Devastated (Anger Management Book 1)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “And why would they lie?” Hunter asked, watching her for any signs that she was lying.

  “Because they were afraid that I was going to tell them all the things that they were saying about them and did behind their backs. They were also afraid that people were going to find out what they were doing to me. So, to make sure that no one believed me, they told everyone, neighbors, my teachers, their friends, anyone and everyone that I was a liar at every available opportunity so that no one believed a word I said. As I got older, the lies got bigger and bigger until no one wanted to have anything to do with me,” Kylie said, taking another sip before saying, “Next question.”

  “Why are you afraid of thunderstorms?” he asked, thinking about the moment that he saw her running into his office like the hounds of hell were on her heels.

  “Not thunder,” she said, her words starting to slur a bit at the end as she took another drink. “The dark. I’m afraid of the dark.”

  “Why?”

  For a moment, she just sat there, glaring down at the table as he decided that he knew enough. He moved to stand up when she beat him to it and before he could move, she turned around and pulled off her shirt, giving him a good look at her back marred with scars of every size and shape, running up and down her back, short ones, long ones, angry-looking ones and all of them were barely more than a light pink letting him know just how old those scars were, robbing him of his ability to breathe.

  “Oh, shit,” he choked out in disbelief.

  “That’s why.”

  Chapter 17

  “Are you insane?” Kylie stupidly asked when it was more than obvious that the man that was currently trying to drag her back across the orange line had lost his damn mind.

  Then again, she’d figured that out a few minutes ago when he’d tackled her. That had been a fun time, she thought as she was forced to grab a handful of grass as she struggled to free her legs from the crazed man that refused to let her go.

  “We need to talk!” Hunter snapped, tightening his hold around her legs and held on as she struggled to get free so that she could finish storming off and tell the jerk where he could shove this job.

  “Let go!” she said, trying to kick her way free, but he simply tightened his hold.

  “Not gonna happen,” he bit out, keeping her legs pinned to the ground as she desperately struggled to get away so that she could put this job, this jerk, and this state behind her and start over again.

  Maybe this time she’d go to Texas or finally say the hell with it and put her passport to good use. There had to be somewhere that she could go where her past wouldn’t follow her and she was damn well going to find it, she decided with a surprised grunt as she found herself being dragged back towards the jerk and the job that she never should have taken.

  “We’re going to talk about this, Kylie,” the large bastard said with a grunt as she wiggled, squirmed, and kicked to gain her freedom from the delusional man who actually thought that she was going to stay here after this.

  As soon as she saw that file, she should have told him to go to hell and packed her bags, but something in her snapped when she saw the pitying look on his face, proving once again just how unfair life was. It had taken her a long time to accept the fact that her parents hated her simply because she’d been born but seeing it on paper had brought it all back.

  She should have been able to shrug it off and walk away like she had every single time before, and God, had there been too many times when her parents’ lies had destroyed everything she’d worked so hard for. She’d hoped, prayed really, that her family’s reign of terror was finally over, but this only proved that she would never be able to escape them, and all because of the bastard currently trying to drag her back. But she wasn’t having it.

  She was done.

  She didn’t care about the ten-thousand dollar fine, the fact that she had nowhere else to go, or that her head was pounding, and she felt like she was on the verge of losing it, she was done. Absolutely done and as soon as she managed to get free, she was going to…

  Well, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do since all of her things were inside, including her car keys, but none of that mattered, because she was too pissed to care. But even as she continued to try to wiggle her way to freedom, she couldn’t help but regret her decision to leave her purse behind. Then again, she’d been a little preoccupied at the time with running for her life and all to think things through.

  “Kylie!”

  “I quit!”

  “Goddamnit!” Hunter snarled just as she managed to break free.

  A loud beep accompanied his curse and then-

  She was free!

  “We need to talk about this,” Hunter said, as he was forced to step back behind the orange line that he refreshed every week.

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” Kylie said, dusting herself off.

  “I fucked up,” he said, standing there, looking frustrated as he rammed his fingers through his hair.

  “Yeah, you really did,” she said absently, as she glanced towards her car, noting that her car was within his reach.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that-”

  “Why did you do it?” she asked, cutting him off because honestly, that’s all she cared about.

  “I…” he started to say only to shake his head and reach up and rub the back of his neck with a sigh. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “That’s great. Glad that we cleared that up,” Kylie said, shaking her head in disgust as she turned around, more than done with this and-

  Beep!

  “You’re too nice.”

  Beep!

  “You don’t argue, bitch, kiss my ass, or run away every time I lose my temper.”

  Beep!

  “And I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with you.”

  *-*-*-*

  “Are you going to say anything?” Hunter asked, as he sat there, waiting for the small woman sitting across the table, who was rubbing her temples and muttering to herself, to say something.

  “I’m still trying to figure out why I came back,” Kylie said, which made two of them.

