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Waylon felt sick to his stomach. It very well could have been him. Aside from never turning to drugs or painkillers and alcohol to ease his bad memories, he did take his anger out in the ring. No wonder she was so scared.
“I’m not like that. I’ve never done drugs and I don’t drink a lot, just casually,” Waylon told her.
“I didn’t say that you did, Waylon. Mano is a boxer, too.”
“What?” Brody asked, turning Amelia by her chin up toward him so he could look her in the face.
“Kyle and Mano were friends. Mano served in the military, too. He and his brother were discharged and stripped of their ranks.”
“We were all in the military, Amelia. All of us were Special Forces. Don’t think for a moment that we would disrespect our profession, our commitment to the Corps, or this country,” Brody stated firmly.
She reached up and ran the palm of her hand up his chest. “I would never do that. I know the difference. In every profession there are good and bad people. I just saw the worse of them. I should have learned to stay away from such aggressive men. Mano was controlling. My brother was fighting for him and with him in the ring. The night Kyle died, he was high. He was getting killed in the illegal fight and Mano didn’t stop it. There was a lot of money riding on it. I found out later that Mano bet against Kyle. He probably even supplied him with the drugs that ultimately made his heart explode.”
“What an asshole. How did you get away from him? What did you do?” Murphy asked.
“I was so angry. But I was also scared of Mano’s temper.”
“You said he hit you? How often?” Waylon asked. He was biting the inside of his cheek. He wanted to take all those bad memories away from her. He wanted to erase them from his mind and he felt like such an asshole for getting so angry with her earlier. No wonder she was scared.
“Months. But when I found out about Kyle, the drugs, and that Mano bet against him, I went to confront him. He was the only family I had left and now there was no one to trust. No man to lean on for support to protect me and care for me. I wanted someone to love me and I wanted it all to be a misunderstanding.”
He watched as Amelia took a deep breath and wiped the tear from her eye before it fell.
“What happened?” Ricky asked.
“I went to the apartment to talk with him. I made the decision that if he truly did those things and caused Kyle’s death, then we were finished. When I got there—”
She stopped talking and swallowed hard as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Yes?” Brody asked.
“I found him in bed with two women.”
“Holy shit,” Murphy said. She nodded her head.
“What did he do? What did he say?” Brody asked.
“He blamed it all on me. He told me that I was crazy and then he beat me.”
“Holy fuck.”
Waylon pulled her into his arms and against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and caressed her upper back, being sure to watch out for her injuries. His heart ached for her. Twenty-six years old and she had more than a lifetime’s worth of agony and heartache.
“I’m so sorry, Amelia. I’m sorry that you were all alone and that you went through all of that. Mostly, I’m sorry that I made you feel like he made you feel.”
She tilted her head toward him and cupped his face between her hands. He could see the tears glistening on her thick, long eyelashes. “No, Waylon. We both behaved wrongly. It was my insecurities and fears from being hurt by Mano that have made me resistant to trusting all of you, and giving this relationship a chance. You started yelling, and charging at me, believing the worse, before fully understanding the situation. I know in my heart that you, Murphy, Brody, and Ricky would never hurt me. The only way you could do that was if you pushed me away and told me that you didn’t want me anymore because of all of this.”
“Are you kidding me? We want to take all the pain away,” Ricky stated.
“We want to help you to forget about all of it,” Murphy told her.
“We want to love you and we want you to love us and trust us,” Brody said as he leaned over her shoulder then kissed her skin.
“I’m already in love with you, Amelia. Tonight proves it. My heart’s been cold and broken for far too long. But when I found out that you were in trouble, I lost it. Then add in the misunderstanding about the text message and forget it. I was a wild man with jealousy, anger, and devastation. I don’t want to ever feel that way again. You complete me, Amelia.”
“I love you, too, Waylon.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her back, rolled her to her back, and gave her everything he had. When he released her lips, she cringed, and he saw the cut on her lip.
“I’m sorry.”
