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“No. Dad never left my side. When I finally made it home, I went straight to bed. The next day, I stayed home from school and Mom left for work. He made it clear that if I ever told her the truth, he would kill me. And I believed him.” Cole’s head hung down and his knee bounced. “Over the years, he burned me again, cut my skin with his knife, whatever he could to inflict pain. He knew I was too young to stand up to him. But I’d had plenty of time to plan how I was going to stop him.”
I dug my fingernails into my thigh, wishing I could use them to cut Cole’s father’s eyes out. That sick fucker. Tears slipped down my cheeks, and I sniffled and wiped them away. My heart had cracked open and bled all over his floor as he opened up to me. He’d shared his raw, vulnerable side, and I understood that he would never talk about it again. I didn’t blame him.
“How did you stop him?” The one part I did know about his father was that the sick son of a bitch was dead. My hands shook as I lifted my coffee to my lips and took a drink. “I hope he died a slow, painful, agonizing death.”
“I wish I’d been the one to kill the motherfucker, but I wasn’t. When I was eleven, he got mad about my grades and was waiting for me when I got home. The second I saw him, I bolted to my bedroom and locked the door. I’d stolen some money and bought a handgun from a guy off the streets, then taught myself to use it enough to get me out of trouble. My aim wasn’t so great, but it was good enough. I hurried to the shoe box I’d hidden in my closet beneath a pile of junk and pulled it out. I loaded the clip and released the safety. When he broke my door down, I was waiting for him. I held him at gunpoint and called my Uncle King. Luckily, he was only a few minutes away.”
“Oh, shit. I can’t see King being okay with the way your father treated you.”
Cole nodded. “He wasn’t.” Cole stared at the floor, then spoke again. “King called in some favors and showed up with a few other MC guys. My uncle was a little surprised to walk into our home where I had a gun trained on Rick. King spotted the door, then one of the guys tied Rick’s wrists and ankles and stuffed a gag in his mouth so I could tell them what happened. I finally spilled my guts to my uncle. He and the guys told me to leave and go to a friend’s house until he called me. He gave me a cell phone, then I took off. To this day, I don’t know what they said or did to Rick, but he never laid a hand on me again.”
“Didn’t King tell your mom?”
“All I know is that Rick begged him not to tell her, and that he loved Mom. He swore he’d never mess with me again in exchange for King’s silence. King actually asked me what I wanted.” He gave me a half-shrug. “He was my dad, and at the time I thought people could change. I told King that if he fucked with me again, I’d kill the motherfucker, but I agreed to let him have a second chance. The truth eventually came out and Mom was furious with me and her brother for not telling her, but it wasn’t until …” Cole held his hands up in surrender. “Another day.” Cole wiped his face and blew out a heavy sigh.
I set my coffee down and jumped off the couch, nearly knocking him over as I flung my arms around him and kissed him passionately. “Why would you think that would make me leave, Cole?”
Cole pressed his head against mine and pulled me to him. “Because I am my father’s son. His anger and desire to hurt people pumps through my veins, reminding me every day that I’m just as much the monster as he was.” Deep concern was embedded in his expression as he assessed me.
My breath snagged in my throat as I realized that was Cole’s reality. “No, baby. That’s not true. If it were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I know you’ve hurt people, you told me, but it was to protect your family from whoever is after you. That’s self-defense.”
Cole looked away, then back to me. “There’s more, Shae. I just can’t …”
I silenced him with a kiss. “We can talk another time. I can’t imagine how hard this was.” I kissed him again. Glancing up, I gulped when my pulse skipped a beat, and the words I wanted to say danced across my tongue.
He lifted my chin, his beautiful blue-eyed gaze piercing my soul. “Understand one thing, I will never hurt you, and Iwillprotect you no matter the cost, Shae. You have my word.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight against his warm body. “One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, baby. I have for a long time. You don’t need to say it back. All I need is you by my side.”
Shocked, I stared at him speechless before I found my voice again. My heart did a happy dance as I soaked his words in. “I love you, too.”
Cole bent down, and grabbed my thighs, lifting me. I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me to the kitchen island. He sat me down, then his mouth crashed down on mine, dominating me. I moaned while our tongues tangled, and our hands roamed over every inch of each other’s bodies. A cell phone rang, and we reluctantly released each other.
“I need to check to see who it is. Don’t move.” He kissed the tip of my nose, then walked over to the coffee table. He answered, turned to me, and mouthed “King.” The color drained from Cole’s cheeks.
“You sure, man? Are you fucking sure?” He stilled as he listened, a million different emotions crashing over his expression. Fear and disbelief were quickly replaced with anger.
His anxiety infiltrated my veins and slithered into every part of me. Tension filled the air around us, and I placed my palm against my chest.
“I’ll take Shae over and meet you after that. Don’t do anything until I get there.” Cole disconnected the call. “Get whatever you need. I’m taking you home.” Cole took off down the hall, muttering under his breath.
“What? Why?” I hopped off the counter and followed him. Once I reached the bedroom, he was removing my duffle bag out of the closet. “What are you doing? I don’t understand!”
“I told you, I will always protect you, even from me. You’re going home.”
“Cole, please!” Tears streamed down my face, frantic to understand how we’d gone from “I love you” to this in a few short minutes.
Cole tossed my bag on the bed, then whirled around and grabbed my shoulders. “Please, don’t argue. This isn’t easy for me.”
“I don’t want to leave you, Cole. Whatever that phone call was about, I know it’s not good.” A prickle of fear weaved through me.
“Shae, look at me. I need you to trust me.” He smoothed strands of hair from my damp cheek. “Do you trust me?”
I looked into his pale blue eyes, the pain in them wrenching my heart. I wanted to trust him. I needed to trust him. Waves of fear rolled through me, and I gripped his wrists, staring into his heated gaze. My tongue darted over my lower lip. “I trust you. “
His mouth crashed down on mine, dominating and sweet all at the same time.
