"Shut up!" Elysia finally snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"I told you everything at the hospitalst time, remember? You say you''re doing this for me? No-you''re doing it for yourself!"

"Don''t pretend you''re some kind of martyr, doing dirty things for others'' sake, just to excuse your own mess!"

"You keep saying you love me. What exactly do you love about me?"

"If you''d ever thought about me for even a second, you wouldn''t have done any of those disgusting things!"

"Lying to women, stealing the Newsom family fortune, human trafficking, plotting to poison people and then selling the antidote "

"One after another, these things prove just how rotten you are!"

"Your cover''s blown. No one believes your act anymore. Just face it."

"All those horrible things you did? It''s because you''re vile, cruel, and selfish. Don''t me anyone else!"

"I''ll say this onest time: stop saying you love me. It makes me sick!"

Without another word, Elysia hung up.

She didn''t give Zane a chance to call back-she blocked his number instantly. But almost immediately, a text came in from an unknown number.

It was Zane again, trying with a new phone.

[Elysia, I know you''re angry at me right now. I get it. You don''t want to hear me out, but please, wait for me. I''ming to find you.]

[I really do love you. I''ll exin everything in person. I''ll confess my feelings, I''ll propose, just give me a little more time. I swear I can give you the future you deserve!]

Elysia stared at the message, gagging.

She''d barely caught her breath before she decided to call Tarquin. Why could Zane still call and text her?

Tarquin had left for work that morning, promising police would arrest Zane today.

But before she could dial, Tarquin''s name shed on her screen.

She answered in a hurry. "I was just about to call you. What''s going on with Zane?"

Tarquin sounded tense. "What happened?"

"He just called and texted me from a random number, spouting his crazy crap. Didn''t the police catch him?"

"...He got away."

Elysia''s eyes widened. "He what?!"

"Yeah. I just got the news."

"How the hell did that happen?!"

She couldn''t wrap her head around it. Tarquin''s guys had been watching Zane,

the cops had been onto him for ages-how did he just disappear?

Tarquin exined, "There''s a mole in the department. Zane got tipped off early. He took a hostage and with

the mole''s help, escaped in a police car."  s

Elysia''s stomach twisted.

"The people he hates most are you and Winona. He can''t get to you-do you think he''ll go after Winona?"

Tarquin''s jaw clenched. He didn''t answer right away, but the answer was obvious.

Winona had destroyed Zane''sst chance at power. Tarquin and Elysia had gotten involved because of her. To Zane, Winona was enemy number one.

If he got the chance, he''d go after her-no question.

Zane on the run meant Winona was in real danger.

Tarquin tried

not

to let his worry show, not wanting to stress Elysia out even more. "Don''t panic. The police have put him on every wanted list in the country There are people overseas who want him dead too. He''ll be hiding out, keeping his head down for a while."

to s

“Besides, Keaton lives right next door to Winona. If anything happens, he won''t just sit back and watch."

"Keaton might be a mess in the

romance department, but when in et

you

can always count on him. He smore reliable than anyone."  s

Elysia was silent, but it didn''t do much to ease her nerves.