by Chloe Walsh
"Kyle," Lee said in a soft tone. "Calm down. Hope can hear you."
The knowledge sobered me and I lowered my tone. "What do you want, David?"
"Oh, you know," he waffled as he tossed a hand aimlessly in the air. "To check in. See how you three were doing. I heard you moved out. Bought a place in the mountains. How are you settling in?"
"I'm going to put Hope down for a nap," Lee mumbled as she hurried off in the direction of our old bedroom.
The minute the bedroom door closed, I was moving towards him. "Up," I hissed. "Get the fuck out of here."
"Kyle," David said in a weary tone. "For once can we not argue, and at least try to have a civil conversation?"
"I'm sorry," I spat, my tone sarcastic. "My civility went out the window around the same time I realized I had your fucked up genes in my body. So, yeah, about eleven years ago."
"Will you just get over it," David said in a reprimanding tone. "Move on. I'd like to put the past behind us." His eyes flicked to our bedroom door. "I've been making some…changes and I would like the opportunity to have a relationship with my grandchild."
"Get over what exactly?" I whispered. "Get over the death of my mother? Or the almost ten years I spent being shipped around the state, living out of a fucking duffel bag? As for a relationship with my daughter: are you serious?" I shook my head and walked over to the door of our suite. "There's nothing here for you, David. Go."
"Listen," he placated, holding his hands up in defense. "I'm trying here. I am trying to make amends."
"You're twenty-three years too late to play daddy with me." I tilted my head in the direction of the doorway. "And breaking into my suite sure as hell isn't the way to affirm my sentimental side."
"I assumed having a child of your own would incite you to grow up and lose that chip you carry on your shoulder," he hissed. "But I see you're still the same hot-tempered little shit who stood on my doorstep…"
"Please leave, Mr. Henderson." My head swung around and my eyes nearly fell out of my head as I watched Lee stride towards where I was standing. Slipping her hand into mine, she stroked her thumb over my knuckles soothingly as she fixed her steady gaze on my father. "I want you to leave. Now."
"Delia Bennett." David smiled at Lee and it freaked the hell out of me. Uh… "Good to see you on your feet again," he said, not unkindly. "How's your mother?" Lee paled and David's grin widened. "Hope she's back on her feet. Big surgery you both had."
Lee blanched "How do you…"
"How do I know about your surgery?" David smiled knowingly. "Or how do I know your mother's surgery?"
Lee didn't respond, but it was obvious she was wondering about the latter. It was the same question I was wondering about. I'd managed to keep Lee's mom out of the papers. It helped that she had changed her name from Delia Bennett to Tracy Gibbons. The reporters hadn't made the connection…how the hell had he?
"Well, you were front page news for quite some time," he chuckled. "And I happened to visit you–on several occasions. We all did."
"What's your point, David?" I growled. Trouble and pain. That's all that man brought with him. I knew what his game was and I didn't need his assistance in driving a wedge between myself and Lee. I was more than capable of fucking things up all on my own.
"Didn't tell her, did you?" David asked me before focusing on Lee. "Both Michael and Anna visited you every day for a month." He shook his head in distaste. "But your overprotective boyfriend wouldn't allow anyone to see you…with the exception of that Porter boy."
"Why would you visit me?" Lee asked, her eyes focused on David. "The last time we spoke, you made it clear how you felt."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, bristling with anger. "When did you two talk?"
"When I was pregnant with Hope," Lee said coldly as she pointed a finger directly at my father. "When he tried to pay me off."
"Did he now?" I snarled. My mind reverted to the day my father arrived in my office, talking shit and trying to give me advice. 'One day you'll find yourself looking at your biggest regret. Like I am now,' he'd said to me. The anger that was building in my body roared to the surface.
"I was trying to protect you, Kyle," David argued. "That's all. Obviously, I now know I was wrong." Standing up slowly, he checked the time on his watch before smiling at us. "Well, I seem to have overstayed my welcome." He brushed past me as he stepped into the hallway. "Think about what I said. Talk soon, son."
