Read Hold On - Part Three (The Hold On Series Book 3) for Free Online

Winona’s husband.” He brushes his fingers over the back of my skin. “He didn’t kill Winona, he loved her.”
    I’m starting to see the bigger picture, but I need to say it aloud to make sure it makes sense. “So, if that guy didn’t kill Winona, and someone else did, you’re saying that Lili killed Winona.” I gulp, trying to moisten my fast drying throat. “You’re saying that Lili killed Winona,” I repeat.
    He breathes a long slow breath. “Yep, that’s what I’m saying.”
    “Oh my god!” I can feel the panic bubbling up inside me. “Oh my god, oh my god.”
    “She knew the cops were on her tail, so she needed someone to throw the scent off.”
    It’s too much to take in. I feel like I’m watching a movie where everything is happening to the actors on screen, rather than to me. It’s both surreal and frightening.
    “That’s why she made up that story about wanting me to steal ten grand. If I was caught at the place then I’d become the prime suspect. She’d get away with it.” He shakes his head.
    “But why would she want to kill Winona? I thought they were friends?”
    “She never got over the fact that I chose Winona over her, even after Winona and I were no longer together. She’s good at holding grudges for a long time.”
    “You left me alone with her. You let me stay in my apartment with her all night. She could have hurt me.” The realization that I was in more danger that I thought, begins to overwhelm me. If what he is saying is true, and Lili killed Winona, then she could easily do the same to me.
    “Yes,” he says quietly. The words sound choked. “If I had have known then, I would never have put you in that position. I won’t make that mistake again, that’s why I wanted you out of the apartment and far away from her. I wasn’t sure you would come here, not after what I said.”
    “I couldn’t stay away. I had to know.”
    He lifts his hand and glides it down my cheek. “Know what?”
    “I had to know if you really did use me. I had to know if you ever loved me at all and it was all about the sex.”
    He sighs and drops my hand. “It was never about just sex. I don’t fuck people I don’t like.”
    “I fell in love with you. You knew I was vulnerable.”
    He swallows. “I know. But it was never about the sex.” He shifts on the bed and turns and faces me. “The sex was amazing, it was better than anyone else I’ve ever been with. But that’s because of how I felt about you. I told you that I can’t form a connection with just anyone. You were never just anyone to me.”
    I grab a handful of sheet in one hand and twist it around my fingers. “Back at the apartment, you said you didn’t love me.” It’s not a question, although I want it to be one. I leave the words hanging in the air, wanting him desperately to tell me that he does.
    “Nothing I said back there was true. I had to say that so Lili didn’t think you were a threat. If she thought I loved you like I loved Winona, then I have no idea what she’d do to you. I needed her to believe that you meant nothing to me. I would never put you in danger.”
    I sigh. “You put me in danger the moment you stepped through my door.”
     
     
     

Chapter 11
     
    I’m coming to the conclusion that Ethan isn’t capable of giving me the type of love that I want from him. Every word that comes out of his mouth is full of excuses and explanations, and while it sounds right, it doesn’t feel right.
    Once I thought that just being with him would be enough. I know now that it’s not. I can’t have half of somebody; I have to have them love me completely.
    I think back to when Ethan told me he can’t have sex with someone unless they think about him and only him. He was so sure of himself when he said that. I realize that’s exactly how I feel too, except that I can’t be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t love me and only me. I need them to think of me completely.
    I really wanted to be the