  She should have told him to fuck off, but instead, she simply shook her head, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back across the line before releasing him and walking back inside, leaving him with absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do next. He considered apologizing, but…

  He honestly had no fucking clue how he was supposed to apologize for what happened. He’d not only investigated her because he was bored out of his mind but then he’d sent his men to the people that had made her life a living hell.

  God, he really was a fucking asshole.

  “The emails are fake,” he said instead, because he honestly had no fucking idea how to fix this.

  “What?” she asked, frowning as she looked up at him.

  “I’ve never met any of those women. They send me those emails hoping to catch my attention,” he clarified, watching as his words hit and when they did…

  “Oh,” Kylie said with a thoughtful frown only to mumble, “Oh,” again while her face scrunched up adorably and then, “Oh,” which was followed by an, “Ew,” that had his lips twitching as she mumbled, “That’s disgusting.”

  “My mother died,” he blurted out even as he told himself that it didn’t matter.

  “What?” she asked, frowning in confusion.

  “I didn’t even know she was sick. I ran into someone I went to high school with at the airport that night and he told me how sorry he was to hear about my mother passing away. On the way to the hotel I looked for her obituary online and found out that she’d died a little over two years ago,” he said, deciding not to mention the part where they’d forgotten that he existed.

  “I’m so sorry, Hunter,” Kylie said softly.

  “I ended up at a bar and when some asshole swung at me, I swung back and kept swinging until I found myself handcuffed and shoved face first down on the pavement
.”

  “And that’s how you ended up here?” Kylie guessed correctly.

  “Yes,” Hunter said, chuckling without humor, “and I’m not handling it very well. Most days I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I can’t breathe. It feels like the only thing that’s stopping me from losing it is you.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I’m trying to make this right, but I have no fucking clue how to do that,” he said, sighing heavily as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face and-

  “You could just let me leave. I’m sure given the circumstances that the D.A. would be willing to let you hire someone else,” Kylie suggested and if it had been anyone else…

  “Not an option,” he said, because there was no way in hell that he was letting her go.

  “Why not?” she asked, as he dropped his hands away.

  For a moment, he didn’t say anything as he slowly pushed the kitchen table aside and reached over, grabbing her chair by the bottom and pulled her closer so that he could say, “No,” as he reached over and cupped her face in his hands.

  “I can take care of myself,” the stubborn little thing said, making him sigh as he leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead. “But you don’t have to.”

  Chapter 18

  “I really hate Florida,” Kylie muttered only to sigh heavily as she pressed her back against the headboard and hugged her pillow tightly against her chest, because she actually loved living in Florida.

  At least, she used to, she thought as another thunderstorm continued to shake the house and she was forced to sit there in the dark, struggling to stay where she was when all she wanted to do was climb off this bed and race downstairs to the safety of Hunter’s office and hide there until the lights came back on, but that wasn’t an option. Well, it was, but after this morning she really didn’t think that it was a good idea.

  So instead, Kylie was going to sit here in the dark, pretending that everything was fine. She was also going to try to figure out what she was still doing here, she decided as she looked around the large dark room before deciding that it would probably be for the best if she focused her attention back down on her dying iPad.

  She really needed to invest in some new flashlights.

  Granted, she’d been telling herself that since she came home a few months ago to find her apartment broken into and everything she owned trashed. She’d meant to pick up some new flashlights but hadn’t had the time. Now she wished that she’d made the time.

  She also wished that she could stop thinking about that file. She hadn’t read through the whole thing, but she had a pretty good idea about what it said and-

  “Why did he have to read it?” she asked on a groan as she closed her eyes and dropped her head back against the wall as she tried not to think about all the things that her parents said about her over the years.

  God, the things they’d said about her…

  Kylie clenched her hands into fists in an effort to make them stop shaking, only to fold her arms tightly over her chest. She really wished that she’d locked her bedroom door, she thought with something close to terror a moment later as she sat there, trying to remember how to breathe as her bedroom door was pushed open and-

  “So, tell me something, Miss Peabody,” Hunter drawled, as he walked into her room, shirtless and carrying one of those heavy-duty battery-operated camping lanterns that she fully planned on stealing.

  “Yes?” she said, not really sure how she was supposed to respond since experience had taught her that having her boss show up in her room at two in the morning wasn’t a good thing. Then again, since he wasn’t yelling at her or throwing a five-inch stiletto shoe at her head, she was going to have to reserve judgment.

  That is until he joined her on her bed.

  Then she was going to quietly have a panic attack.

  “I actually didn’t expect you to answer me,” Hunter said with a sheepish smile that had her eyes narrowing on him.

  “Still not talking to me?”

