Free Hardcore: Volume 2 by Staci Hart Page B

eyes sad. “Maybe. Can you live with that? Can you live with yourself if you don’t? I mean, the only other option would be to trip the alarm and leave without the painting. If you just want him to have it back, it will get back to him legally. Eventually. But I don’t think that’s what you want. I think you want to tell him the truth.”
    And she was exactly right. I’d spent my whole life running, hiding, and it had left me alone and lonely. The one person who saw me, really saw me, I’d lost. He saw past the mask, past the front, and even though he didn’t what I’d done, he knew me on some essential, molecular level.  
    I didn’t want to run anymore. I wanted to tell him the truth. I wanted to own what happened. I didn’t expect him to forgive me, but I wanted him to know what I’d done all the same. Because it wasn’t about the painting. Not really. I would never let him go. I’d regret what I’d done for the rest of my life.
    I imagined myself hanging the Rothko back where it belonged, imagined telling him what I’d done, telling him I was sorry. I heard him saying he understood, forgiving me so I could forgive myself. But I knew better than to be so naive. He would be angry and hurt at my betrayal, at the lies. At the invasion of his home and heart. He would tell me to leave and never come back.
    Forgiveness or denial didn’t matter. What mattered was the truth. I owed him the truth.
    The crushing weight lifted just at the thought of coming clean. What future did I have to lose, and what future to gain? There was so much risk, but it was suddenly the only thing that made sense. It was the only thing I could do.
    Erin’s eyebrows lifted as she realized it.
    I took a breath and straightened up. “I need to give you all my money for Jill. If I get busted, they’re going to take all of it. Promise me you’ll take care of her.”
    She jumped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around me. “I promise.”
    The loft’s door slid open, and we all froze, including Jade and Jace in the doorway. Erin let me go, and all six of us stared across the room at each other in silence.
    Jade was the first to move, her eyes on me as she tossed her keys on the counter. No one spoke for a long minute.
    I broke the silence. “Tell me Jill is safe.”
    Jade nodded. “She’s fine. It’s over.”
    “You called off your dog?”
    “I said it was over, didn’t I?” Jade spat, her eyes cold. She pulled off her jacket, and I saw her trying to maintain the illusion of power over us. I almost felt sorry for her for not realizing it was already a lost cause. “I have another job.”
    The room erupted in noise.
    “You’ve got some fucking nerve,” Morgan yelled over the din.  
    “No fucking way,” Erin said, voice trembling. “You have got to be kidding. You fired us, remember? Or what, now that your shit fell through, you need us again? Fuck you.”
    I just shook my head. As far as I was concerned, she couldn’t touch me. Not anymore. “I’m out, Jade. Find someone else.”
    Her eyes were narrow, but she nodded and scowled at the other girls who were turning to leave. “Where do you bitches think you’re going?”
    Cher folded her arms. “You’ve lost your fucking mind if you think we’d help you after what you’ve done.”
    Jade leaned against the counter and folded her arms right back. “You’ll be back.”
    Erin turned, spitting over her shoulder, “In your dreams, you psychotic cunt.”

    I waited after school at the ivy wall, feeling stretched out and thin. I’d spent every second in a rush to clean out my safe deposit boxes, give Erin the cash, and set aside a few things for Jill. There wasn’t time for more. I needed to meet Jill, just see her once more before everything went down. Before the truth came out.
    My thoughts circled back to Van, obsessing over his reaction as I had all day. I replayed every possible scenario. Me in handcuffs in the back of a squad car. Van kissing me. Yelling at