She tried to yank away but he wouldn’t let her, his grip firm but gentle. “You’re blinded by your love for yourbrother.”
Laura tried again to jerk her hand away and failed miserably. Fighting against his strength was like trying to walk through steel. Dammit, she was way too aware of his touch. What was wrong withher?
“The only one blind here as you,” she bitout.
Chapter 11
Her words gut punched him.She’d mocked him. Openly and aggressively. He slowly got to his feet, not letting go of herarm.
“I’m—I’m—sorry,” she stammeredout.
Any thoughts he’d had of sparing her feelings or trying to convince her with a logical explanation vanished. King bent at the waist, putting his face only inches from hers. “I’m blind because your brother shot me in the head at point blank range.” Carefully, he drew her closer. He pointed at the patch covering where his eye used to be. “He tried to kill me but didn’t succeed, so now I have this. And yes, I saw him. I saw Dawson stand less than five feet away and fire his gun straight at me. I saw the murder in hiseyes.”
“No,” shewhispered.
King kept going as if she hadn’t even spoken, his rage burning through him. “And if I have to keep you under lock and key here to protect you from yourself until I find the bastard, Iwill.”
Laura gasped and tears pooled in her eyes turning them bright emerald green. Her lips trembled and for a moment he thought she’d cry. Resolutely she firmed up her face and stood her ground. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to your accusationsanymore.”
She spun away and this time he let her go. Listening as she slammed through her bedroom and then the bathroom, the thick walls doing nothing to muffle his enhanced hearing. Although when she started sobbing, he wished he wasnormal.
Each and every sob took a pick-ax to his bravado, chipping away at hisanger.
He shouldn’t haveover reacted like that. Laura was delicate. A female who loved her family. She was just trying to hold on to that, nothing more, and he was the monster who insisted on villainizing her onlybrother.
No matter how much hate he had for Dawson, Laura deserved none of the truck load of shit he’d unloaded into her lap. He’d hoped to be calm, reasonable. To present the facts so that she would see it his way, but she hadn’t reacted logically, she’d reacted with emotion. Like a mama bear protecting her cub. Dawson was her family and King was threatening herfamily.
He dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his temples to try and smooth away the oncoming migraine that today's stress had seemed to trigger. Another one of those fun side effects from serum. The excruciating migraines. He dealt with most, but sometimes they laid him out flat for two days before he was functionalagain.
Her sobs continued to pour through the walls, pounding his conscience and tugging at his heart. He’d always been a sucker for a woman in need, but this was next level.Fuck you’re anasshole.
He had to fix this mess he’d inadvertently created; he couldn’t leave her all broken. He was miserable and from the sound of her sobs, so was she. He was man enough to admit his talk had failedcompletely.
King peeked inside her bedroom to see the tiny waif, Faith, huddled sound asleep on the other side of the bed. Laura's muffled sobs came from behind the shut bathroomdoor.
Steeling himself, he drew in a breath and pushed through the door, ignoring her gasps of outrage, and then kicked the door shut behind him, effectively trapping them together. She sat on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest, her chin tucked against her knees. Silvery track marks of tears lined her cheeks. Track marks he was responsiblefor.
“Goaway.”
“No,” King dropped to his knees in front ofher.
"What do you want from me?" She criedout.
Gently, he reached for her hand but she snatched it away as though he werepoison.
“Laura,” he began, not really sure what he could say to make the situation better. Even when he’d married Trinity he hadn’t been good with tears or fights. Not that they’d had many, but the few they did have had always ended up with King realizing in the end, it had been his fault to beginwith.
Just like it was his fault now. “I’msorry.”
She jerked her head up from her knees. “What did yousay?”
King sat back on his heels, feeling awkward. And he realized just how rusty he was at dealing with females. He hadn’t actually had a real conversation with one since Trinity died. And even before that with her he always felt like he had to be careful around her, she’d been so delicate, he’d always been afraid he’d somehow breakher.
“I said I’m sorry.” The words clumsily tripped from hislips.
She sniffled and swiped a forearm across her nose like a child. He leaned over and yanked out two Kleenexes from the box on the counter and passed them to her. She dabbed her nose with one and dried her eyes and cheeks with the other, every now and then a soft sniffle escapedher.
After a good minute, he felt like he’d given her enough time to process his apology yet she still didn’t speak. The awkward silence urged him to fill it. “I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you. It isn’t your fault and I know you don’t want to behere.”
