“Go.”
Pie didn’t linger, nor did he talk to anyone as he made his way upstairs to his room.
He’ll never forget that look or that feeling as rage just took over. He didn’t intend to kill Richard. As he hit the fucker in the face over and over, Lindsey’s scream just echoed around his head, and there was no way to stop it. He had to do something.
Standing outside his bedroom, he took a deep breath.
She’d been avoiding him for the past few days.
Since he made her come and she took his cock.
Their friendship had changed.
He knew she’d been avoiding him, and rather than force the issue, he’d left her to figure out how to deal with whatever was going on with her.
Now this.
Putting his hand on the doorknob, he twisted it and walked inside. Taking a deep breath, he glanced over toward the bed.
Lindsey had showered and wrapped in his robe. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she looked at him.
He heard her sniffle.
“Do they hate me?” she asked.
“No. They don’t hate you. They’ve got plenty of shit to say about me, but you’re okay.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He closed the door and moved toward the bed. Kicking off his shoes, he laid on the bed beside her. Her hand was spread out on the bed and he picked it up, locking his fingers together.
“You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“I didn’t lead him on. I didn’t tell him that I wanted him. There was no way I acted as if I wanted that. I promise, Pie.”
He cupped her cheek and brushed some hair back behind her ear. “This is not on you.”
“But I’m a slut, Pie.”
“No. You’re not.”
“I love sex. I love fucking. I’m a whore, Pie. Everyone thinks it. They know it as well.”
He shook his head. “No. I won’t accept that, and he’s not getting in your head either. Do you understand me?”
“I’m a horrible person.”
Pie pressed his head to hers, holding her close. Right now, he was thinking Richard’s death was way too easy. “You are one of the nicest, sweetest, most charming people I ever met. Are you a little on the crazy side? Yes. But you got to understand, Lindsey, I love a little crazy. You’re … you’re perfect in every single way.”
She kept on crying, and he hated that. Hated that she was sobbing.
That this fucker had affected her like this.
There was nothing he could do though.
Sitting up, he pulled his jacket off, but instead of throwing it on the floor he placed it gently over her. “I will always protect you, Lindsey. I got there too late.”
“He didn’t get to do anything. It’s not like he … raped me.” As she said that last part, she burst out in tears, and it tore at his fucking heart.
Richard knew what he was doing. Diaz had told him that the guards that usually patrol the building had been sent on break, and that the cameras had all been turned off in the building. He knew what he was doing, and walking back to that staffroom, Richard had intended to fuck Lindsey no matter what.
What Richard hadn’t expected was Pie to arrive. To see Lindsey’s car and to be agitated that she was still at work.
He didn’t know what made him walk into that building or go looking for her. He only knew that he had to go and see her. That he had to make her understand nothing had to change.
Now it had changed.
There was no going back from this.
Only forward.
They held hands, and he watched her.
“I’m so tired.”
“Then sleep. I won’t be going anywhere.”
****
“How bad was it?” Holly asked.
“He snapped the guy’s neck,” Duke said.
Holly winced. “What about Lindsey?”
“She was … I don’t know. I’m used to seeing her happy, you know. A constant fucking smile on her face and that moment—I’ve never seen anyone look so fucking sad. Maybe Maya, but we know why.” Maya Abelli was Holly’s half-sister and had been gang raped as punishment for trying to get away, for trying to put her father in prison.
Holly rubbed her arms. “I like Lindsey.”
“She’s part of the club. Pie’s in love with her.”
“Does he even know that he loves her?” Holly asked.
“No. I don’t know. I don’t think either of them even realizes that they’re in love with the other.”
Holly smiled, even though she felt incredibly sad. “I heard about Matthew.”
“You want to tell me I shouldn’t have put the vote to the table?”
She shook her head. “When he first tried to be part of the club, he was doing so for all the wrong reasons. He was using your name, his position as your son. He wasn’t grown up. Still a child in a very teenage body.”
“And now?”
“And now I have this horrible feeling he knows what real pain is like. How it feels to lose someone you love.”