“I’m really sorry for not being there for you the way I should have.If I would have known...”I blew out a sigh and shoved my hand through my short hair in frustration.
“It doesn’t matter.It’s all over.”
“But it’s not, Jo,” I said as I leaned forward and looked at her, hoping she would see the urgency in what I was saying.“He’s been obsessed with finding you for a while now.He knows that your uncle is dead and that you were at the compound when it happened.You know how much he hated Randy, especially after he stepped in and forced him to sign the divorce papers.Now that Randy is gone, you know Tray is going to try to step in and take over that territory.He’s going to recruit whatever guys were left from Randy’s crew.If you thought he was powerful before, that power is only going to grow.”
“Do you know what I think is funny?”Jo asked, resting her arms on the table in front of her, her expression blank as she stared at me.
“What’s that?”
“That you know so much about Tray and his plans, yet you claim to have cut ties with him.You walk in here, asking me to trust you, but how do I know that you’re not here to deliver me to him yourself?”
I leaned back in my chair and looked at her as I thought about what to say.Knowing that actions always spoke louder than words with Jo, I lifted the bottom of my shirt and watched as her eyes immediately zeroed in on the scar that went from my chest down my stomach.
“When it comes to Tray, everything has a price.Even leaving.”
She let out a gasp as she lifted her fingers to cover her mouth and stared at it.
I had already unloaded a lot of information on Jo as it was, which meant now wasn’t the time to tell her that walking away from someone I once considered my best friend had almost killed me.
Three
Jo
“Iwould apologize fornot having a nice couch for you to sleep on, but I didn’t invite you to stay with me to begin with,” I said as I dropped my keys onto the counter and waited for Dom to come inside before I closed and locked the door.
“Trust me, I’m not complaining.Thank you for letting me stay here.I promise to get out of your hair as soon as possible.”
I nodded, trying to keep myself from saying something helpful.While I didn’t trust anyone or anything when it came to my ex-husband, Dom had always been different.I had felt safe around him, even when I thought he knew what Tray was doing.In all fairness, I didn’t stay long after the abuse started, so it was unfair to assume that Dom knew what was happening, given how quickly things escalated before I left.
“I’ll grab you a blanket and pillow,” I offered, walking down the hall as I left him in the living room.
It felt odd having him in my space, since all of my interactions with Dom before now always included Tray.I grabbed a few blankets and plucked a pillow from my bed, feeling a tightness in my chest about having Dom sleep on the couch.It was old and uncomfortable to sit on, let alone try to sleep on.But it wasn’t my fault that he was here without anywhere to go.
I walked into the living room and found him sitting on the couch, his body stiff and rigid.He glanced up when he saw me and tried to mask his discomfort, but I just shook my head.
“You can sleep in my bed,” I mumbled, turning and heading back to my bedroom as he followed me.
