I hadn’t been happy about the man’s hand on my ass. But if I was to live in this world, whatever place I was in, I needed to be able to take care of myself. I’d been about to do just that when Kalen took control as usual.
I crested the hill to see the man himself in front of the cottage speaking in hushed tones into his phone. Plumes of frost blew from his mouth as whatever he was speaking about had hard lines formed on his forehead.
Just as I hoped to make it into the house before he spotted me, he said, “Lass.”
He might have sounded calm, but fury still stirred inside me.
“Are you ready to apologize?” I asked.
“For what?’ he asked, annoyance fueling his words.
“You know what? Never mind.”
“Wait. I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he said. I opened my mouth but quickly shut it. “You aren’t mine to kiss.”
This was my chance to make things right no matter how I felt.
“About what I said last night,” I began calmly.
“You weren’t wrong,” he interrupted. “He’s right for you.”
All the things I might have said dried up in my throat.
“He can give you everything I can’t. I can admit it now. You were never more to me than a good fuck.”
Twenty
It took more than she’d ever know for me to watch the light die in her suddenly watery gaze and do nothing. I forced myself to project indifference when I was dying inside watching hate flatten her beautiful lips.
I turned away from her spew of Bailey curses. A litany of words like crummy rotten jerk because she didn’t have it in her to call me what I was: a total asshole.
But I was doing it for her. The call I’d gotten told me I’d taken her out of danger to bring her into more.
Griff had traced the wires here before they disappeared into numbered accounts. It was likely the person trying to destroy me was here.
She needed to go and stay away from me to be safe. And the lass I knew would put up a fight if she knew the reason behind my wanting her to leave. So I gave her the reason she needed to be safe with someone else.
Dirt rained on my back from whatever she threw at me. Mum came to the door and I was grateful Gabe wasn’t with her as her eyes bounced from me to Bailey and all the ugly things she called me.
“I’ll be back to put Gabe to bed,” I shouted to Mum before closing the door of the car I kept when I was home.
The Mercedes AMG E-Class coupe purred to life this time with no satisfaction as the last view I had of the lass was of her on her knees, tears streaking down her face. I nearly broke.
Instead, I spoke into my phone to call a number.
“Yeah,” Griffin said like I’d caught him asleep when we’d only spoken not long ago.
“It’s done.”
“Aye. How’d she take it?”
“Like a ram protecting his territory.” I focused on the fact that I was doing this for her. “Just make the calls and call me back.”
I hung up and made another call.
“Boyo. I heard the lassie is spitting fire.”
“Jonas, I need you to do me a favor.”
I explained my plan.
“Yer going to lose her.”
I was.
“I’d rather lose her to someone else than have her lose her life on account of me.”
But I’d already lost her. This was the final nail.
“Yer love her,” he said.
Enough to let her go. That was when I really understood to what extent I’d fallen on my sword for her.
“And who’s going to watch the pub?” he asked after I made no comment to his other statement.
“I will. I’m outside. I’ll take your place.”
I resisted the urge to call Mum to check on the lass. This had to work and she couldn’t know I was the one behind it.
Twenty-One
The cool earth did nothing to alleviate the heat in my veins. Oh, what a fool I’d been then and now. Thank God Isla didn’t have close neighbors and the only ones to witness my shame were Kalen’s mom and Turner. Gabe had been napping.
When she took me in her arms, all the rage turned to sobs. How could I have allowed myself to fall for the wrong man again?
On my feet, I thanked her for everything and blew past a confused Turner who appeared fresh from a shower. I took the stairs like it was my only lifeline.
In the room I’d been given, I hastily packed the few things I had into the bag Matt bought for me at the mall before a flight over. I almost left the Prada bag that Kalen had brought to the community, but decided I needed it.
I was almost done when a tiny figure entered the room.