Page 89 of Cash

“Cash?”

“Quiet, baby girl, I’m deep in a torture fantasy.”

Unfortunately, my fantasy went up in smoke when something she said hit me.

I promised myself one day he’d feel the bite of that leather strap.

It would be me who would dish out the pain he loved to inflict.

Nothing was going to calm the rage inside of me so I didn’t bother trying, which meant when I swallowed all I could taste was the possibility of losing my shot at taking out the fucker who had hurt Stella.

“How badly do you need this?” I begrudgingly asked.

“It has to be me. Not only because of what he did to me, but for what he stole from Cara.”

It was good she brought up the little girl. I wasn’t above using her to get my way.

“About Cara. How exactly do you plan to take out Damion when you have her to worry about?”

“She had a nanny, Flora. She’d been with Cara since Donna went back to work when she was about a year old. She retired but she’ll come back to help me with Cara when the time comes.”

Over my dead body would Cara be left with a nanny.

“She stays with me⁠—”

“Cash—”

“Nope. No arguing. No negotiating. It fucks me to say this, but I get it. As much as I want it to be me, I understand why it has to be you. But while you’re doing it, it’ll be me keeping Cara safe, not some nanny. It’ll be me watching your back.”

“Cash!” she grunted.

“As much as I love you growling my name, Stella, straight-up there’s no changing my mind.”

I braced for the sharp edge of Stella’s tongue. Something we shared in common—neither of us liked to be backed into a corner and both of us would fight our way out.

Therefore, I was wholly unprepared when she simply whispered, “Why?”

“I already told you why. I promised myself that once I found you, I wasn’t letting you or Cara go.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Yes you do, you’re just too scared to admit it because you know once you acknowledge the truth it’ll open you up to the possibility of pain. Ask me how I know.”

Instead of giving me a verbal answer she shook her head. I shoved my hand under the pillow, wrapped my hand around hers, and squeezed.

“Be brave with me, Stella.”

Another shake of her head accompanied by a tight grip on my hand. I leaned across the space that separated us and rested my forehead on hers.

“Be brave, Stella, and ask me how I know.”

“How do you know?” It was barely a breath, a sigh that had the words floating between us.

“Because I was too terrified to recognize what I was feeling. I was too scared to admit who was standing right in front of me, and because of that I almost lost the one thing I’ve wanted more than anything but was too scared to hope was out there. But months later you, or the universe, or God, gave me something so pure, so precious, it cut through all that fear. I had no choice but to surrender or live the rest of my life regretting that I lied to myself and I’d have to live with the knowledge I was such a coward I turned my back on something beautiful.”

“You’ve known her days,” Stella rightly pointed out.

“It was the second time I’d fallen in love on sight. The second time I looked into a pair of blue eyes and knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The first time I fucked it and nearly lost my shot. I’m not dumb enough to make the same mistake a second time.”