“She deserved it.Why else?”
Lovely.
“We don’t handle ‘she deserved it’ by violently assaulting someone, Liz.Have some damn tact.”My annoyance is getting the better of me.Everything about this woman, these women, poke and prod my patience; hell, even Sadie, but at least I fucking like her.The other three are welcome to abandon ship at any moment; sooner rather than later.
“We handle it in whatever means necessary, Jarhead.Kate’s way isn’t always the soundest but it’s highly effective.”
“Right, Kate.We blame all violence on her.Why is that?Who is Kate, who the hell are you—really?”
The traffic lurches forward, forcing me to ease off the break again so we can creep along—emergency lights finally appearing ahead, directing traffic out of two other lanes into ours.
She doesn’t answer immediately and it rubs me the wrong way.I'm too wound up, worried about Sadie, to deal with this being’s petulant bullshit.
When we come to another stop, I throw the truck in park and reach for her.My fist winds in the front of her hoodie before I yank her over the center console bringing our noses millimeters apart, my unafraid stare meeting hers.
“I asked you a question.Answer it.Would be a bad day if I ended up torturing you instead of the one causing all of the problems.”
Holding her hostage, she tilts, grazing her lips against mine, purring her damn taunt.I don’t know whether to finish the distance and remind this thing who Sadie belongs to, or choke her the fuck out.
“Kate—“ she begins, sliding her tongue across Sadie’s bottom lip.“Some deranged witch from the colonial days.No one important.Me, well, I come from status.Many servant girls helped me stay young and beautiful.Look at me now, inside this delicious thing you want to devour just as much as I do.”
“You sound like a parasite.A noble woman, then.”
Her pupils dilate before her eyes sharpen on me.“Watch your mouth!”Venom drips from those three little words.
“There it is.”It’s my turn to tease her.“I like ‘em feisty; what else you have in there, Liz?Going to banish me to the village, teach me a lesson by ordering me to the stocks?”
“You peasant, I’d have your head removed from your body!”Sadie’s body bucks at me, strong and angry, but I’m bigger, faster.Displaced by how I have her pulled over the console, I jolt her then drag her further into my lap.Pinning her between me and the steering wheel at her back.I have to dodge when her hands start swinging, unorganized and frantic—missing the calculated violence I’m better prepared for.She struggles for control but I quickly pin them to her belly, trapping her wrists in one of my larger, more rugged grabs.She pulls and kicks, thrashing around like it will get her out of captivity.
“For a noble woman, you sure are weak!”
“Stop!!STOP.”
I release her without hesitation because that scream isn’t Liz.The thing beating in my chest breaks when sorrow twists in her face.The Marine sees manipulation, but the damn softy I hide under layers of chest plates and Kevlar surrenders.
“Easy, killer.Easy.”
Tears spill over her lower lashes and I ease her out from where she’s pinned then into my arms.Both bind securely around her at the same time her head meets my shoulder as she sobs.Showing me the tormented girl she keeps locked behind bullet proof glass.
“Talk to me, Sunshine.”I murmur then comb my fingers through her hair.
Her trembles, and breath broken cries, have me wanting to punish myself rather than her.Unraveling an arm, I reach between my seat and the door to hit the control switch, easing my seat back to give her room.Instead of filling the extra space like I thought she needed, she clings to me.
Thank God traffic begins to move again.I need to get her home, but from the looks of it, she’s not letting me go—this is dangerous as hell, keeping her like this, but I can make it work.
“Gonna put the truck in drive.Be good for me and don’t move, okay?”At her nod, I shift the truck into gear to get us rolling.
It takes a bit to get to her apartment, then into the underground garage for residents—I swiped her garage pass months ago and put it in my truck.It’s not like she drives or has gone looking for it.
Squeezing the Denali into a compact parking space, I turn everything off and listen to the soft way her sniffles fill the cramped gap.Breaks me in two, feeling her so snug against me I don’t know where I end and she begins.
“I’ll listen when you’re ready, Sunshine.We’ll get through it together, like we always do.”
Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass before she finally gives me her deceptively calm voice.
“I—I’m sorry.”
I already know what for, unfortunately we still have to talk about it; she needs to know that what she let the others do was wrong.Conceptualizing and understanding what they did has put her name and picture in front of people who won’t care she’s not always herself.That anything she does, between now and the end of this shit, will be a deciding factor if she stays with me or they put her behind bars.
