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“Venom went to get Stoney. Kevlar’s getting Ranger,” the other guy says, his vest claiming him to be Whip.
“Good.” Cyprus steps past them and inside the clubhouse.
“You can put me down now,” I huff and press against his chest with one hand while holding on to him with the other.
Cyprus ignores me and carries me through the clubhouse, up a set of stairs, and into a room. Only then does he sit me down on the bed and step away.
Immediately, I stand and place my hands on my hips, ready to square off with him. “What do you think you’re doing, Beckham Rose?” I demand using his full name.
Cyprus narrows his gaze to little slits and crosses his arms over that muscular chest I’d gotten to touch but didn’t get to enjoy the feel of.
“Answer my question. Why did you come to the house? Why take me out of there?”
“Because I did,” he growls.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I yell and flap my arms in the air, frustrated, hurt, angry, and wanting to cry. “It’s not like you care about me. I know you blame me, just like everyone else does, for what happened to Noah. Trust me, I get it, and I don’t blame you. You should have just left me alone and went about your business.” I ramble on, ignoring the fact he drops his arms from his chest and steps closer as I keep going. “I would have been fine. It’s nothing that I’m not used to. They always do this, and now, it’s going to be worse when I go back . . .”
“You’re not going back,” he snarls, interrupting me. “You’re never going to see those fuckers again. Not that cunt of a mother of yours or your dick of a dad. And you sure as fuck won’t be seeing Hector Dominquez again.”
I blink, and my lips part to say something, but I don’t get the chance.
“You want to know why I came? Because I’ve read the file we have on you, and I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why the fuck you would put up with that shit. I figured you were just as bad as the rest of them. Figured you were in with Hector and just acted the shy, sweet woman that people meet,” he seethes and grips my hips, his fingers tight enough to bruise. “I figured if you weren’t in on what they do, you’d have left a long time ago and got the fuck away from that bullshit.”
I stare at him, my eyes shimmering with tears. Tears that I try to hold back, and it’s a fight I don’t think I’ll be able to win. Cyprus’s words burn themselves into my brain, and my heart aches because he thought . . . God . . . he thought I could possibly be in on what my parents do. Be a junkie.
Noah always told me never to follow down the path our parents did, and I promised him I wouldn’t.
Cyprus’s eyes seem to darken even further as he slides his hands up my sides and up until he’s cupping either side of my face. He leans in and, before I know it, his lips are on mine. A gasp leaves my lips at the sheer shock of his actions.
Cyprus is kissing me, and I’ve dreamed of it for so long. It’s more than I imagined, but I don’t understand why. Still, I don’t question it. I slip into the moment and allow myself this one time because it will only be this once.
CHAPTER7
CYPRUS
A knock on the door saves me from taking Noelle here and now. The taste of her lips is something I only dreamed about when I was a teen and lusting after her. She was my best friend’s little sister, and I promised him I’d help keep her safe. Yeah, I fucked that promise all to hell.
Lifting my lips from hers, I stare into the vibrant, shimmering eyes that sent me over the edge as she ranted on about it being her fault and that she was to blame. I’ll admit, yeah, I wanted to blame her, but it’s because she’s alive and Noah is gone. It’s fucked up, I know, but it also has to do with the fact seeing her was a reminder of a time in my life I try not to think about. If not for Noah back then, I wouldn’t have survived.
“Cyprus,” Stoney calls out through the door.
“Yeah,” I yell in return and step away from Noelle.
The door opens, and Stoney steps inside along with Tracker and Ranger. All three men take one look at Noelle and narrow their gazes.
“What happened?” Stoney demands, though he’d been informed, but not about what happened in the house. Just what I told Venom and the others before we got out of there.
“Venom tell you who was at her place?”
“Yeah.” Stoney’s nostrils flare, and he tenses further.
“Well, I found him on top of Noelle, hand around her throat, in her room on her bed,” I inform him and glance to Noelle to see her shoulders slump, arms wrapped around herself, and she’s got her eyes on the floor. Gone is the woman from a moment ago that was ranting and yelling at me. In her place is the one that’s been beaten for far too long. And I’m a fucking asshole for being pissed with her for so long.
“She okay?” Tracker asks gently.
Ranger steps forward and speaks softly. “Noelle, can I see your throat?”
Noelle shakes her head without lifting her gaze. “It’s okay. The pain will go away soon enough. It’s nothing I’m not used to,” she whispers. Without noticing the tension that fills the room, she keeps going, “I . . . I appreciate the thought, but I’ll be okay. I’m always okay. I do thank you for helping me, but there’s no reason for it because it’ll only keep happening. It’s a cycle on repeat. And . . .”
