She’s even prettier than I remember. Gold flecks swim in the depths of the brown in her eyes, like stars in the night sky, the color of whiskey and fire. I would have counted the freckles that dot her nose if I could have, and traced her lips with my fingers until I could remember the shape of them with my eyes closed.
“Kolten?” She gasps, tears swimming in her eyes.
I drop the guy onto the pavement, straightening myself until I’m looking down on her as she searches my face. I feel everything in me soften, the tension leaving me as I truly look upon her face, inhale her scent, feel her hands on my body.
“Hello trouble,” I say on a breath.
For seconds, silence settles between us, until finally, “You’re here.”
I nod.
She blinks a few times and then looks up and down the street before her eyes settle on the very beaten body on the sidewalk. Fresh anger makes me want to beat him some more.
“Is he alive?”
“For now.”
She jumps away from me, “We need to call an ambulance!” She cries.
“He tried to rape you, Nessa. He doesn’t deserve your pity.”
She swallows.
On a sigh, I dial my guys, relaying our location and the need for cleanup the moment they answer. They’ll dump him at the hospital and scrub all footage of my involvement. And hers.
“Get in the car,” I order her gently.
She shakes her head frantically, “You can’t be here.”
“I’m here, trouble.”
“You were at the bar.”
A nod confirms her suspicions.
“Do you do that a lot?”
“For the past eighteen months,” I contemplate, “Yes.”
“We said goodbye, Kolt.”
“You did.” I agree. “I couldn’t.”
“You never answered my texts.”
“Because you’re better off if I didn’t.”
“Kolt,” She steps closer, but I step away.
“Get in the car.”
I walk that way, hearing her take steps to follow and open the passenger door for her to climb in. I don’t wait for my guys to arrive; I know they’ll show and deal with the mess. Vanessa remains quiet in the passenger seat, her hands lodged between her legs and her face pointing forward, the blank expression and watery eyes a tell to her emotions.
It would be better if she hated me, fought me, and told me to leave. For both of us.
I never expected to become so attached to her. Like our strings are tied and without her, I simply cannot survive. She is everything I need and can’t have.
I pull up to the apartment building she lives in and climb out, going around to her side even though she’s already opened the door and got out herself.
