Shit.
“Tell me,” he shouted. This was Deck out of control. The Deck I never wanted to know. The Deck I didn’t think anyone wanted to encounter—every muscle tense, hands clenched into fists, jaw hard and determined with the heat of fury pulsating off him.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
Deck nodded and it wasn’t the reaction I expected. I actually no longer knew what to expect. This was unpredictable Deck. He walked over to his dresser, opened the drawer and pulled out a knife and then a gun. I heard the clicking and snapping as he checked the gun then slid it in the back of his pants.
“Deck?” He ignored me, grabbed his cell and put it in his pocket then headed for the door. “Deck. What are you doing?”
“What the fuck do you think I’m doing, Georgie? Stay here. You leave my place, you won’t like what happens.” He yanked open the door and strode out.
I ran after him. “Deck, I asked him to. I asked Kai to do it. Please, I know it sounds screwed up and it is, but please, don’t go after him. Please.”
He stopped and turned to face me. “You fuckin’ asked him to? Jesus. Why the fuckin’ hell would you do that? Why, damn it?”
I looked at my feet as I said, “It made the pain go away.”
“No, it fuckin’ didn’t. It kept it alive. He kept it alive and made you relive it.” He strode toward me, grabbing my arms. “Look at me.”
I did because I just wanted Deck to give me something to hold onto because he was right. I was holding onto what happened to me so I’d never forget it. To release all the emotions I had built up in me for that one day.
“I lost you a long fuckin’ time ago.” His fingers tightened and he stared at me for several seconds before saying quietly, “Come back to me, Georgie.”
My breath hitched.
His eyes softened. “Baby, come back to me. Stop pretending. Stop hiding. Trust me.”
I wished I could, but nothing in my life was simple since Connor died. If he went after Kai … “Please, don’t go after Kai.”
He snorted and abruptly shoved me away from him. “Why? Because you love him? You can’t bear to see him hurt? Well, don’t worry; I’m not going to hurt him, Georgie. I’m going to fuckin’ kill him.”
“No!” I yelled as he opened the door to his penthouse. I ran after him and slammed into his chest as he hit the elevator button. “No. He’ll kill you, Deck.”
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
He shoved me aside and walked into the elevator.AS SOON As the elevator doors closed, I ran back into loft and searched through the bag Tyler dropped off for me. I felt the familiar, hard plastic at the bottom and yanked out my phone. Three missed calls. One Emily, one Kat and one unknown.Shit. Unknown—Kai. I pressed in the code to get through to his number and dialed.
Please answer. Please.
“A tad dramatic, wasn’t it? Might want to curb the drinking for real, Chaos. I would prefer if you lived.”
I didn’t have time to word-play with him. “He knows.”
Silence.
It sounded like he was opening a door and then the whoosh of traffic. “Knows what, Chaos?”
“About Robbie and then …” Shit, Kai always said he’d end me then kill Deck if I ever told Deck what I was doing. Not sure what ‘end’ meant, but with Kai it could mean kill, torture, emotionally destroy or put me in a space ship and send me up into the universe. I didn’t care. He could do whatever he wanted to me as long as he left Deck alive.
“Then?”
He was calm, but the charm I often heard in his voice disappeared.
“He saw me at the hospital, Kai. He saw the chart. The cuts.”
“And you gave him a plausible explanation.”
“God, Kai … Deck isn’t fuckin’ stupid. The only reason I’ve gotten away with this is because he’s been thinking I’m an irresponsible drunk. Now he knows I’m not.”
“And how did he discover that little tidbit, Chaos?”
“You figure it out, asshole. I’m staying with him. I don’t have a single withdrawal symptom.” I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder and pulled on my sweatshirt. “Kai, he’s coming after you.”
“You really fucked things up, didn’t you, Chaos?” I heard Kai shuffling something around and then a car door slammed and the wind whistled through the phone. “I told you what happens if he finds out.”
I stood frozen in place, tears pooling in my eyes. “Please, Kai. Don’t. I’ll do anything. Please don’t kill him. It isn’t his fault; it’s mine. Do what you need to me, but not him. Please, not Deck.” I took a deep breath, attempting to get my shit together, my insides balled up like tangled wire.