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He stands up, taking my hand and helping me rise up to his level. “I only recently learned this myself. I never knew who killed your brother until Josiah confessed to it. That’s why I killed him.”
I knew that Josiah asshole was a snake!
“Howdidn’tyou know?” I ask in disbelief. “Josiah was never trustworthy. I knew that the second I heard him speak for the first time.”
He sighs heavily, placing his heavy hand on my shoulder. “I know, and now that I have that insight, I can look back to those times and see everything. I can see where Josiah was working with the ATF, and I can see the bad blood between him and Marcus. I thought it was just a difference in opinion. I had no idea Josiah would kill his own to cover his ass.”
“So you know Marcus wasn’t a snake now, right?” I ask as my eyes try in vain to form tears. I’ve cried as much as I can for now, no matter how much my heart breaks for my brother.
“Of course, he wasn’t. I never thought he was. I only said that to upset you, and I’ll never forgive myself for that,” he replies with remorse.
The air grows still and quiet again, peace threatening to settle in.
But I’m not done yet. I have more I need to know.
“Why do I upset you so much?”
He glances at me questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m the only person who seems to get any kind of reaction from you about anything. You’re always so calm and collected with everyone else. It annoys the fuck out of me. You’re never angry unless you’re angry with me,” I say, feeling my resentment starting to build up again under the stress of so much emotional warfare.
He gazes off into an imaginary distance, looking for the words to say exactly what he means. “Because that’s how much I care about you. It comes out in my emotions. I know that’s a shitty way to be, but it is. I’ve never gotten jealous or upset when a girl I liked was talking to someone else because I didn’t let myself care that much. With you, it’s different.”
“If you care about me as much as you say you do, then I need you to help me raise this baby. I can’t do it on my own, Abram. Even if you don’t want a baby, you need to do the right thing, or I’ll never forgive you,” I reply, feeling emboldened by my fierce protection over my child.
He takes a step back, his expression defensive. “Me leaving was never even a part of the equation. I would never abandon my child or the woman I love. Do you really think that’s something I’m capable of?”
I look away from him. Itissomething I think he would be capable of. It’s not like we’d ever talked about it, and he had already disappeared on me oncebeforethe responsibility of a child had been in the picture.
“It’s just that I’ve seen you leave before, and it’s not like we’re dating or anything. You made that clear yourself,” I reply with a hint of bitterness in my voice. “That’s whyIleft. I thought there was no chance in hell you’d want this baby, and I know for sure I don’t want to raise a baby in a strip club.”
His face looks guilty, and I know I’ve struck a nerve. “What do I need to do to show you that I’m here for you? That I want to provide for you and this baby?”
“I want you to rip up our contract. I don’t want to be your mistress or whatever anymore. I want us to be together,” I reply resolutely.
Holding my face again, he looks me deeply in the eyes. “Consider it done. No more contracts, no more obligations. All I want is for you to be mine.” He leans in and kisses me sweetly, sending a course of warmth through my whole body.
I’ve missed his kisses like hell.