  “None of it’s true,” she said, wondering why she was even bothering to try to defend herself. No one believed her once her parents got to them. Once her parents started to spread their lies, it didn’t matter what she said or did. She’d lost count of how many neighbors, teachers, friends, bosses, and co-workers that had once greeted her with a warm smile started to give her cold glares after they’d met her parents.

  It never mattered that she’d never lied to them or done any of the things that her family accused her of. Once her parents spread their lies, that was it. She’d lost so much because of her parents and it only got worse after the divorce, but then again, that was her fault, wasn’t it?

  She’d known better, knew exactly what they were capable of, but that hadn’t stopped her from stupidly believing that they’d wanted to help her when her world came crashing down around her. She’d been so desperate to believe that someone cared about her that she’d actually been relieved when her parents showed up at her door that she’d stupidly told them everything. She’d told herself that they’d changed only to find out exactly what they were capable of.

  They’d figured out that she’d told her ex-husband everything that they’d done to her and were afraid that it was going to come out during the divorce. So, they’d taken steps to make sure that no one ever believed anything she said ever again. They didn’t care that they’d given her ex more ammunition to use against her in the divorce, they’d destroyed her.

  Nothing she said or did made a difference, people believed what they wanted to believe, and it wasn’t her. So, she’d stopped trying. She’d stopped caring and focused on getting through the divorce, and once the judge granted her freedom, she’d left town and never looked back, hoping that it would be enough. She’d cut all ties to the rest of her family, worked her ass off to build her resume and safeguard her reputation, only to have it all fall apart when-

  “I know,” Hunter said, making her frown.

  “Know what?”

  “That they lied.”

  “How?”

  “My men are very thorough, Miss Malone. Your family has a very long and disturbing history of accusing people of shit. It didn’t take long to find out that they’ve accused each other, their siblings, parents, best friends, co-workers, neighbors, doctors, dentists, landscapers, bankers, insurance agents, anyone and everyone they’ve ever come in contact with of something, tried to get them arrested, or threatened to sue them. I also know that you didn’t deserve any of this.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she mumbled quietly.

  “There’s nothing to talk about, Miss Montgomery. They’re full of shit and I could give a flying fuck about what they say,” he promised her as he placed the lantern on the nightstand while she slowly exhaled, tempted to believe him, and God, did she want to believe him.

  “Are you going to let me quit?” Kylie asked even as her gaze automatically shot towards her bedroom door to make sure that it was closed.

  “Not a chance in hell,” Hunter said, as he laid down and closed his eyes.

  “Umm, what are you doing?” she couldn’t help but wonder.

  “What does it look like I’m doing?”

  “Testing to see if I’m really a homicidal maniac,” she said, blinking down at him.

  “I think they forgot to mention that one to my men,” he said around a yawn.

  “I’m sure it will be mentioned after this,” she promised, nodding solemnly even as her gaze once again went to her closed bedroom door and she found herself moving closer to the man that-

  Kylie barely managed to get out a startled gasp when she suddenly found herself picked up and placed on the other side of the bed so that Hunter was between her and the door.

  “I prefer the left side of the bed,” he explained, as he rolled over onto his stomach and closed his eyes.

  “That’s the right side,” she pointed out as her gaze shifted between the large man lying next to her and
her closed bedroom door and back again before she found herself saying the hell with it. She placed her iPad on the nightstand before she laid down and curled up on her side, deciding to take advantage of him being here and try to get some sleep.

  “Does it really matter?” Hunter asked, as she felt him shift on the bed.

  “Not if you let me quit,” she said, sounding hopeful as she felt the covers move seconds before she felt his large body curl up behind her as his arm slid around her and pulled her closer.

  “You’re not quitting,” Hunter mumbled sleepily as she waited for the panic to hit, only to feel herself relax against his large warm body, and the panic that had been threatening to break her in two since this morning slowly disappeared.

  “You know that I’m still mad at you, right?” Kylie asked, because she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression or anything.

  “I figured that out with the silent treatment,” he said dryly.

  “Good, because I’m still not talking to you,” she said, even as she snuggled back against him.

  “And you’re doing an excellent job of it.”

  “I know.”

  “I thought you weren’t talking to me?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay,” she said, simply because it felt wrong to let him have the last word.

  *-*-*-*

  “She’s playing you,” Ryan said with a pitying shake of his head as they sat by the pool.

  “You think so?” Hunter asked absently, as he grabbed one of the beers that Kylie picked up for him this morning from the ice bucket by his chair and handed it to Ryan.

  “It’s definitely a possibility,” Ryan said, sighing heavily as he popped the top off his beer, took a sip and immediately spit it out. “Oh, God! What the hell is wrong with this beer?”

  “It’s about six months past its expiration date,” Hunter said, chuckling as he picked up his beer and took a sip.

  “Then why are you drinking it?” Ryan asked with a look of disgust as he dumped his bottle out onto the lawn.

  “Because it seems to make her happy,” he said, shrugging it off.