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“You’ll take it, Teagan. You never know when you may need it. Stop being so stubborn and take it.”
“Fine,” she hisses.
I smirk. The woman hates conceding to me.
“But you let Nell and Portia stay here with me.”
I curl my lip in disgust. “Wanna repeat that?” I snarl. There’s no fucking way she’s asking me to take in two homeless women.
“I want Nell and Portia to stay with me.”
“This isn’t a negotiation. You don’t get to make requests. You’re here because I say so.”
She shrugs as a slow smile forms on her face. One that I don’t trust. I see her brain working and wonder what the fuck she’s up to. “Okay,” she says softly. I don’t buy it. No fucking way. What the hell is she planning?
“I went to the Dirty Demons clubhouse this morning,” I say casually, and watch as her eyes widen in surprise. “What I want to know is how a woman like you managed to live there?”
The fucking place is rancid and should have been burned to the ground years ago.
“My room was okay,” she tells me as she hugs her arms around her body.
I take a step toward her. She holds her head high, watching every single step that I take. “Your room was,” I tell her. “But the rest of the place wasn’t.”
She shrugs. “I didn’t use any other room.”
My chest feels taught, and the skin burns. Fucking phantom pains. “What do you mean you didn’t use any other room?” How does someone live in a house for almost twenty years and only stick to their bedroom?
“I was only allowed to be in my spot.”
Spot? Why does she put it that way? “What are you hiding from me, Teagan?” I ask quietly as I push into her space, my face just inches from hers.
Her breathing deepens, and as she watches me, there’s confusion in her eyes. Good, she needs to be confused because that’s exactly how she makes me feel. I have no fucking idea what’s going on between us. It was supposed to be revenge, and yet there’s something about her that makes me feel protective and possessive of her and I fucking hate it.
“What are you hiding from me?” she fires back.
The perfect distraction tactic: ask the same question right back. But unfortunately for her, that shit doesn’t work on me. I reach out for her, pushing her black hair behind her ears. “Why are you scared?”
Her eyes slide away from mine. “Look at me, sweetheart,” I say gently. “What are you scared of?”
She meets my gaze. “Everything,” she whispers. “Is there something you’re scared of?”
I don’t answer her. Of course there is. I’m scared of losing my family. My sister. I’ve lost one already; I won’t lose Ade. No fucking way.
“What would you do if you were in my position? If your hands were tied and you had no choice but to do whatever was asked of you? Hmm? What if you were forced to marry someone who hated you so much it hurt?”
Finally. Fucking finally she’s answering me, yet her words aren’t telling me the entire truth. Yes, I get that she’s scared of me, but there’s so much more that I’m missing.
“Your father did this,” I snarl, pissed that she’s making it out to be all on me.
She laughs. “No one is forcing you to do this, Elio. No one has a gun to your head and is telling you to do this. It’s all on you. At least own your fucking actions. You’re doing this because you want revenge. You’re doing this because your pride was hurt. Own it.”
My hand wraps around her neck, and I push her to the wall. She’s going too fucking far. “Never,” I snarl, “have I hurt a woman, but keep pushing, Teagan, and you’ll be the first. Your father was a piece of shit, and revenge is a necessary evil. You’re his child. You lived with him for almost twenty years, so don’t act innocent. You knew exactly who he was.”
“You’re right, my father was a piece of shit. He deserved everything he got. But I am not him, and as much as you think you have everything worked out, you don’t. Now take your hand off me and fuck off.”
Oh, there’s that fire that I wanted.
My fingers tighten around her neck. I’m not blocking off her air supply, but it’s a warning that she needs to calm the fuck down and remember who she’s dealing with. Her eyes darken and her breathing deepens.
