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“Grandma. It’s Polish.”
“Ah.” I took his hand. “Why haven’t you walked away from this? You can. I will totally understand. I won’t be mad at you. I couldn’t.”
He raised my hand to his lips and kissed my fingers. “No, Zel. I don’t run from problems, and I’m not leaving you.”
“That’s chivalrous, but not necessary. I don’t need a man to take care of this bullshit.”
“I know. And that’s why I’m staying. Because youarecapable of handling this. You’re tough, and I find that incredibly sexy. I’m staying because I want to be with you, Zelda Gordon, not because I have some misguided idea that you need my protection.”
I shook my head. “I’m notthatcapable. I’m still going to my dad for help.”
“Because he has the resources you need to put Tristan in his place and end this mess before it gets out of control.”
“True.” I glanced at the Craftsman houses lining the block. Several were under reconstruction — more of Seattle’s endless remodeling. “Okay, let’s get this over with. If we’re lucky, he won’t be home.”
Aithan nodded toward my phone. “Text your dad first.”
“Right.” With a sigh, I started typing.
Hi Dad, I’m about to forward you a set of text messages I got from Tristan today. They’re awful & embarrassing & I really hate sharing them, but I need advice on how to deal with him. I’m with a friend right now & not home, so it might be a while before we can talk. I’ll call you later. Sorry. Thx.
With that I forwarded the texts and stuck my phone in my pocket. “He’s gonna hit the roof.” I grabbed the package and got out of the SUV. The rain was coming down hard and I raised my jacket’s hood.
Aithan exited, too, and zipped his jacket. “Yeah, but not because you did anything wrong.” He caught my arm and we started walking. “You know that, right?”
I nodded. “Yep, that much I do know. I couldn’t ignore Tristan’s insults and disinterest any longer. The relationship was broken, but he wasn’t going to end it, so I did. It’s his fucking problem if he can’t handle the way I cut him off.”
“Except he’s making it your problem too.”
I covered his hand with mine. “And yours.” We’d reached Tristan’s rental.
Aithan grunted at that and we climbed the stairs to the old, tan house’s front door.
With every step, I prayed my ex-boyfriend wasn’t home.
14
THIS MESS WITH TRISTAN
A petite Blackwoman with a glorious halo of black curly hair answered the door. “Hey, Aithan, what’s up?”
“Hey, Candy. Is Tristan here?”
Her gaze jumped past his shoulder to land on me. “Oh, man, are you Zelda?”
I nodded and proffered my hand. “Zelda Gordon.”
She shook it, then stepped back to admit us into the small foyer. “Come in from the rain, but you shouldn’t stay. He’s down in the basement andpissedoff.”
Aithan introduced her. Turned out Candy was Candace Peters, Tobias’s sister. She was pretty and had a definite don’t-fuck-with-me air about her, and I liked her immediately. It made no sense that Tristan hadn’t introduced us before, but he’d never even taken me to his place and barely mentioned her. I cringed realizing how far I’d shoved my head up my own ass to avoid the blindingly obvious signs of his contempt.
“I’m just dropping off a package that belongs to him,” I said.
The stairs creaked, and I looked toward them.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Tristan snarled as he came up them like a mad dog.
I scowled. “Regretting doing you a favor.” I dropped the wet package on the table beside the door. “That came for you today. I thought it would be rude to return it to its sender.”
