Insurmountable (Serpentine #1) Read Free Page A

the medicine cabinet and pulled it open. How stupid was he to leave me here all alone?
    A razor. That was all I needed. Anything sharp.
    If all else failed. I’d take a knife from the kitchen. But I found just what I was looking for. I pulled the blade out of its holder. It all came so effortlessly. For once my mind was quiet, content. An exit. An escape. In the only way I’d ever get out of this. A better alternative than leaving my manner of death up to them.
    I pressed the blade to my arm and a red dot of blood rose up around the tip. So beautiful. So freeing.
    “Alley.”
    I jumped, pressing the blade to my palm. I must not have heard him enter because of the running water in the tub. How much had he seen?
    Miles came toward me, but I arched my back, trying to hide my cut arm behind me. It was only a small cut. A nick. But now I was caught.
    Whatever came next would be far more painful.
    “Alley, give me your hand.” Miles held out his own hand waiting for mine.
    My breaths came so quickly that I bumped into the sink when a wave of dizziness hit me out of nowhere. And then I heard it. I felt it. A drop of something on the floor.
    I followed the sound. Blood dripped from the hand holding the razor. No way of hiding it now.
    Miles came at me and grabbed my arm, holding it out in front of me, palm side up. “Open your hand, Little Dove.”
    Why did he have to call me that? I relaxed my fingers, letting them fall open to reveal the tiny blade. He gently pulled it out of my blood-soaked palm and dropped it in the sink. Then he wadded up a wash rag and pressed it to my hand.
    “Sir,” I whispered, nodding to the tub. I didn’t need more trouble.
    He quickly turned the knobs, without releasing my hand. I stared down at the bloody razor. Almost . So close .
    “Alley.” Every time he said my name it was like someone jerking at a chain around my neck. It pulled me back for just an instant and then sent me reeling even deeper. He took my other arm, turning it over to reveal the small trail of blood from the tiny gash in my arm. Without another word, he reached into a cabinet under the sink and pulled out a first aid kit.
    No. No. This isn’t how it goes .
    He dabbed an alcohol pad over the wound, then pressed a band-aid over it. The other cut wouldn’t be fixed so easily, but he took my hand with the same calm persistence.
    I fisted my hand and pulled it away.
    I didn’t want to be fixed.
    I sure as hell didn’t want useless band aids covering the wounds.
    Without warning, the tears fell and my knees buckled.
    Miles caught me, pinning me against the sink so I couldn’t fall. “What’s wrong?” he asked, brushing his fingers against my face.
    “What’s wrong?” I repeated. What isn’t wrong ?
    I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t say it. “Please, just kill me and get it over with,” I whispered.
    “Why would I do that?”
    “He was right. I’m worthless. Bad business. It’s what happens.” It all came out. All I wanted was a quick end.
    “Not here.”
    I shook my head, rattled with the sobs that built up in my throat and took my breath. “I can’t. He was right. I can’t do it anymore.”
    “Where were you before you came here?” Miles asked.
    What did it matter? Who cared? “Milwaukee.”
    “How long?” His voice was so deep with an almost hypnotizing quality. It made me want to silence all of my thoughts just to listen, especially when he managed to stay so calm.
    “Two years.”
    “Before that?”
    Why ? “Here. There. Everywhere.” I’d traveled so much during the years before that, it was hard to tell where I’d ended up. “The last thing I really remember is Paris. Four fucking years of Paris.
    “With Milo.”
    Out of nowhere, a bittersweet laugh rose out of my chest. Milo . That damn bastard . “If you don’t kill me, he will.” I finally lifted my eyes to his face. “Or your boss, one of the others. No point in keeping around a worthless girl.”
    “The guy last night had no