****
Lee
In the hour since David's departure, Kyle's mood had switched from frustrated to livid. He bundled us into his car and drove us back to the house in unnerving silence before stalking off the minute we stepped foot inside the front door. I wasn't sure what to say to him. I wasn't sure there was anything I could say to calm him down. He was terrifying when his mood darkened to this degree. So, instead of a confrontation, or pointless coaxing on my behalf, I left him alone in his office and set about feeding and bathing Hope, before settling her down for the night.
When she was asleep, I refolded the laundry I had already folded this morning, and then I checked on the folder Linda had given me. It was exactly where I had left it–at the bottom of my underwear drawer, covered with bras and panties. Another hour passed and I knew I had to face him.
"Are you okay?" I asked quietly as I stood in the doorway of his home office, fingers braced on the door knob, ready to bolt.
Kyle, who was stalking around the room like a mad man, froze and spun around to face me. I watched his whole body stiffen as he clenched his eyes shut. His hair was sticking up in forty different directions, and when he finally did open his eyes and look at me, I was stunned at the wild, untamed fury staring back at me. "I hate him, Lee," he whispered softly as he sank down on his black, leather chair and rested his elbows on his legs, his head in his hands. "I fucking hate him, baby."
"Me too," I told him as I cautiously moved towards him.
Kyle looked up at me with a lost expression. "Why now?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Why is he doing this to me now?"
"Kyle…" I rushed towards him and climbed onto his lap. "Don't let him get to you," I whispered as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "He's not worth worrying about. He is a very bad man."
His arms wrapped around me so tightly I could barely breathe, but I didn't dare move. He needed the grounding and I needed the feel of him. "I can't…" He stopped and inhaled deeply, his breath hot against my neck. "I lose control around him, Lee," he admitted. "I fucking hate that he can do that to me, and I hate myself for giving him the power to do it."
"It's okay to lose control, Kyle," I told him as I clung to his strong body. "I spend most of my life not in control."
I felt him smile against my neck. "Yeah, princess, you may not be in control sometimes, but you still have your self-control…" He shuddered and squeezed me tightly. "Mine just…snaps."
His words sent chills through my body and turned the blood in my veins to ice. I had lived with a man who had the very same problem…but this was Kyle. He would never hurt anyone.
'Mine just snaps.'
My heart vehemently squashed those red-flags.
"I love you," I whispered because, quite frankly, there wasn't anything else I could say. I could hardly deny he was hot-tempered. Whether it was right or wrong, the blistering fierceness Kyle possessed–the virile intensity that emanated from him–was a terrifyingly addictive enticement.
"I know you do," he whispered. "It's what keeps me sane."
"Kyle," I said as I pushed back so I could look at his face. "There's a difference between being in control and being in charge."
"I'm not following you, princess," he said as he frowned at me. I wasn't sure I was following myself, but the words had popped into my head and I was desperate to comfort him.
"You don't have to live your life being in control of everything," I said as gently as I could as I tried to verbalize what I meant. "Being in charge of something is just as effective
. It just means that you can step back a little. Give yourself a little breathing space and be okay with it if things don't go to plan. Life is unpredictable. You can't plan, plot and execute everything. Life is full of uncontrollable elements. Take charge of yourself and accept that is enough. Let David Henderson, and whoever else that upsets you, go to hell. You can't change them, so why waste your energy on trying."
"Lee." He shuddered and tightened his grip on me. "It's not that easy," he admitted. "He gets under my skin. I'm so fucking angry right now. My body is literally burning with rage."
"Come on," I said, covering my anxiety with an upbeat tone of voice, as I climbed off his lap and crossed the room. I needed to get his mind off his father fast and I knew just the trick. "Let's go check out that hot-tub."
Kyle's whole frame relaxed immediately and I felt like sagging in relief. "So, I'm forgiven for earlier, am I?" he asked sheepishly as he stood up slowly and prowled towards me.
