Page 66 of Unbreakable Thread

“There’s a crazy bitch smashing a window,” a guy says to another guy.

I hear it before I see it. When I go around the corner to where I’m parked, there is a woman mid-swing, both hands on a baseball bat. The window gives with a loud single clap. She is already raising it again. My feet are moving. “Hey, what the fuck are you doing?” I shout.

I flinch when I see her. I’ve seen her hair disheveled many times, but those were when she woke or after I fucked her, but never like this. Ready to take anyone out in her path. Sol’s nostrils flare. She glares at me, then the bat goes up. “Stop, what are you doi—” My words are cut off when the wooden bat strikes the passenger window.

“Should we call the police!?” a woman yells as she runs to her car.

“No, don’t.”

I run to the side she’s at.

“Don’t get close to me, Max, or I’ll break another window.”

I lift my hands up. “Cálmate.”

She laughs maniacally. “Calm down? You want me to calm down?” Another blow to the rear passenger window. Shards of glass fly around us. I jump back. In a flash, I run to her side and take the bat from her hand. At this point, I don’t know what to do. I feel like shaking her. I hadn’t even noticed the sunglasses she’s wearing. She must have planned it.

She’s heaving, and so am I. I’m pissed. My car!

“What the fuck, Soledad?”

She flinches at her full name. She once said that when her mom or dad got mad at her, they would scold her by using her full name. Crimson beads dot her knuckles. Despite the summer heat that has everyone else in tank tops, she’s bundled in a trench that falls past her knees. As I said, she didn’t just happen by. She showed up dressed for vandalism: a coat to protect from glass, sunglasses to protect her eyes. She does keep that coat in her car for emergencies—she once said. But still. She also had a baseball bat in her car. For what? I don’t know. She looks ridiculous.

“You’re bleeding. Let me check you.” I reach for her, but she shoves back. This woman will be the death of me. “Come here.”

“No, fuck you.” Her eyes are dark as the night sky.

For the past few days, I’ve tried calling her, and there’s been no answer. I went to her house twice, and she wasn’t home. Johnny said she stayed at Lana’s house. I needed to talk to her in person about the damn newspaper. Between meetings for my job, training, and my manager, it’s hard to get anything done. It’s been three days since I last saw her on campus. I planned to go to her place and demand that she open the door after this dinner, but here we are.

“This is where I draw the line,” she rasps, looking around. I turn to see what she’s looking at. A couple stands, watching, with their phones out, recording.

“Hey! Get the hell out of here! Nothing to see here. Put your damn phones away.” They stumble and rush back to the shopping center.

My shoes crunch under the broken glass. I toss the bat through the broken window before she breaks the rear one. As angry as I am, I attend to her needs first. I lift her in my arms to get her stubborn ass off the glass.

“Put me down.” She kicks.

I set her under the parking lot light pole. “Baby, the article you saw was not real. I knew nothing about it. Until Drake sent it to me.”

“You don’t need to lie to me. I saw you having dinner with her.”

Ahh, so this is why she’s unhinged. I’ll admit. I love my woman a little unhinged. “You wanted me to move on, and now you’re complaining?” Those words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them. I shake my head. “It wasn’t what it seemed.”

She laughs. “That’s what all men say.”

I scrub a hand down my face. “How about we go somewhere to talk after I call a tow truck to take my car?” In the light, glitter sparkles on her coat. “Take the jacket off. It has glass.”

She looks at her sleeves and then peels them off. She’s wearing a pretty dress, but immediately her hands go to her stomach. I don’t understand why she has become so insecure about her body. I love every part of her, even those parts she considers unlovable.

“I did tell you if you fall into a position to fall in love, don’t keep your walls high, but I didn’t know all this time, while you were with me, you secretly wanted her.” The last words are a soft whisper.

I take the required steps to cover the space between us. Her chin is up, and she’s peering straight into my eyes. “Tesoro, I didn’t go—” Before I can finish the sentence, she grips onto my shirt, pulls me to her, and Sol’s soft lips sink into mine. Her mouth finds mine and possessively devours it. Her tongue tangles with mine, leaving every drop of her poisonous venom in me. All the anger I had. Gone. Just like that. My fingers tangle in her hair, and I kiss her like I’ve craved for months. I have the urge to moan in those pretty lips of hers, but before I can, she pulls away. It feels as if life has been sucked back into me just by having her this close and tasting her. I know it’s wrong to be this hard right now after she just shattered my windows. Knowing jealousy drove her mad makes my dick hard. All I can think about is sitting her on the trunk of my car, spreading her legs, and tasting her.

“Max,” she breathes heavily.

My heart ricochets through my chest. I run my fingers through my hair, keeping my hands busy. “What is it?” I ask, my tone light but my thoughts dark.

“What were you going to say?” She still looks crazed and unbelievably hot. She has that fire back in her eyes that I’ve always loved. It seems like she’s getting there a little at a time. I’ve missed her stubborn ass. Whatever she’s doing must be helping. Johnny did say she was going to therapy.