“Don’t do that,” he says roughly. “Don’t pull away from me.Ever. You know that I would never do anything to hurt you, Essence.”
I swallow again. “I know.”
His eyes are locked on mine as he searches for something. “Good.”
He returns his attention back to Lunchbox, scratching the space between his ears. “You aren’t going to hurt him, right?” I ask quietly.
Dante doesn’t say anything for so long that I think he’s just going to ignore my question, but then he asks, “Why shouldn’t I when he hurts you so much?”
That’s a good question.
I sigh. “Just… let me deal with him. Okay?”
He grits his teeth. “Fine. But if he puts his hands on you or Lunchbox one more time, I’ll deal with him myself.”
The promise is clear, and I accept that I won’t be able to placate Dante for much longer.
Something worries at the back of my mind, though, and when Dante tucks Lunchbox and I into his bed, I realize what it is.
I’ve never told him that Evan physically hurts me. I’ve never toldanyonethat, not even my sister, so I’m not sure how he knows.
Is he…?
No, there’s no way. That’s not possible.
Right?
CHAPTER 16
DANTE
Essence and Lunchboxare still sleeping in my bed when the sun rises. I stand in the doorway and watch them: the contented way their chests rise and fall in a steady rhythm, the look of peace on Essence’s face… I’ll kill anyone who takes that away from her.
Starting with Evan.
My nostrils flare at the thought of him. He’s hurt my flower enough, and now I’ve lost my patience. I’m done waiting for Essence to make up her mind—I’m going to do it for her.
Quietly, I ease the door shut and go back into the living room. As soon as Essence texted me last night, I let my captain know I wouldn’t be coming in to work today.
Did I lie and say that I needed a mental health day? Yes. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, though. My mental healthhasbeen crumbling at the thought of my flower wasting her life on that bastard. It drives me insane that she refuses to leave him.
Despite the rage Evan incites in me, I smile as I gather the belongings of my other half to hide away.
My “other half” being the masked man that starts fires around town and jerks himself off in a tree as he watches Essence finger herself through her bedroom window.
I don’t want her to find out yet, so I shove everything into the back of my coat closet. When I’m done, I go into the kitchen to get started on breakfast. I make pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs for Essence and me, and puppy-friendly pancakes and a couple slices of bacon for Lunchbox. At some point today, I need to go to the store and get him some essentials.
By the time I’m done making breakfast, Essence and Lunchbox are awake. My breath catches in my throat at the sight of her thick curls wild from sleep, and I catch a glimpse of the little blue jewel in her bellybutton before she pulls her shirt back down.
Fuck.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I say with a smile, greeting her with a mug of coffee.
Her dark brown eyes light up when she sees the table set for two. Essence takes the cup with a grateful smile.
“You made breakfast?” she asks in disbelief.
I shrug, trying to ignore the boyish giddy feeling in my stomach at her nearness. “It’s nothing.”
