“You want to break things? We can break them. You think I don’t understand that fury inside that eats up until it twists everything up and you don’t know what’s up and what’s down? I have been there. You have been holding on to all this for too damn long. You want it to get better? You need to see someone.”
“So now I’m psycho?”
“Am I?”
“Oh come on. You’re totally different.”
“Why? Cause my pain was delivered all at once, and your hits were delivered blow by blow over the years?” She shakes her head. “No, we’re two-sides of the same coin. The people we loved the most devastated us. They stole our lives in different ways, took away our security, and ability to trust damn near anyone. I love you. I want what’s best for you. I’ve stood by and watched you silently rip yourself apart for weeks over this. You’ve helped me work through boatloads of issues. Let me help you with this.”
My chest heaves as I struggle to breathe.
The sincerity in her brown eyes and the broken dishes on the floor at her feet are everything. I’ve unlocked the gate to let emotions trickle out, and now my dam has holes in it. I can’t patch them up fast enough to control the flow of what’s going out, and I won’t risk her getting caught in the crossfire.
“Okay.”
“What?” Her eyes nearly bug out of her skull.
“I’ll…go talk to someone.”
“Good.” She nods her head. “Really?”
“I ain’t going to lose you or this. You deserve more than a ticking time bomb who can’t control his shit. But when I’m done, you’re taking my mark.”
Her lips twitch upward. “You bargaining bastard. Okay. I’ll bite.”
“Good, now be still so I can clean up this glass. You don’t even have shoes on, B.” I walk over and lift her onto the counter. She laughs.
“What?”
“You go from being a bull in a China shop to an alpha male protecting his female in the blink of an eye.”
“You always come before me and the bullshit going on in my head, B.”
She cups my face. “I love you.”
“I know.” I fall back on the Han Solo response, and she gives me a soft Mona Lisa Smile. A simple upward curve of the lips that speaks volumes. I’m getting closer to forming those words for her.
Chapter Thirteen
Blanche
We did it. I turn around and look at the home that’s slowly but surely coming together. We opted to not renew the lease on the condo and found a ranch style four bedroom home not too far from the club. We’re renting it now, with the option to own should we decide. It felt like the right move. My job is going well, his counseling is steady, and neither of us is going anywhere. It feels like the logical next step in my life.
The knock on the door made me frown. Blue and Dixie Rose just left. Did they forget something? I run to the door and peer through the peephole. The blood drains from my face, and I sway. What the hell is Elizabeth Watkins doing here? How does she even know where I live? The things money can do disgusts me. Every time I think I’m moving on, the past resurfaces. I open the door.
“What are you doing here, Elizabeth?” I ask with a sigh.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Well, you have, so you can leave and never return because the next time I see you, I’ll be calling the cops.”
“I had to see it for myself. You living happily ever after with your biker trash while Brooks is out there somewhere.”
“He did that, not me.” My jaw flexes.
“Because he wanted to be with me,” she hisses.
I arch an eyebrow.