I'd forgive him for just about anything right now. I needed him happy. It crushed me to see him so lost. I hated David Henderson for doing this to him. For making my self-assured man feel so damaged. "That depends," I teased, feeling more relaxed now that I could see he was relaxing.
"Oh yeah?" Kyle grinned as he stalked towards me. "On what?"
"On how many times you can make it up to me," I said boldly as I pulled my t-shirt over my head and threw it at him before stepping out of his reach and unsnapping the front clasp of my bra. "If I remember correctly, you said you like a challenge..." Opening my jeans, I slowly peeled down the zip and exposed the front of my black lace panties. "Think you can take me on, tough guy?"
Kyle growled and it was a deep, guttural sound. "You wanna play, princess?" he asked as his eyes roamed over my body before landing on my flushed face.
He smirked and stepped towards me. I backed up again and shook my head playfully. "You'll have to be faster than that to catch me, Carter," I taunted as I shimmied out of my jeans and used my toe to fling them towards him. He caught my jeans mid-air and tilted his head to one side in amusement. "Maybe I'm too fast for you," I added.
His eyes darkened and my heart hammered against my ribcage in anticipation. What had started as a distraction technique had backfired in the most delicious way. I was so turned on I was practically panting. "You're teasing me?" he purred. I practically drooled when he pulled his t-shirt off–that really sexy way men do when they grab the piece of fabric behind their neck and yank it over their head–before dropping his shirt to the floor and his fingers to his belt buckle. "You better run, baby."
"Make me," I breathed. The muscles in his stomach rippled as he stalked towards me and I was a goner…
****
The sound of Kyle's hushed whispers woke me from my first nightmare-free sleep in what felt like forever. Stretching lazily, I blinked my eyes open and sighed contently. My bones felt like jelly from our earlier antics in the hot-tub and I'd never felt more sated…more rested. I was actually kinda proud of myself and my female powers of persuasion. I'd talked Kyle down. I'd calmed him down. I'd brought him back to me…
"I'm on my way," I heard him whisper seconds before her threw the covers off himself and climbed out of bed.
I rolled onto my back and stared up at him. "What's wrong?" I asked quietly. "Who was that?" Kyle turned his face away from me, not looking me in the eye. "Kyle," I said nervously as I sat up and watched him dress quickly. Fear filled me. "What's going on?"
"Will you be okay if I head out for a little while, baby?" he asked me as he grabbed his keys off the bedside table. "There's a problem at the hotel."
Liar. "What kind of problem?" I asked in a flat tone of voice. I knew by the guilty expression he wore on his face, as he stood at the side of our bed looking down at me, he was lying. It was the same expression he used to wear early on in our relationship–right before he lied to me.
"Nothing for you to worry about," he muttered, staring a point on the headboard behind next to my face. "Will you be okay here?"
If I thought it would make him stay I would scream NO. There was little point in that though. He would either wait until I was asleep and sneak out then, or have Linda come over and sit with me.
Either way I lost.
Either way he was going to run after her.
There was no emergency at the hotel.
He was going to see my mother.
"Yes," I replied while my mind was screaming 'bastard.' The betrayal I felt was heady–suffocating. After everything he'd been through with David…I backed him up. I freaking stood by him. And when I needed his support he wouldn’t give it. How could he justify this? It wasn’t fair. He was breaking my heart.
"I'll be back before you know it." He leaned down and kissed my forehead before rushing out the room.
I sat in a state of shock and disgust as my mind tossed up every horrific moment of my life. Everything she could have stopped. She did nothing. She left me on my own with him. And now, after everything we'd been through today, he was leaving me for her. On my own. In the middle of nowhere. Frantic fear settled inside of me. What if David showed up? What if daddy showed up? What if Rachel broke out and came looking for me…My mind knew I was overreacting, but my survival instincts were on code red…
It's dark. It is pitch black and I have no clue of how to protect us. What if someone breaks in? It's not like the hotel. No one is here. No one will hear me...
