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One where I could not only find peace but understand what it means.
19
TYKE
"What didhe mean you'd call him in the middle of the night again?" I corner Rae against the wall the moment we're inside and out of view of her ex. "Maddie saidhephonedyou.”
"He did at first." She fidgets as though looking for a way past me.
I slam a hand to the wall beside her head, repeating the action on the other side when she makes her move to bolt for freedom. "Speak."
She flicks her gaze between the firm bars made by my forearms. “He called me, okay? And I ignored it. But he made me so angry that I ended up calling him back anyway." Her brow dips in and out of a frown as though the concept confuses her.
Fuck knows, I can't understand why she'd invite attention from the same asshole she runs from. “Do you think what we’re doin’ here for you is a joke?”
“No!” She works a knot in her jaw. “I didn’t mean to make it look that way. I just…”
“What?” My eyes half-close at the intoxicating smell of her shampoo. “You just what?” I fight the urge to lean in and bury my nose in her dark locks.
Rae’s gaze slides down the expanse of my chest, settling on the President badge stitched over my heart. “I’m confused, okay? No offense, Tyke, but I know fuck all about any of you. Iwantto trust you, but?—”
“It’s easier to trust a guy who held a fuckin’ blade to your throat?”
She shrinks an inch, throat bobbing with a swallow.
“Yeah, Rae. I get that you’re confused.” I shift a foot, bringing our bodies near flush. “All of a sudden, you’ve got half a dozen assholes sniffin’ around, wantin’ shit from you. Butheain’t the place to go looking for answers.”
“I didn’t expect any from him.” She barely whispers the words.
“What'd you talk about then?”
"Daddy!" Maddie hollers from somewhere on the other side of the room.
Fuck’s sake.I’ve got seconds at best. "Make it quick."
Rae sighs, attempting to peek at my girl. Yet all she likely sees is my fucking shoulders caging her in. "He warned me that you would use me. Tried telling me what you heard out there: that I'd be safer with him."
"That all?" I duck my head and level our gazes.
Rae meets my shaky inquisition with nothing but resigned vulnerability. “That’s all.” Eyes downcast, she's given up having any say over her life, first getting messed up with that kid and now letting us take control. I'd bet she feels pretty damn hopeless about now.
I could kiss her, make it better.The thought rears my head back.Where the fuck’d that come from?
"Daddy," Maddie snaps from my right, stopping me from reaching for Rae's face how I wanted. "What are you doing to her?"
"Nothin'." I push off the wall, give the broken girl a last look, and head for the garage.
I don't get more than six steps when my oldest boy, Kane, steps into my path.Can I get a fucking break?
"We need to talk." He gives the rest of the room a pissed-off stare—as though any of these fuckers care what he's up to.
I’ve only got eyes for the woman slouched against the wall while my girl talks a hundred miles an hour at her.
"What the hell about?" Fingers pinched around the back of Kane’s neck, I steer him in the direction I want to go.Ineedto go.
Out.
"I asked a few people I know about your newcomer back there and?—“
