, I... fuck," he groaned, bending his head down to rest his forehead against mine. "Scarlett, I love you."

"Liar!" Thick tears spilled over my lashes. I used the adrenaline that was coursing through me to bring my hand up and rammed the heel of my palm up into his nose. The loud snap of his cartilage breaking filled the room. Both of his hands let go of me to grab at the pain on his face while blood spilled down his chin from under his hands.

I booked it for the door, ripping it open and running towards the emergency exit. I wasn't going to waist time waiting for the elevator. I ran down the steps, skipping a few while I held onto the railing.

My heart was hammering inside my chest. The adrenaline that was coursing like acid through my veins had me feeling like I was breathing in fire while I pushed myself to run faster down the stairs.

When I got to the bottom of the stairwell I saw two doors, one read exit to garage and the other exit to outside. I thrust open the one that led outside and darted out into the alley, the door slamming closed behind me. I looked down the alley towards the street. Through my tears I saw the cars speeding by as I choked, trying to fill my lungs with air.

Stumbling for a moment, I used the back of my hands to wipe at my eyes and pushed myself down the alley despite how unsteady my legs felt.

"Such a fucking idiot," I stuttered hysterically to myself.

"Scarlett?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I knew that voice. Looking ahead of me I saw Jay standing on the sidewalk at the end of the alley.

"What are you doing here?" He started walking towards me. I felt my body seize up, unable to move. My breathing was so erratic I was becoming light headed. When he saw how hysterical I was, his brows furrowed. "Do you need help?"

The door behind me burst open, hitting against the brick wall with such force it sounded like it broke. I flinched, pulling my shoulders up to my ears, my eyes screwing shut.

"Stay away from her!" Declan's voice boomed from behind me, echoing off of the walls.

Jay looked between us, his brows raised and a crooked smile pulling at his lips. "Did she do that to you?" He questioned, slowly coming closer to me. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling my skin start to crawl with how close he was getting. I couldn't move though, my body was stuck in some panic mode that refused to let me move.

"I said stay the fuck away from her." Declan growled, his voice sounding closer.

"I think you're the one who should stay way from her." Jay goaded. He stretched out his open hand to me, "Come on, Scars, let's get you back home."

"Don't you fucking touch her, you piece of shit." Declan came up behind me and I could feel the heat form his body against my back.

I flinched away from him which only got me closer to Jay. Looking back at him, I could see the devastation painted on his face, thinking I was choosing Jay over him. "Scarlett, what are you doing?" His voice was low.

"You lied to me, you used me." I sobbed, holding myself tighter. Jay put his hands on my shoulders making me whimper and pull out of his grip.

"And he tried to rape you, twice." Declan said through clenched teeth. His eyes were locked with Jay's.

My tears were only coming harder, my heart tearing in half with every beat.

"Come on Scars, I'll take you to your brother." Jay reached to put his arm around me. I jerked my shoulder away from him so violently that I stumbled back.

Declan's hands gripped my shoulders, bring me so my back was against his chest. I could feel it rising and falling with every ragged breath he took. He moved so his mouth was by my ear, his voice gravely as he spoke, "Don't forget what he did to you, little one. He forced his way into your apartment, he beat you, held you down on the floor and tried to rape you."

Unable to speak, I shook my head no, not wanting to relive those thoughts I tried so hard to push from my mind.

"He threw you up against the wall in that bar, forced pills in your mouth, holding it closed until they dissolved so he could rape you. You overdosed because of him. I was there, I saved you."

"Stop." I begged, my voice a whisper.

"I should fucking kill you." He snarled at Jay, his grip on me tightening.

"Stop!" I shrieked but Declan had already pulled the gun from the holster on the waistband of his jeans and had his gun trained on Jay.

Jay took a step back, putting up his hands. "Let's not do anything stupid now." Jay said, not looking half as scared as someone should with a gun aimed at them. "I'm a made man now. There are consequences for gunning down someone like that for no reason."

"She has a fucking reason." Declan bit back. He snatched my hand and brought it up to grip the gun that was in his hands. He grabbed my other and fixed my grip on the firearm, keeping it aimed at jay.

Jay's face dropped.

I was terrified, I'd never held a gun before. I was scared to breathe in fear that it would somehow cause me to pull the trigger. Anxiety was added to the tornado of emotions that was whipping me around making it feel like there was an anvil on my chest. More tears clouded my vision making jay look like a blur of color in front of me.

"Declan, please no. Take it back." I begged.

"Do it, Scarlett. Kill him." Declan exhorted.

"No." I sobbed. Declan took his hands from mine. I could feel my arms trembling violently like I was holding an explosive that was about to detonate.

"Scars, come on, I was just playing. I wasn't gonna rape you. You don't remember? You wanted to mess around that night at your apartment, you invited me up there." Jay's voice was shaking.

