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Her voice draws my attention. “Max, please throw them away. Get rid of them.” She starts to turn away from me, but her legs buckle.
Stepping through her doorway, I catch her in my arms, preventing her fall. “Irelynn.”
She doesn’t say anything else, simply wraps her arms around me, sobbing. As she holds onto me, I hold onto the flowers and card, then shut and lock the door behind me. This is evidence, so I don’t want to throw it away.
And it provoked a big reaction from her. A negative one.
Carrying her to the couch, I turn, sitting with her on my lap. I’ve witnessed and experienced enough trauma to know Irelynn’s reaction reeks of it.
Something bad happened between her and William.
She sobs against my shirt for the second time that day. I rest my chin on her head, stroking her back softly, letting her release her emotions.
After a few minutes, she pulls back, impatiently wiping at her tears, then meets my concerned gaze. “I’m sorry. I know that seemed like… a weird overreaction to flowers.” She takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “When I was in high school, William used to give me white roses. I didn’t want them, but he wouldn’t stop, sticking them in my locker and under the windshield wipers of my car, with notes like that one.” She shakes her head. “My brother, Mike, and William used to be friends. For some reason, Mike always felt bad for William—that deep down, he was a decent person and had a hard life that required him to adapt to his surroundings. I never bought that bullshit.”
I can’t help but smile when she says that. Her honesty is refreshing.
“Anyway, William did something that completely crossed the line…” She sucks in a huge breath, her eyes vacant as she stares across the room. Finally, her eyes flick back to mine. “Mike banned him from our lives. But William was persistent…” She trails off, her shoulders drooping. Finally, she continues. “He also switched to leaving me red roses with notes. Which pissed me off more because red roses and sunflowers are my favorite flowers. He ruined roses for me for a while. I couldn’t look at them without feeling ill.” She stops talking, her wide eyes moving to mine, as though she said too much. When I don’t say anything, she releases a breath, anger flashing in her eyes. “But I didn’t want flowers. I wanted nothing from him,except for him to stay the fuck away from me.” Her voice is vehement, her hand squeezing the fabric of my shirt. She grits her teeth together; her skin mottled from her rage.
Yup, something bad definitely happened.And I’m worried I know what it is. My heart squeezes in my chest as images of him forcing himself…no, I can’t think of it.Rage begins filling every crevice of my body, and that’s the last thing she needs right now.
She needs me to be calm.
Covering her hand that grips my shirt, I gently rub it. Her tense muscles and jaw relax, and her skin starts returning to its normal color. Her chocolate gaze swivels to mine, and she softly smiles. “I’m sorry to drag you into this again tonight.” She ducks her head, then looks back up at me. Her voice is soft. “But I’m glad you’re here. I feel safer…”
Those fucking tingles zing through me again. I’m trying so hard to hide my hard cock as she sits on my lap in those shorts.
Breathe, Max. Just breathe.
I smile at her, gently pushing a lock of hair over one shoulder. “I’m glad. He can’t hurt you while I’m here.”
God, why the fuck do I keep making her promises?
Because you wouldn’t let him hurt her and you know it. You’d fight him in a heartbeat if he tried.
She looks at me, clearing her throat. She hasn’t made any attempts to move from my lap. “What did the card say?”
Wincing, I suck in a breath. I hate that she asked, but I use this as an opportunity to move her from my lap. Standing, I shield my erection from her, grabbing the note from the end table. Sitting on the couch beside her, I hand it to her. As she reads it, I simply say, “Soon.”
Her eyes cloud over, brows furrowing as she studies it.
“Irelynn?”
Her eyes flit to mine. “It’s William’s handwriting.” Her lips quiver and she presses her hand over her mouth, closing her eyes. “He was here, Max.”
Instinctively, I reach for her, pulling her against my chest. She melts into me, moving her hand from her face as she buries it against my shirt, fisting it again. Gently rubbing her back, I hold her.
“I didn’t see him when I got here, so he must have left.” I pause, waiting until she looks at me. “He’d be stupid to do anything while I’m here.”
She gives me a grateful smile. “Yes, he would.”
“Do you want me to take a look outside to see if I can find any evidence of anything else?” I ask.
Her hand wraps around my arm, nodding. “I’m coming with you. I don’t want to be in here by myself.”
I smile. “You can come with me.”God, that sounds… dirty.Luckily, she’s too focused on getting ready to go outside to give it much thought. I breathe a sigh of relief.
Standing, she moves in the direction of her sneakers by the door. I can’t help but notice her cute red toenails as she walks past me. When she bends over to put on her shoes, I turn my head away, breathing deep. In that position, a hint of her ass cheeks is revealed.
