My fury knows no bounds as I swing the car off the main road and onto a dirt path. Driving through the woods this wildly could mean death—but I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just thinking about how satisfying it is to hear Alex gasping and begging for me to stop the car.
Sharp branches scratch the windows and scrape the sides of the car. I feel her fear as I race toward the trunk of the tree, her sobbing scream piercing through the cab.
And then I hit the brakes.
The two of us jerk forward as the car halts, the only sound between us heavy panting. She’s still crying silent tears as she holds her hands to her cheeks, her hair strewn around her face and blocking my view of her eyes.
Once I catch my breath, I whisper, “We should set another date for the wedding.”
“Right…right now?”
“Yes, right now.” I pause for a moment, keeping my focus on the knob for the radio as I toss in, “And stay the fuck away from my father.”
The maid incident flashes through my mind. It takes all my strength not to slam my fist into the radio. This is different. This is Alex. She wouldn’t do that to me.
“He’s dangerous,” I add logically while being careful to mask the emotion in my words. “Just don’t go near him.”
“Find my father’s killer first.” She shivers while dropping her hands to her lap. “Those are my terms for our marriage. You want a date? Kill the man who took my father.”
I turn to her. “What? Do you have a death wish because of Lev?”
She closes her eyes and looks away, quiet tears trickling down her face. “No.”
God, she looks destroyed right now. The forest is alive around us, with birds and bugs chirping excitedly around the vehicle. I’ve probably run over a few fallen branches, maybe even a small tree, with the way the car sits at a strange angle. It doesn’t matter. I’m too concerned about Alex.
I soften my voice as I ask, “Did you love Lev?”
The tears fall harder, soaking the collar of her sweater. “I did—and I never got to tell him before he died.”
“He’s dead now, Alex,” I whisper. “We all have to move on, okay?”
“Aren’t you scared of dying?”
She sniffles, wipes her face, and looks at me. The pain echoing from her pupils lances me. It’s enough to plunge me into the ground with every intention of burying myself. To see her in this state is to suffer, and I despise what it does to me.
Equally as hard is it for me to accept how much it hurts me not to do anything about it.
When I open my arms, she falls into me. She cries quietly against my chest while I run my fingers through her hair, the aroma of coconut exploding through the hair, escaping the strands I touch. Her hair is like silk, the softest I’ve ever touched. It makes me want more of her—and yet it also makes me feel scared.
If she’s this soft under pressure, how will she survive the days ahead?
“I’ll protect you,” I promise her. “I’ll kill your father’s murderer as a wedding gift to you.”
“You swear?”
I nod curtly. “On my life.”
“You must be serious.” The tears have stopped now, but my shirt is soaked with warm fluid, probably drool, too. But only Alex could be adorable while sobbing uncontrollably, so I don’t mind it that much. She hums and whispers, “You’re too vain to swear on your life.”
“No, you’re thinking of Soren.”
She snorts. “He’d fuck himself if he could.”
“God, would he ever.”
“What about you?”
My eyes widen. “I’m definitely not bi. Tomas, though, might be—”