AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shade said you were working late. I brought you food.” Twisting to face Max, I rolled my eyes. “And he could’ve been a criminal, or worse—”
“A serial killer,” Max finished for me with a raised brow. He ran a hand through his dark, slightly curly hair. “You’ve met several before and know what to look for? Up-to-date on your key indicators?”
“She thought Shade and I were too,” Trap said, still eyeing me with concern. “And gay.”
Great, it’s “bring up every humiliating moment in the last month for Georgia” night.
Max stared at me, face pinched in concentration before he tipped his head back, releasing a loud, cackling laugh. Our earlier conversations still lingered in the back of my mind, but I smirked. He grabbed his side as if in pain but continued to laugh.
“Fuck, I needed that,” he said, smiling. “I’ve got to hear this. What made you think they were gay?”
I lifted my fingers to tick off the reasons. “One, they live together, and when I first saw them, they came out together half naked, looking quite cozy. Two, you faltered when telling me about them, which made me assume you didn’t want to out their relationship to a stranger. Three….” I sighed. “Okay, I don’t have a three because when I assumed they were partners, everything they said from that point worked with the assumption. Except for when they talked about it being their job and some part-time guy.”
This time Trap laughed too. His eyes sparkled as he gazed at me, shaking his head.
“Makes a lot more sense now. All of it,” I said, laughing at myself. “And just so you know, Officer”—there was no mistaking the heat that flashed behind Trap’s eyes at that—“the man I held at knifepoint tonight was not a serial killer nor criminal. Your streets are once again safe.”
“Thanks to you and that knife of yours.”
I smirked and turned to Max. “I’ll get back to you on that other thing.” The smile on his face dropped, and I hated being the cause. “Just let me think about it. It’s not just me. I have Gracie to think about too. Being associated with something that dangerous scares me.”
Trap’s hazel eyes flicked between me and Max, the earlier concern back in full force. I wanted to reach out and smooth the long blond locks from his forehead and ease the worry lines marking his forehead.
“I understand. Just let me know. You have my cell.” With that, he slapped Trap on the back, making him grunt from the force. “And you. I was coming down here to thank you for helping last month. Rachel told me you gave her the key and code to get into my house.” Max’s eyes welled with gratitude. “Thank you.”
After another hug, Max offered me a quick wave and headed out the door, disappearing into the night.
The quiet and warmth of the office eased some of the tightness from my shoulders. With the hand not holding his dinner, Trap led me back toward the desk where we’d found him working. Dragging a chair from behind another desk, he positioned it in front of his and urged me to sit.
The plastic bag rustled when he set it on his desk next to where he’d perched on the edge facing me.
“Want to talk about what that was all about?” he asked gently. I shook my head, then shrugged. “I know Shade is the quiet one, but I’m a good listener too.”
I huffed. It was true that Shade was the more reserved one whereas Trap was the comedic relief that was much appreciated. Again, I was overcome with the appreciation for the two men who’d given me everything I’d needed since the day I stepped foot in Grandger to help me move on, to heal a little from the trauma of learning I was married to a monster.
Could I tell them?
Did I really want to make this huge, incredibly risky decision on my own? I’d be up all night overthinking the pros and cons if I didn’t get this heavy burden off my chest.
“My….” Attempting to say the word “husband” had me gagging. Shaking my head, I ran a hand through my hair, focusing on the pain with every snag and tangle my fingers caught. “Barrett. His name is Barrett.” I focused on the linoleum floor, unable to meet Trap’s hazel eyes. I was embarrassed, worried, ashamed, and I really didn’t want to know what he’d think of me after he learned what I was too stupid to see right in front of me. “I didn’t know things were bad. Everyone I knew had a basically nonexistent marriage, were roommates at best, so I thought it was normal. He hid it all well, and maybe because I assumed he was still the same man I married, I didn’t think he’d do what he did.” I sighed. “I wasn’t dumb. I knew he had affairs. Hell, we went months, sometimes even a whole year without having sex, and when we did, well, later I found out he seduced me, using my desperation and loneliness to bleed upcoming project details from me to sell to our competitor.” I crossed both arms over my chest. “So fucking dumb.”
“I’d say loyal,” Trap said, cutting off my self-critical thoughts. “And when someone is a good manipulator, you won’t see the signs. You’re not dumb, sweetheart. It happens to men and women every day. They think they know someone, then find out they’re the complete opposite. Or….” At his pause, I peeked up through my lashes to find him staring at his curled fist pressing hard into his thigh. “You think someone is your hero, you look up to them and trust them, and then one day they take it all away.” My heart broke at the pain in his voice. “They walk in and say they can’t live two lives anymore and leave you and your mom with nothing. Choosing the other family, the other kids he had over you.”
“Trap,” I rasped. Shoving out of the chair, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him in a tight hug. He stiffened beneath me, muscles going rigid. “Sorry.” I started to push away, sensing he was clearly uncomfortable with me crowding him, but an arm snaked around my waist, holding me in place.
“Don’t be sorry. Unlike Shade, I didn’t grow up in a house that showed affection like it was the air they needed to breathe. It’s not that I don’t want you to touch me, or that I don’t like it. It’s that it’s uncomfortable for me since I never really had much physical affection tossed my way in my childhood.”
I frowned, my green eyes searching his hazel ones. “But you said you’ve been with people since Jessa.”
The tension slowly fled his features. “Sex and being hugged are very different things, sweetheart. I can have sex without being intimate.”
My heart stopped. Was that how he would be with me? Just using my body as a release without touching or having any emotions involved?
“But I like you here,” he rushed out, “holding me like you want to physically pull the pain out of me and into you. And don’t start overthinking what I just said or comparing yourself to the women I’ve been with in the last couple years. They were hookups, one-night fucks that meant nothing to me, and I meant nothing to them. I didn’t know what made them laugh like I do you, didn’t care to see them smile, wasn’t desperate to know everything about them.”
“Like you do me,” I hedged, heart racing. This felt deep, deeper than I’d expected this connection to grow since we all knew I’d leave soon to start a new life somewhere else, or possibly go back to my old one if Barrett was safely secured behind bars.
“Exactly, like I do with you. I care about what you’re doing during the day. Wonder if you’re safe, worry that you need me and I’m not there. Grace too. I want to be there for you both. More than I should, considering….” He broke off our intense stare to focus over my shoulder. His jaw worked back and forth.
