That didn’t seem to have worked.

“I need to go to the hospital,” Clare tried to tell him, but he just gave her a sinister scowl. She knew then and there that he wasn’t going to let her go.

“Have you forgotten who I am that quickly, Clare? I think we both know that that isn’t going to happen,” he told her, pacing back and forth in front of her.

“I don’t have anything you want, Travis,”

“That isn’t true. You have something that belongs to me.”

“No, I don’t! That’s my money, my inheritance, and you don’t have any claim to it,” she shot back.

“You think that the last six years were free, bitch?” He quickly became hostile, moving closer to her and glaring at her.

“I paid my fucking way and you know it.” And she had. Working two jobs, all her money going toward their bills, and Travis doing God-knows-what with the rest.

“Look at that—my little Clare has picked up an attitude on her little vacation away.”

It frightened her how unpredictable he was, that he could laugh one moment and stab her the next. Even though she’d known him for almost a decade, his behavior and mood were so unstable from minute to minute, he might as well have been a stranger. She stayed silent, opting to stare at him angrily instead.

“You think I kept you around because, what, I liked you?” Travis scoffed, shaking his head as he advanced on her again. “I never liked you, Clare, and I certainly never loved you.”

Clare bit down on her tongue, willing herself not to let his words get to her. Not to let him see her cry.

“I’ve been waiting until you turn twenty-five so I can get what you owe me. For years, I’ve taken care of you; I gave you everything you could ever have wanted. But now it’s time to collect.” His tone was sinister.

“You gave me nothing, and I owe you nothing.” She was seething.

“Most women would be fucking grateful for everything that I did for you. Fuck, they would be grateful just to be with me.” He narrowed his eyes and brandished the knife again.

“I didn’t need someone to take care of me, Travis. I can take care of myself. I just needed someone to love me,” she told him, holding her arm again as the throbbing increased.

“Love?” Travis scoffed, “You’re not worth being loved, Clare. Get used to that harsh truth now. I’m doing you a favor.”

Clare choked back tears. “You’re wrong.”

“Wrong to have put up with you for so many years. Turns out your trust can be liquidated early if you sign it over to someone else. Did you know that, Clare?”

She didn’t say anything, but the truth was that she had known. She just hadn’t known anyone whom she trusted enough to do that. She had used the excuse for years with Travis, that she couldn’t give him the money because she didn’t have access to it. It was the only way she knew how to protect it.

“I’ve had a new contract drafted—all you have to do is sign it.” He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and tossed it down on the coffee table in front of her.

“I’m not signing anything,”

“My fault—I must have made that sound like a question. So let me be very clear, Clare. You will sign it. You will sign it now or you won’t live to go to your lover’s stupid match tonight.”

Clare’s eyes widened, surprised that he knew that much about Rory or her schedule. She gulped, realizing that he must have been watching her for longer than she thought.

“You thought I didn’t know?” he asked, and she just glared at him.

“I know everything that you’ve been up to, Clare. You’ve turned into quite the whore, haven’t you? Cheating on me with that Irish Neanderthal?” He smirked, but disgust was evident in his voice.

“Then you know that if he finds you, he will kill you,” she threatened through gritted teeth. Travis just sniggered in response.

“I’m absolutely petrified,” he said sarcastically as he slid the tip of the knife down her cheek, paralyzing her with fear.

“Now sign it.” He drew back his knife as he pushed the envelope and a pen toward her on the coffee table. “After we finish this, I’ll go deal with your behemoth.”

“If you think I’m going to give you what you want, just so that you can hurt Rory, you must be crazy.” She folded her arms over her chest.

“You know, that’s something I just haven’t been able to understand.” He narrowed his eyes at her, but the lilt in his voice was mocking. “Why would a powerhouse like Kavanagh ever be with a little bitch like you? I barely tolerated putting up with you all this time, and I’m ten times the man he will ever be.”

“You could have let me leave six years ago if I was such a problem for you.”

“And miss out on my payday when you turned twenty-five? I don’t think so. Plus, you were useful—for a while at least.” Clare flushed with embarrassment at his words.

“For old times’ sake?” He pulled a small vial of white powder out of his pocket and held it up before moving over to the kitchen counter and pouring out a line.

“You couldn’t get me to do it back then. I’m certainly not doing it now,” she said, watching him snort up the powder through a rolled-up dollar bill.

“Suit yourself, but I wonder what your ogre of a boyfriend would think about your dealing history.” He raised one brow at her, as he returned to the couch where she was still sitting and clutching her arm.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Clare dropped her chin to her chest, feeling shame wash over her at the memory. Being dropped off on the side of the street with a pocket full of drugs in the worst neighborhoods of Los Angeles hadn’t left her a lot of choices. She had known that if she came back without the money, she would pay dearly for her transgression.

“What? You afraid he won’t want you anymore when he finds out who you really are, Clare? Hate to break it to you, but you can’t keep that ruse going forever, you know.”

She glared at him, but stayed silent. Self-doubt crept through her. Every negative thing about herself that Travis had convinced her of over the years was coming to the surface. She couldn’t forgive herself for what she had done, so she knew that no one else would be able to, either. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Rory that way. He didn’t need to know the dark details of her past.

“Maybe you should come back to California with me, Clare,” Travis started. “I was just going to come here and get my money and deal with your monster of a boyfriend, but now you’ve reminded me of a lot more.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about all the good times we had, Clare. No one knows how to provide me a believable alibi like you did. You were the best, back then.” She shuddered at the memory of all the times she had lied for him.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said, seething. “You should just kill me now and get it over with.”

“Tsk, tsk, Clare. Such hostility.” He picked up the pen from the table and forcibly put it in her hand. She gripped it tightly, as she considered if it were possible to jump up and stab him with it faster than he could swing the knife in his hand.

“I’ll leave Kavanagh and his family alone if you sign this right now.” He smiled wickedly at her. “Otherwise, I’ve got plans for them as soon as I finish with you.”

Clare could feel the color drain from her face at the thought. The family that had taken her in and accepted her, the man who had made her believe it was worth it to open up her heart again—all of them were in danger because of her.

Travis was right: She wasn’t meant to be here. She had done nothing but ruin other people’s lives by showing up here. She couldn’t be responsible for anything happening to Rory or his family. This was her problem, her past, and she was the only one who should have to deal with it.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” she said stonily as she opened the envelope up in front of her and pulled out the contract.