I stood rigid in his embrace, my arms hanging uselessly at my sides like broken branches. I felt so awkward, partly because I genuinely didn’t know how to feel about Carson anymore and partlybecause I was acutely aware of Kreed standing just behind me, radiating disapproval.
Carson finally drew back, but his hands remained gripped on my upper arms. “God, Kay, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. How did you—did Rusty let you go? Did he?—”
“Try to auction me off to the highest bidder?” My voice came out flat and emotionless, drained of inflection by sheer force of will. “Yeah. He absolutely did.”
All the color drained from his face in an instant, and his grip on my arms loosened. “You’re not serious. Please tell me you’re not serious.”
“Why would I joke about something like that? If it weren’t for Kreed, you know, the guy you decided was so terrible for me, the one you went behind my back to sabotage, I’d be some predator’s fucking property right now.”
Carson’s gaze slid past me to the tall, imposing shadow at my back. Kreed had his arms crossed over his broad chest, everything about his posture screaming violence. He was holding back, but for how long?
“Watch where you’re putting your hands, Carl,” Kreed drawled, deliberately mangling Carson’s name.
I nearly groaned out loud at the transparent baiting. “Look,” I said, turning my full attention back to Carson. “Kreed came for me. He found me. He saved me. He never gave up. He didn’t sit holed up in his house and do nothing.”
Carson’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Kay. I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t know what Rusty had planned, what he’d do. I just...” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I didn’t know.”
“Youthought,” I echoed, building toward something explosive. “Don’t you see what’s wrong with that.Youthought you knew what was best forme.Youthought you had the right to make decisions about my life without consultingme.” I jabbed my index finger hard againsthis chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath the thin cotton. “Youdon’t get to think for me, Carson.Youwere supposed to be my best friend, not my keeper or my father or my fucking guardian. It doesn’t give you the right to decide who I can or can’t have feelings for. I’ll sleep with the whole fucking Corvo family if I want because it’s my choice.”
“The hell you will,” Kreed growled. “You’re not sleeping with anyone in my family but me.”
“You’re missing the point,” I grumbled out of the side of my mouth at Kreed. “And to be clear, I’m only sleeping with you.” This would be so much easier if I didn’t have to deal with both of them. Or maybe it would have been less complicated if I had told Kreed beforehand. I didn’t know, but it was too late to dwell on it.
Behind me, Kreed shifted, his presence a steady, solid body against my back. I had this gravitational pull to lean into him. It was always there but stronger when he was close.
Tears welled up in Carson’s eyes, making them shine in the dim afternoon light. “I swear to God, I didn’t know what he was. I made the wrong choice, and I know that now. If I could go back, I would never have gone to Rusty. You know I would never do anything to hurt you.” Carson raked his fingers through his hair.
“I used to believe that about you, but you did hurt me, Car,” I said quietly. “I used to think you were incapable of that kind of betrayal. All because you were fucking jealous?”
“So what, you came here just to tell me I fucked up? That you’re done? That we’re not friends anymore?” Emotion shone in his dark-blue eyes.
“I get you were worried about me. And I want you to worry, it’s what friends do, but you crossed a line, and I don’t know if I can forgive you for it.” I took a deliberate step backward, a step closer to Kreed. “And that I need time before I can decide what you still mean to me.”
One of Kreed’s hands slid to my waist.
Carson’s expression darkened. “You forgave him.” He jerked hischin toward Kreed, the gesture salty with accusation. “Ilove you. Do you think he feels the same? Why can’t you forgive me?”
I looked him dead in the eye, holding his gaze until he flinched. “Kreed’s feelings aren’t in question. Besides, you’re wrong about him. Kreed didn’t drag me into hell, Carson. He walked through fire and bullets and his own trauma to pull me out of the nightmare.”
When I turned away, ready to leave before I said something I couldn’t take back, Carson’s hand shot out and caught my forearm in a grip that was just tight enough to stop my movement.
Kreed was there before my next breath, moving with a speed that always caught people off guard. One second, he was a presence behind me, and the next, he was between us as he stepped fully into Carson’s personal space. “Touch her again, and I’ll make good on every promise I’ve been holding back on,” he snarled coldly.
“Kreed,” I warned, but we all knew it was useless at this point.
“This is between Kay and me,” Carson hissed, trying to hold his ground despite being outmatched in every measurable way. “It’s none of your business.”
Kreed’s head tilted slightly, the corner of his mouth curving upward. “You’re fundamentally wrong about that. Where she’s concerned, I’m always involved. Always watching. Always there. There’s no line I wouldn’t cross, no rule I wouldn’t break, no law I wouldn’t violate to keep her happy.” He leaned in closer, voice dropping to barely above a whisper. “Can you honestly say the same?”
Carson ground his teeth together. “What? Are you going to hit me now? That’s your solution to everything, isn’t it?”
Kreed’s smile widened. “Yeah,” he stated, and his fist was already moving.
The punch connected with Carson’s gut before I could even blink, the thump of impact meaty and solid. Carson folded, air exploding from his lungs in a strangled gasp as he stumbled backward. His spine hit the door frame, and he slid down slightly, one hand pressed against his stomach.
Fucking hell.
I mean, I guess he did try.
