Page 52 of Chasing Honor

“Like hell she will. Now move out of the way and don’t contact her again. She doesn’t need twenty-four hours to think about anything.”

“We’ll see.” The smug bastard crossed his arms over his chest and stepped to the side.

“Yeah. We will.”

I reached behind me and Honor took my hand, when I brought her to my side and tucked her under my arm she pushed close and tried to hide her face. I wished like hell we were someplace private and not in a restaurant full of people. Frank needed to be taught a lesson, one I was more than happy to teach him. But nothing good would come from me delivering the ass whooping he deserved in a crowded room full of witnesses.

I didn’t know what the fuck family obligation meant, but I didn’t like the way my woman was shaking and was so scared she was trying to disappear.

My truck was pulled around, and I had to peel her arms from around me to get her into the Yukon.

“I’m sorry, Ethan. I’m so sorry.”

“Let’s just get you in, smalls.”

“Ethan—”

“Give me a minute.”

I was trying to get my temper in check. I didn’t want to say something I’d regret later and with how angry I was, nothing nice was going to come out of my mouth. Not wanting to go home yet, I drove around until I found a semi abandoned parking lot and parked.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

Fucking hell, she obviously wasn’t going to respect my need for silence.

“Wanna tell me what that was about?”

“No.”

“Right. So, all the talk about honesty, even the uncomfortable stuff was bullshit. You want the truth from me while you keep secrets, like the fact you’re fucking engaged.”

“I’m not engaged. I said I didn’t want to talk about it, not that I wouldn’t.”

“Let’s have it, Honor. Tell me why Harris said you were engaged. And don’t fucking lie to me. I want the whole truth.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think he’d ever be a problem.”

“So, there is something to tell?”

“No. My mom married Frank. From the beginning I didn’t like him or Sam. At first, I thought Sam was gay, then I caught him watching me. It was weird and gross. I told my mom about it, but she blew it off and said he was just a spoiled, lonely kid who had a crush. I knew he went into my room when I wasn’t home. I could never prove it, but I just knew. We were teenagers, and I didn’t want to think about what he did in there.”

“Your mom never talked to Frank about Sam’s behavior?”

“Not that I knew of, and even if she did, it wouldn’t have done any good. Sam was perfect in Frank’s eyes. He has been grooming him for politics since he was a kid. What Sam wants, Sam gets. No one will stand in Frank’s way when it comes to giving him anything and everything.”

As a police officer, I didn’t like what Honor was telling me. I’d witnessed firsthand how Sam looked at Honor, and it was creepy as fuck. Adding that to what I already knew about him from my shifts on his protection detail, I had a bad feeling.

“And the man who you’re supposed to marry? Who is he?”

“Greg Wells is a city council member in Atlanta. Frank says he has potential and he’s friends with his father. I don’t know whose idea it was, but one day Frank announced I was going to marry Greg. I said no. He pushed and threatened to kick me out if I didn’t agree. It was a no brainer, I was leaving. I should’ve left right after my mom died but I didn’t.”

“Tell me about when your mom died.”

The hurt that crossed her face was maddening. I hated that I had to make her talk about something so painful, but I didn’t have a choice. Her mother had obviously played a part in the story.

“My mom was alive one day, and the next she was gone. Literally and figuratively. We hadn’t even buried her yet and Frank ordered the staff to get rid of all her belongings. I was so fucking sad and broken I didn’t have it in me to stop them when they packed up her clothes and got rid of them. In a moment of defiance, I went into my mom’s room and went through what was left of her stuff, taking things that meant something to me. Earrings she’d had before Frank, her favorite lipstick, silly stuff really. None of it had any monetary value. But I knew Frank would be mad I’d taken it. He was trying to get rid of any evidence my mother ever lived there. I also found a small box in the attic with my mom’s name on it. I should’ve moved out that day, but I couldn’t.

“If you hated him so much and Sam made you uncomfortable why would you stay in the house?”