I grabbed the keys from his fingers. “Sure.”
But if he thought I’d be waiting patiently in the passenger seat, he was sorely mistaken.
4
When Beck joined me a few minutes later, my hands were caressing the Italian leather steering wheel. My feet sat lightly over the pedals, and I was listening to the sexy, low rumble of the engine idling.
“Baby, were you thinking about taking off without me?” Beck teased, sliding into my usual seat and closing the door. “I wasn’t that long.”
I flashed him a quick, humorless smile. “No, but Iamgoing to drive us home.”
My shoulders were tight, and I was ready to put up a fight. After everything I’d been through, I deserved a quick drive in Beck’s gorgeous car.
“Okay,” he replied, shocking the shit out of me. “Take the long route. I want you to savor this.” His grin turned wolfish. “Because it’s the only time I’m ever letting you drive this car.”
I snorted a laugh as I threw the gear shift into reverse and hooked out of the parking lot we were in. “We’ll see about that, Sebastian. After all, I am yourgirlfriend.”
Yeah, I’d been in a state of shocked numbness earlier, but I’d still picked up on Beck calling me his girlfriend to that cop. It was a bit dumb, given everything else going on, but hearing that title made me go all tingly.
Beck didn’t reply to my teasing, just waited until I’d gotten us out on the freeway and at breakneck speed, then reached over and wove our fingers together.
I glanced down, startled, and couldn’t help noticing a smear of blood on his first and second knuckles and the swollen redness around them all.
“Quick chat, huh?” I muttered, shooting him an accusing look before returning my eyes to the road. He’d punched someone, and I’d bet my car that when I next saw Dante he’d have a black eye.
If I saw him again.
I wasn’t sure I could ever look at him and not see my parents’ faces now. Their death was preventable. A part of me had always known that there was something off about the accident, but I’d been too afraid to look closely at it, because how did I live with that knowledge?
Suddenly I was sobbing. Huge, gulping, heart-wrenching sobs that actually hurt my chest they were rattling it so hard. Somehow Beck took control of the car, easing us to the side of the road as I lifted my foot from the accelerator.
“Catherine killed them,” I choked out. “The only fucking people in this world who ever loved me. She just wiped them out like they were nothing more than an animal in the middle of the road, stopping her from where she was going.”
Beck wrapped his arms around me, pulling me from my seat and into his lap. His heat and energy surrounded me, and I cried against his chest for so long, that by the time I lifted my head, I was exhausted and his shirt was soaked.
When my eyes met his, I was not surprised to see brimming fury there. His hands slid up and cupped my swollen, tear-stained face, and he brushed away the trickling moisture with his thumbs. “There are two things I need you to remember, Butterfly,” he said softly. “One: Catherine is going to pay for what she has done. In every way possible, she will regret the day she hurt you.”
For some fucked up reason that actually made me feel better. I knew all the stories about revenge not soothing the soul, but for now, it gave me a fucking focus, and I was all onboard for Beck’s plan.
“And two?”
His grip tightened slightly, and he pulled me closer, our lips touching, his tongue darting out to slide across some of the tears that had caught on the corner of my mouth. “Two: your parents loved you very much. I didn’t even have to meet them to know this, because you are so fucking lovable. But, and I don’t say this to take away from them .... you have so much love and family in your world still. I fucking love you. An unconditional sort of love. It doesn’t matter how you fuck up, Riles, you’ll always have me. I’m your family.”
His gaze never left mine, and I could not have looked away for anything in the world. My heart was hurting and expanding and shaking, all at the same time. Beck was unraveling me at the very seams of my being, but he didn’t let me fall apart. Somehow, he was putting me back together. Better.
“Dylan, Jasper, Evan, and even Eddy,” he continued, in that same soft, sexy rumble he did so well. “They’re your family. You will never be alone again.”
Well, fuck.
I chuckled through fresh tears—pretty amazing I had any moisture left in my body to cry at this point, but apparently there was some. “You’re quite the poet when you’re not punching people or shooting someone in the head.”
Beck shrugged. “What can I say … I’m a man of many talents.”
That was very true. Very, very true.
“I love you too, Sebastian Roman Beckett,” I said, sliding my hands up into his thick dark hair. “Thank you for being my family. For having my back.” I kissed him gently before pressing my lips a little harder to his. Some of the sadness in my soul eased again, and I started to breathe more freely. I’d never forget my parents, the pain would not go anywhere, but I wasn’t alone dealing with it. And that meant a lot.
Clambering back into the driver’s seat, I took a few deep breaths, swiped at my face, and then shifted her back into gear. “I need to talk to Selene,” I said softly, pulling onto the road.
