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And I knew he did.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Carla was a mess. Mascara tracks were on her cheeks. Her once sleek, straight hair was frizzy and messy. Her dress had tears in it.
I tried not to focus too much on those. If I did, I might take my gun and go back to that ridiculous apartment.
“Here.” I handed her a glass of water. By the time we got home, Carla had calmed. The tears subsided, and the shakes were now simply small tremors.
“Thanks.” She took the glass from me, bringing it to her lips. The pale pink lipstick was smeared on her face from where that asshole had tried to kiss her.
The sight of it made my stomach lurch.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” Things between us felt awkward. I knew how to deal with scum like Carla’s ex. Not that I had. Her meltdown saved his life. For now, at least. There was still a part of me that wanted nothing more than to find him and kill him.
That was if he was even still alive.
“I didn’t sleep with him.” The words startled me. “I don’t know why I went there, but it wasn’t for that.”
I nodded. “I know,” I assured her. There was a lot we needed to discuss, but I was well aware of the scene that I’d come across. The look of terror in Carla’s eyes as she lay beneath that pig would be burned into my memory for all eternity.
“I just wanted you to know that I didn’t go to Caleb because I wanted to screw him.” I released a sigh, not sure why we couldn’t move past that. If she wanted her ex to remain among the living, she wasn’t convincing me.
The party was the wrong place to pull out a gun, and in hindsight, it was only pure luck that everyone in that house had been too drunk and drugged out to pay attention to me smashing the bedroom door in. The last thing my family needed was me making the papers.
I was smarter than that. I had never taken a life. The idea sickened me. But I wasn’t stupid enough to believe I never would. I knew how, and I would get away with it.
Looking at Carla’s appearance made me dream up scenarios that would be incredibly painful for her ex, and I was sure I could pull off every single one without getting caught.
“He’s never been like that before.” Her voice was soft. I wanted to stop her. The more I knew about her ex, the more likely I would be to hunt him down and finish what I started. Hell, I didn’t even need my gun. I could simply slip him some bad drugs, and I was sure that he would do exactly what I needed him to.
“Carla…”
She shook her head. “Or maybe he was, and I was just too embroiled in the drugs he gave me to realize what a piece of shit he was.”
She released a sort of snort laugh that lacked any sort of happiness. I didn’t like the sound of it.
“I suppose you aren’t too surprised to hear I used to do drugs with Caleb. I’m sure that was in the research you did on me.”
I released a heavy exhale. “Do you really want to do this right now?” It was the last thing I wanted. What I wanted was to crawl into bed with Carla and make forget everything that happened.
“Why not?” She shrugged. “This night can literally not be any worse.”
“That all happened before we…”
“Fucked?” Her brows rose. “You let me tell you about my family knowing all along that they were murdered.”
She wasn’t wrong. “What do you want me to say? I told you that I didn’t trust you. Did you really think I was just going to let someone around my family who I didn’t know.” My words were harsh, but they were the truth. Carla had to understand. Yes, I cared about her. Hell, I cared more than I should have.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have nearly thrown my entire life away for her tonight.
But that didn’t mean I had the luxury of blind trust. I was my family’s protector.
“Noble Eli, always there to do the right thing no matter the cost.” She got off the bed and started toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
She turned to me. The grief from her eyes was bright, and the sight of them made me feel like shit.
