She nodded quickly.
As I led her away, I felt Tyler’s shadow still on us, heavier than the smoke, whiskey, and noise. For the first time that night, I wasn’t thinking about the wedding, or Carrington, or any of it.
I was thinking about how easy it would be to silence a man like Tyler.
Forever.
The music throbbed behind us, though muffled by the heavy doors as we stepped into the night air. Crickets hummed in the distance, and the smell of damp grass was pleasant and sobering. Xanthy’s high heels clicked once against the concrete before she stopped, her shoulders shaking like a leaf.
“Xan—” I said, going to take off my suit jacket and drape it around her.
“Don’t.” Her voice was thin and final. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring out over the parking lot lit by orange lamps, ignoring my outstretched hand with the garment. “I just…I need a second alone to think.”
“Yeah, okay. Just please take the jacket.”
She sighed, reaching out and taking the warm piece of clothing. I stood a foot away, my hands jammed in my pockets, my chest still tight with the urge to go back inside and break Tyler’s fucking jaw.
“He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. Shouldn’t have even looked at you. I’m sorry, Alexandra.”
Her laugh was brittle. “That’s Tyler. He doesn’t stop. Doesn’t know how to. For years of my life, he was all I knew. Him…and Carmen.”
I turned to her. “You’ve dealt with this before, haven’t you? Who is Tyler, Xanthy?”
Her silence was the only answer I needed.
“That’s the fucker who broke your wrist the night we met, isn’t it? The abusive asshole of an ex? He hurt you.”
It wasn’t a question.
She pressed her lips together, her jaw tightening.
“He was…cruel. Back when we were younger. Back when I didn’t know how to fight back. I thought it was normal, the way he talked to me, the way he treated me. Carmen made things better. She found me ways out…and now she’s gone.” She dragged in a shaky breath. “It wasn’t until much later that I realized it was all wrong. After I met you, and could see how a real man loves a woman.”
And a man, apparently.
My fists clenched. “Why didn’t you tell me who he was?”
“Because you can’t undo the past, Shiloh.” She finally turned, her pale eyes glossy, but fierce. “Because I knew you’d want to fix it, and some things…some things can’t be fixed. You can reset the broken bones and use makeup to cover up the bruises, but you can’t take away the pain and fear in my heart.”
The lamps caught her face, pale and trembling, but still carrying that iron edge I always admired.
“He said something about his sister,” I muttered, my voice low. “About Carmen’s death being a nuisance to him. What the hell kind of man talks like that?”
Her expression flickered. For just a second, I swore I saw her falter, like a door cracked open, something heavy and unrelenting pressing against it. Then she shook her head quickly—the poise and regal calm returned.
“Tyler doesn’t feel things the way normal people do. He uses people. Even family. You saw very little of it.”
I stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “If he lays a hand on you again, if he even breathes wrong in your direction, I’ll fucking end him.”
Her lips parted, her eyes darting up to mine.
She didn’t tell me no.
She didn’t tell me to calm down.
“You don’t know what that man’s capable of,” she whispered.
“You don’t know what I’m capable of, Alexandra Harding.”
