The Fall of Sky: Part One by Alexia Purdy Read Free Book Online Page B

groaned and pushed some loose strands of my hair behind my ears. “Look, Jonas isn’t a reasonable man. He’s used to getting everything he wants. What if I give him that? We give him the music he wants. He gets to be with me the way that he wants. I can manipulate a man in lust, or even love, get him to comply to my whims…our wants. He’ll be so wrapped around my finger he won’t even know he’s leaving us to our own devices. Then, when he gets tired of me, he moves on and we’re free again.”
    “What?” Audrey ripped off her shades and grabbed my arm, her fingertips digging into the flesh uncomfortably. “Hell no. What are you thinking? You’re insane. No, you’re worse than that, delusional.” She slammed her hand against the steering wheel a couple of times before she stopped and leaned back, letting out a long, defeated sigh. “You’re kidding, right? Please say you’re pulling my leg, you psycho.”
    “No, I’m not. I just texted him, letting him know I’d like to get to know him better.”
    “What the hell, Liv! You really have some suicidal issues, don’t you?”
    “He’ll leave you alone. He’ll let us do our music the way we want—hell, maybe even get us a contract. I’ll just…get a bonus, I guess.”
    “You’ll just be his sex slave. No! Absolutely not!”
    “It’s done, Audrey. It’s the only way he’ll eventually leave us be.”
    “No. Are you not right in the head? What the fuck? Hell, even I know that already, but still, what the hell!” Audrey scrambled out of the car, barely letting Saul scramble out before she slammed the door, shaking the entire station wagon. “You’re mental. I suggest you get something to eat because your brain is devouring itself for lack of food and too many drugs. Get the hell out of the car, Liv.” Her voice was filled with bitterness.
    I obliged, but not without throwing her a deadening glare for yelling at me in public. It was always humiliating, and she was the queen of humiliation when she wanted to straighten me out. I hated it.
    “Whatever! You’re already killing yourself by eating that junk food, so who’s suicidal now?” I laughed and strutted behind her, head tall even with only Saul as the audience, no matter how immature I sounded. Maybe she was having this epic fit to impress him. He looked pretty calm and followed along quietly. Now why can’t Audrey be more like that? I liked him more and more as time went on.
    Inside, Audrey had already ordered, even for me. I groaned and sat down in a booth. I knew my plan was foolproof. As if to reassure me, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I yanked it out, a text from Jonas flashing across the screen, and a smile spread across my face as I read it.
    I’d love to meet up. When and where? Wear a dress.
    Yep, falling right into the palm of my hand.
    “I agree with Audrey. What you’re doing is a very bad idea.” Saul slipped in next to me, his shades covering up the icy blue eyes underneath. His face was still and calm, like nothing ever flustered him. His dark hair was neat and unruly all at the same time. How a man like him had lived life so effortlessly was beyond me.
    “It’s what will get us through this intact.”
    “He’s a dangerous man.”
    “You don’t know him. I can read people really well. He’s mush under that hard exterior, like putty I plan to mold to fit me.”
    “You don’t know him. You may think you do, but you’re playing right into his hands. He’ll make you pay for it, and you’ll regret it. There will be consequences.”
    “You don’t know me, so don’t underestimate what I can do.”
    “You’re right, I don’t know you. I do know men like Jonas, and they are unforgiving and don’t know how to love anyone, even someone as amazing as you. Don’t do this. Audrey wouldn’t be able to lose you if something terrible happened.” Even through all that, his face remained stoic and his voice steady. Maybe I didn’t like him as much as I thought I