I waited until I heard the front door slam before climbing out of bed and rushing down the hallway to Hope's bedroom. Slipping inside, I locked the bedroom door and, as quietly as I could, I dragged the rocking chair over to fit behind the door. Hope snored softly in her crib, not even stirring from the soft scraping noise of the timber chair being dragged over wooden floor. I didn't have a blanket so I grabbed one of the huge stuffed animals from her shelf and used it to keep warm as I settled down on the chair. I kept my eyes on the window directly in front of me.
I needed to be prepared.
I wasn't going to be anyone's victim again.
****
Kyle
I hit every red light on the way to Tracy's house and by the time I arrived it had been over an hour since her call. Unlocking the little wooden gate at the entrance to her garden, I walked up the path and knocked on the front door.
"Who is it?" I heard her ask from behind the door and I rolled my eyes. She knew I was coming.
"It's Santa," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Let me in." The sound of a deadbolt sliding and numerous other clanging noises broke the silence. The door opened about a foot inwards and I slipped through the gap. "You know," I mused. "I'm gonna have to lose weight if you expect me to fit through here again."
"I'm sorry," Tracy mumbled as she held her cheeks in her hands. "I have to be cautious."
Tracy's hair, so similar to Lee's, was shooting out in all directions and I felt my heart squeeze. Everything about the woman made me want to tuck her away and keep her safe. She had such a horrific life. She'd suffered both physical and mental abuse at the hands of Lee's father. He'd broken Tracy down until she'd cracked and left–without Lee. She had redeemed herself in my eyes when saved my girl's life and she was still being punished for something that I was fully convinced was Jimmy Bennett's entire fault.
The thought of Lee standing up to my father flooded my conscience and I immediately batted it away. This was different. Tracy was a good person. David was scum…
"I think he's back, Kyle," she blurted out. "I think Jimmy is back in Colorado and I think he knows I'm here."
I sighed heavily. This shit just kept getting better. "He's not here, Tracy," I told her firmly. "Let's just calm down for a second and tell me why you think that." Walking into the kitchen, I switched on the light, grabbed the kettle and filled it with water before switching it on. I needed a truck load of coffee in order to deal with this calmly.
I knew for a fact Jimmy wasn't in Colorado. The fucker was back home in Louisiana living it up with my goddamn money
and with any hope drinking himself to death...
"I saw him," Tracy whispered. "At least I think I saw him…"
"Okay," I said calmly as I turned around to face her. "Let's see if you're right." She was wrong, but telling her that wouldn't go down well and I wasn't in the mood to chase her flighty ass around the city. There was only one way I could convince her she was safe.
Leaning against the countertop behind me, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed his home number before putting my phone on loud speaker. I focused on her face while we both listened to the phone ringing.
"Who's there?" Jimmy's slurred southern drawl filled the room. I raised my brow at Tracy and turned the screen around so she could see it was his home phone number I was calling. She sagged in relief and covered her mouth with her hands as if she was afraid to make a sound. "You got nothing to say to me?" he demanded.
"Hang up," Tracy mouthed as she shook her head, eyes wide and fearful.
"Is that you, Delia?" he growled and Tracy whimpered loudly. Jimmy laughed roughly having clearly heard Tracy's startled cry. "What's wrong, darling?" he sneered. "City boy kicked you to the curb already? You wanna come crawling home to…"
"It's me, asshole," I snarled, taking my phone off loudspeaker before putting it to my ear. "And the only person who will be crawling is you if you as much as step foot in Boulder again." Tracy's eyes were bulging and fixated on my face in what looked like adoration. I turned around, feeling uncomfortable with being gawked at.
"Don't threaten me, boy," Jimmy said menacingly. "I've been keeping to my side of my deal...although I could use a little top-up."
"You won't get another penny from me," I hissed. "Be fucking grateful you got anything in the first place."
"Is twenty grand all she's worth to you?" Jimmy taunted. "Then again, I can't really blame you. She is used goods. Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free, aint that the saying, boy?"