Hold On - Part Three (The Hold On Series Book 3) by Tabitha Levin Page A

face to try and block them from coming closer to her.
    Ethan stops. “I want to spend the rest of my life with someone like her.”
    Both Lili and I gasp at the same time. Neither of us expected him to say it. He wants to spend the rest of his life with someone like me. Does that mean he wants to spend his life with me?
    He turns his head. “If she’ll have me.” His gaze is soft and loving, and so out of place given the situation.
    I’m struggling already to keep control of my emotions. I don’t know what he’s playing at or whether this is just another one of his tricks. “Ethan!” I scream as Lili lunges forward with the knife outstretched in her hand.
    Ethan pivots to the left. The blade catches him on the shoulder and tears open his tee. Blood pours down the side in slow spurts but it doesn’t look like it bothers him. He reaches up and grabs Lili around the throat and slams her back against the wall.
    “You’re evil, Lili. I could end you right here. I could save the world from your filth.”
    Her throat gurgles from being held too tight. Her eyes are wide and bulging with rage at his attack. She didn’t predict that he would turn on her like this. Her knife comes down on his arm and he winces but doesn’t let go. I can see the flesh pucker and pull apart where he was cut, a bright stream of red coats his arm and drips down onto the floor. It looks like dark rust in the fading moonlight.
    Lili brings the knife up again but her eyes roll back in her head as he chokes her. She drops the knife as she tries to pry Ethan’s fingers away from her neck the whole time gasping for breath.
    “No, Ethan, No!” I scream.
    “She’ll never give up, Sarah. She’ll chase us both for as long as she’s alive. I can’t let her get away with it.”
    “You can’t do this.”
    His grip loosens. “I can’t let her get away with what she’s done.”
    I run over and kick her knife away out of instinct. I walk in front of him and place my hand on his arm. “Don’t hurt her, let her down. It shouldn’t end this way. Let her go to jail like she’s supposed to.”
    Ethan let’s Lili fall to the floor. She slumps on the ground, spluttering and gulping long breaths as the oxygen rushes back into her lungs. She rubs her hands over her neck and I can see thick marks where Ethan’s fingers dug into her flesh.
    Ethan drags me away from her but I can’t take my eyes off her. I can’t believe anything I’ve just seen or experienced. It’s all happened so fast and seems so unreal.
    Then, like it’s happening in slow motion, I watch Lili crawl on the ground toward her knife. “Ethan!”
    Alex appears in the doorway pointing his gun at Lili. “Drop the knife!”
    She drops it and holds her hands up in surrender. “He attacked me. He tried to strangle me. Arrest him.” She points at Ethan. “Look at what he’s done.”
    Alex looks warily at Ethan and then back to Lili. “You are under arrest, Liliana Magaro.”
    She swallows another raspy breath. “For what? I haven’t done anything. You don’t have anything on me.”
    I hear sirens approach, quickly followed by the headlights of the police cars as they screech to a halt outside the cabin. I’m shaking.
    I wonder how they got here so fast. Even Alex looks surprised that they are here. He keeps his gun pointed toward Lili but turns to Ethan. “Get that looked at.” He indicates the knife wound on Ethan’s arm that is still leaking blood. “But you will have to answer questions about what happened.”
    “She was going to kill us,” I say
    “I was not. She’s lying!” Lili yells.
    Ethan sits down on the couch. His face is pale. “Are you okay?” I ask.
    “I don’t feel good.”
    Alex walks over to Lili and helps her up. When she’s standing he holds her hands behind her back as he places handcuffs on her.
    Two police officers appear in the doorway with their guns at the ready.
    Alex takes Lili over to them. “You got here fast,” he says as he shows