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“Why are you wasting their time, Conner? You’ll be back. Don’t forget what I said. I will do it. I promise I will and you’ll always come back.” He spoke with venom and smugness in his tone until War glanced over his shoulder with a deadly warning to shut him down.
The ride to Cali’s place was quiet. She sat in the passenger seat next to War but never gave him her attention. Not one word was spoken but that didn’t stop War from watching her as he navigated through the city.
Once they arrived, he unloaded all of Connor’s things and took them to the door. After Conner thanked him, with her words followed by a hug that expressed how grateful she was, War made a promise that if she needed him, he would be there. No matter how things played out between him and Cali, he delivered the promise to Conner with confidence.
“Thank you for tonight,” Cali said as soon as Conner was inside and it was just her and War standing outside of her door.
“You don’t have to thank me, Cali. I made you a promise. That extends to your sister. No one will do either of you harm.”
She nodded, feeling the exhaustion from the evening settling over her. “You should go.”
“We need to talk, Cali.”
“We do, but I can’t now. I need to process all of this. You knew about Merritt. You know about my relationship with him. He was your damn cousin. Can you imagine how that makes me feel?”
“This wasn’t a game, Cali.”
“But that’s how it feels. How am I supposed to believe it wasn’t some sick twisted thing?”
War’s eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
“Like you wanted to be with me because I was with him. Maybe he talked about me and you just had to see what I was like, shit, I don’t know. All of this feels…”
“Right.”
It does.
She wouldn’t deny what her heart was screaming. He stepped closer, cuffing her face. “It feels so damn right, Cali, and that doesn’t have shit to do with Merritt. You know that too, but you’re not in the right headspace to push all the other shit to the side to see this isn’t about him. How you feel isn’t about him. How I feel doesn’t have shit to do with anything sick or twisted. I just fucking care about you. If you don’t trust anything else right now, trust that.”
He kissed her. It was soft and gentle but he wanted more. He wanted to spread her open and drive his dick so deeply in Cali that thoughts didn’t exist. Only feelings. Only their connection, but he knew better. She needed time and he would grant that.
“Please leave,” she said softly, tugging his hands away from her face. “I don’t know what I feel right now.”
It fucking killed him to agree, but War stepped back and waited while Cali entered her apartment, shut the door, and locked herself in. The minute he knew she was safe, he turned in the opposite direction, punched the wall next to the unit across from hers, and headed to his truck to leave. Leave. After having Cali in his life War knew leaving was an impossibility which meant that he was fucked.
ELEVEN
Conner briefly stood in the doorway of her sister’s room and watched her pacing, chewing the corner of her nail. The defeated look on Cali’s face had Conner moving with quick strides until she reached her sister and pulled Cali into a tight hug.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault I’m stupid.” Cali shrugged out of Conner’s hold and climbed on the bed, pressing her back to the stack of pillows lining her headboard. She tucked her knees into her chest and let her head fall back at the same time her eyes closed.
“You’re not stupid.” Conner filled the spot at the foot of the bed, facing Cali. She mirrored the position, tucking her knees into her chest but she lowered her face on a folded arm, staring cautiously at Cali.
“Aren’t I, though? I knew something wasn’t right. Things were too perfect. He felt so familiar. He knew my name, Connor.”
“What?” She frowned and Cali released a sigh.
“The day I met him, he called me Cali and when I questioned how he knew my name, he pointed to my necklace. He fucking lied and I believed him.”
“It was a believable lie.”
“Right, I still should have known. Should have been more careful. I can’t believe I let him in so easily.”
I can’t believe I trusted him.
“Can I ask you something?”
