“The Brotherhood?” she asks, worrying her bottom lip.
I have the strangest urge to run my thumb along that same lip and pull it out from under her teeth. Instead, I clench my fists in my lap and nod. “He became obsessed with their ideology. He started talking negatively about all women, not just his ex, and I couldn’t stand it. And my mom was sick, so my priorities shifted.”
“So your friendship just fizzled out?”
“Not exactly.” The memory of what Gabriel did to Amanda still makes my blood boil. “He and his buddies took turns assaulting his ex.”
She shakes her head. “Gabriel would never do something like that.”
“He filmed the whole thing and posted it online. They wore masks, but I knew it was him. It was his initiation into the Brotherhood. He was hailed a hero while Amanda’s life was ruined. She took her own life a few weeks later.”
Her hand covers her mouth in horror as she shakes her head in disbelief.
“I confronted him about the whole thing. Do you know what he said to me?”
She looks away as a tear slides down her cheek.
“He said, ‘she got what she deserved. That bitch was a waste of space, anyway.’”
“Stop,” she pleads as more tears fall from her eyes.
“I nearly killed him that night; beat him till he was unrecognizable and left him to die.”
She cries silently, though she’s shaking like a leaf.
I don’t revel in telling her that her husband is a monster. I can see the pain in her eyes as she processes this new information. “I was planning on moving up north with my dad, but after that, after learning what they were capable of, I knew I had to stay. To help as many people as I can.”
She covers her face with her hands and starts to sob. “I don’t… I can’t… I’m so sorry.”
I stand, closing the distance between us. I reach for her, but stop before my hands make contact. “Can I touch you?”
She nods, so I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her into my chest. Her body shakes as she cries for several minutes, until her breath evens out and her tears dry up. She pulls away, but I cup her cheeks in my palms gently. “Don’t you dare apologize for him.”
She nods, staring up at me. “You’re a good man, Maverick.”
My thumb strokes along her cheek of its own accord as I look down at her. Even with her puffy eyes and uncombed hair, she’s beautiful, and damn if her compliment isn’t the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me, especially considering she despised me when she first arrived a few days ago. “I wish I had something different to tell you.”
“No, I’m glad you told me. I needed to know.” Her voice sounds far away as her hands come up to my chest, resting against my flannel. Her fingers run through the small bit of exposed hair on my chest, almost as if she’s in a trance.
I shiver from the contact. My hands move from her cheeks down to her shoulders, then to her waist. Her curves are soft beneath my palms, and my fingers spread over her ribs. My heart is pounding, and her breath comes faster, both our chests heaving as we stare at one another. I can’t take my eyes off her lips, and my tongue darts out to wet my own. My eyes flick up to hers, and her own lips are parted slightly as she stares at mine. Maybe she feels it too, the electriccurrent that runs between us, the energy that seems to constantly draw us together.
A loud bang outside my tent has us both jumping apart, the tender moment now a thing of the past. I clear my throat and Delilah wraps her arms around herself. “Sorry,” she says.
“I’msorry,” I say. “I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s okay,” she interrupts. “I should probably go.”
“Go where, darlin’?” I ask, unable to stop the smile pulling at my mouth.
She stutters. “I-I don’t know.”
“You can sleep here.” She tries to argue, but I forge ahead. “I’ll find somewhere else to sleep in the meantime, since you’re only here temporarily, right?”
She bites her bottom lip and nods unconvincingly. “Right.”
“There’s paper and a pen on the table if you want to write a message to your mom,” I offer.
Her eyes flick toward the makeshift desk. “Okay.”