I shook my head no, trying to blink away my tears. "No, you have Loey. I told you to go home to her."

Ignoring me, he continued. "And that night at the club, you were asking for it. The way you were dancing..."

My tears cleared enough to see that look crawl across Jay's face. The same one from that night at the bar. My skin burned remembering the way he touched me. The screams and the visions from being on Z flashed behind my eyes making my index finger wrap around the trigger.

Jay and Declan's voices came at the same time. Jay pleading, saying that it was a misunderstanding, saying I asked for the Z, begged to be fucked. Declan was yelling expletives, describing how he was going to torture him for even thinking of doing those things to me.

"He was going to rape you! His filthy hands were all over you, he drugged you. Kill him, Scarlett!" Declan's voice boomed behind me.

I couldn't take in anymore, I was so confused, my mind not being able to tell what was happening, who to believe. Jay stepped towards me, telling me he had enough of this and was going to take me and that was the last thing I heard. My finger squeezed the trigger and in an instant I felt the kickback of the gun making my arms fly back by my head. The explosion of the round leaving the chamber had my ears ringing at a deafening octave.

"Oh God... no." My voice sounded like it was underwater from the ringing. I threw the gun to the ground and ran to Jay who had collapsed on the ground.

Falling to my knees, I reached out to him. My hands wrapping around his shoulders and tugging him so his head was on my lap. I desperately blinked away the tears so I could see.

"Jay?" I asked, gagging from the vomit that was threatening to come up.

Looking down, I could see a hole torn in his clothes revealing a gaping wound in his chest. Blood was spilling out of it, staining his clothes. His eyes were open wide but I could tell that he wasn't looking at me.

He was dead.

Because of me.

I killed him.

I don't know if it was disgust from the corpse on my lap, the blood or the fact that I shot someone, but I violently pushed him off of me and scurried back until my back hit the brick wall of the building.

Bringing my hands up, I could see the blood staining them. His blood. Because I shot him. Oh God. I leaned over, my hands spread on the wet concrete to hold me up as my guts twisted, making stomach bile spew from my mouth and onto the ground. I tried to catch my breath between the dry heaves but it only made me choke. All the while my mind kept repeating you killed him, like some sick mantra.

"You're so fucking strong, Scars."

My eyes shot open. No. It was all him. He was the reason this happened.

Declan placed a hand gently on my shoulder. "He's gone, baby. He can never hurt you again."

I shoved his hand off of me, staggering to my feet. "S-stay away." I threatened. He looked confused, hurt even that I pushed him away. I could see my bloody handprints on him. "Oh... God. What did I do?"

"The right thing." His words came out harsh, his expression reverting back to his stoic one.

"No." I shook my head, unable to look away from the red hand prints I had left on him.

"He assaulted you. Drugged you. Think of all the women who weren't as lucky to get away from him." He retorted.

Declan reached his open hand out to me. "Come on, let's get back inside."

"No." I said firmly.

Declan's brow arched at my defiance. "Scarlett, we need to talk. I need to make a call about this," he pointed to the body at our feet, "you need to get cleaned up."

"No, I-I.. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Fed up with my arguing, Declan closed the space between us. Before he could get his hands on me, I brought my foot up and kicked him in his groin making him yell out in pain, doubling over and landing hard on his knees.

I reached down to Jay's pant loop and grabbed the carabiner clip that had his car keys and ran to the end of the alley. I spotted his Sable parked along the curb and ripped the door open, falling into the drivers seat. Quickly locking the doors, I shoved the keys in the ignition and put it in drive, pulling away from the curb.

I narrowly missed a car as I pulled out onto the road and floored it, swerving around the traffic in front of me and driving into the oncoming traffic. I had to get away from him. I had to find some place to hide, some place he would never think to look.

My anxiety was starting to become crippling. I was struggling to breathe, my hands were so sweaty I could barely hold onto the steering wheel. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Jay's vacant eyes. The blood, oh God, all of the blood. Declan's signature on that paper.

The street light changed to red and it didn't even process in my brain, I kept my foot smashed against the accelerator and drove through the intersection. Horns blared from all around me, high beams flicked on and off rapidly. I had to get away.

"Waterloo, I was defeated you won the war," My phone started ringing on the seat next to me, filling the car with ABBA's music. "Waterloo, promise to love you forevermore," a screaming sob erupted from my throat. He was calling. Thick tears burned at the back of my eyes before they spilled down my cheeks. "Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to."

Bright headlights came from my left, blinding me. Taking my left hand off the wheel, I brought it up to shield my eyes from the light. A car horn blared right before I saw the front grill of a truck crashing into the side of the car. In an instant my world went black. The last thing I heard was the music coming from my phone.

"Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you."

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