“You asked what I do. I hunt fuckers like this, and I punish them. I make sure the name of Denton is feared. My father, he runs everything through the casino. It’s a tightly run ship. A tightly run business with family as the ones in charge.” Each word he spoke made him feel sick. “Jacob as the oldest, he will take over. We all have our role to play.”
“You’re breaking my heart.”
“I know, baby. I had hoped to keep this from you. I never wanted you to find out.”
“Why didn’t you just lie to me from the start?”
“The Denton men, we’re gifted with a skill. When we find the right woman, the woman meant to be ours, we know. There is no doubt that you belong to me. Lying is also a difficulty with our woman. I didn’t want to lie to you.”
“Please, stop.”
“I can’t.”
“Why did you bring me into this? Why couldn’t you leave me alone?” she asked.
Abel closed the door. Three dead bodies stood between them. The silence between them was deafening. Moments ago he’d been inside her, and now, the fear was evident in her face, in her body, in everything.
“You’re the love of my life,” he said. Tears filled his eyes, but he forced them down.
“I’m the love of your life, but by your own words, you didn’t choose.” She swiped at the tears, and he saw she was shaking.
“You need to sit down,” he said.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” She whimpered. “My feet are covered in blood.”
He moved toward the sink, filling a bucket with water, and making his way toward her. “Walk toward me. You can put your feet in the bucket.”
Harper didn’t move. She didn’t make a sound.
“Harper, baby, listen to me.”
“You lied.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You kept secrets. I’m not … I’m just a girl.”
“I know. I’m not just a boy. You deserve better than me.”
“You made me love you,” she said.
He held his hand out. “I will love you forever.”
She didn’t say anything, taking his hand as she stepped through the blood. Her hand shook as he guided her toward the bowl. She stepped into the water, and he got a chair, giving her a chance to sit down.
Kneeling at her feet, he washed the blood off, hoping it would help her.
Harper was still crying softly, and she was shaking. He wished he could do something to ease the fear and the pain. In her eyes at the moment, he was still the monster.
Minutes passed, maybe even hours, he didn’t know, before the doorbell sounded. He went to open it. Maddox, his mother, Jacob, Damian, and Oliver were there.
“We were attacked,” Abel said.
Charlotte didn’t wait to listen. She went into the room, and he watched as she held onto Harper, even as his woman fought at first. It didn’t take long for his mother to wrap her arms around her, consoling her.
“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s okay.”
“These are Colton’s men,” Maddox said. He lifted the back of his shirt, showing the dagger tattoo at the back of the neck. “Fucking assholes.”