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“Oh, only that after ten or so years, I’d finally had enough of taking his shit.”
My hands fist. “Ex-boyfriend?”
Rae eyes where they sit on my thighs. “Ex-fiancé.” She draws a deep breath. “Greg was a family friend. You know the type: been around since forever.” She glances at me, seeking confirmation. I nod as she continues. “Our parents loved the idea of us together enough that they had us drinking the Kool-Aid too. It worked—on paper. Problem was, Greg knew I wasn’t fully into it, and I guess that hurt him. Hurt his ego. He took the frustration out on me.”
“Men like that everywhere.” Was almost my fucking oldest until I straightened Kane out. “No wonder you won’t testify if you’re on good behavior.”
“Association with criminals puts me straight into jail. Don’t pass Go.” She picks at a loose thread on her jeans, likely scraped up from the accident. “Greg wasn’t that bad when we were kids. Typical boy stuff: putting mud on my dress, throwing bugs at me. It wasn’t until our engagement hit the local paper that he felt, I guess, secure enough to show his true colors.”
I twist slightly, facing her better, settling my closest arm along the back of the seat.
“What were once idle threats turned violent, and our confrontations became physical. The ridiculous thing about it all was that we’d had couples counseling our final year of high school, so as far as anyone was concerned, they’d done the bestthey could for us, and the rest was up to Greg and me—to sort out as adults,” she snipes, putting air-quotes around the last word.
“Wrecking his car was your adult answer to that, then?” I tease.
She smiles a little. “It sure made me feel better.” Her lips fall. “Made people pay attention, too.”
“The physical shit,” I ask. “He ever, you know…”
“Rape me?” She draws a deep breath. “Tried to.” Rae shakes her head, fussing with the ice over her knee. “I’m lucky, Tyke. There are women who’ve had it so much worse than me.”
“Doesn’t make what you went through right, though.” Also doesn’t abate my need to find this fucker and show him what it feels like to have someone bigger than him lay hands without permission.
“No. It doesn’t. But my parents still thought I should have behaved better. Like a lady,” she sasses, resting her head in one hand, elbow to the arm of the seat. “As though that would have fucking helped me.”
“Why leave, though?” I find a loose lock of hair and wind it around my finger, arm still across the seat behind her head. “Wouldn’t that make him think he won?”
“I don’t care if he thinks that. I made my point. I showed him I won’t stand for his shit.” She shrugs. “Besides, it was recommended by the authorities that there be distance between us.”
“Your parents not want you home?”
She laughs, bitter anger in the clipped tones. “They barely call to say hello.”
“And then you get tangled up with Connor.” I expel a heavy breath, unwinding my fingers from her hair as I lay my head back and stare up at the ceiling. “I can see how you feel as though you’re to blame.”
“When the shit follows me no matter where I go, then I’ve got to ask myself why I’m the common denominator, right?” She chuckles, following it with a sigh. “You can trust me, Tyke. I might find trouble without even trying, but I sure as shit don’t ask for it or go looking for it.”
I roll my head and regard her for a while. She steals glances at me, staring at the coffee table or the ice pack when the scrutiny gets too intense. This girl’s had a rough hand in life, people trying to keep her down, and yet she’s fought back. Every step of the way. I can respect that.
I understand it.
“You’ve got a home here as long as you need it.”
Her chin lifts, head whipping around. “You can’t say that. You don’t know what the future brings; you might change your mind.”
“Doubt it.” I find that stray lock of hair again and relish the silky caress against my hardened skin.
“I’ll do whatever to earn my place, Tyke. I don’t like being a freeloader.”
“You ain’t.” She hasn’t even touched on her usefulness for me yet. “You’re a guest.”
“For how long?” She smirks. “People will get frustrated after a while if I’m lounging around here like lady muck.”
“They’ll do as I fucking tell them.” My thumb coasts along the supple line of her jaw.
She sucks a sharp breath. “What are you doing?”
“You want me to stop?” I halt my hand, leaving it hovering near her face.
