AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I had tried to talk to him about my concerns, he’d made it abundantly clear he didn’t want my opinion.
The Joey I knew died a long time before Ares got to him.
But I didn’t know he’d become something so dark.
Then it hits me like a truck.
Feeling a rush of horror, I turn to Ares. “How many were there?”
His shoulders stiffen, and he takes a tentative step toward me.
“Don’t do this—”
I grit my teeth. “How many women did he hurt?”
“Rory—”
“Tell me, goddammit!”
“That my employer knew of… five.”
Five.
“No…” I gasp, but the word gets lodged in my throat like a lump of fiery coal and kicks the air out of my lungs.
He hurt four more women.
I want to puke.
“You think there were more?” I barely manage to talk.
“There were five videos, Rory. I don’t think he saved all his depraved acts for the camera.”
Meaning there could be many more women who suffered at the hands of Joey.
I’m breathless.
My shoulders slump, and I break, and I don’t even care that I am falling apart in front of Ares. I have no strength left because I am broken. Straight up split in two. And it doesn’t matter that he might kill me in revenge for my betrayal.
I sag against the wall and begin to sob.
Everything I’ve held on to since the day I found out he was murdered was a lie.
Joey was a fiend.
Across the room, Ares’ anger seems to dissolve.
He walks over to me and crouches down so we’re at eye level.
He touches my chin, so I’ll look at him. The anger is gone from his eyes, but the hurt is still there, and I can’t stand it.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
He rakes his gaze over my face but says nothing. Then he gathers me up in his arms and carries me over to the bed. I wind my arms around his neck, sobbing as I press my face into his neck. “I’m so sorry.”
He lays me down and climbs onto the bed behind me, securing me in the heat and strength of his arms as they hold me to his broad chest.
And in the silence, he lets me fall apart until I eventually fall asleep.
