Chapter 26: "Tell Me You Love Him"

Dante stands over me, staring at me with an intensity that makes my insides go all twisty.

"Maybe you should let me walk away," I tell him, and my voice sounds ragged. "Did you ever think of that?"

"Yes." He places a hand against the bricks on one side of my head. "A hundred times."

My heart is tumbling over itself. "Then why don't you?" Why are you still here, making this even harder on me?

His other hand comes up on the other side of me, effectively pinning me against the wall. But he still doesn't touch me, even as he leans closer. He's so close I can feel his breath on my face.

"I've never stopped regretting the last time I let you walk away from me," he murmurs.

I can't breathe. But I can't escape from him, either - not from his arms or his words or that look in his eyes.

"What happened to Jack?" he asks, his voice lower with every word. "Tell me, Ash."

I don't know what to say. Part of me wants to continue the lie, to hold on to the one last protective barrier I have betw