“Those are just words, Annabella. Actions are what matter to people like me.”
“Liam was unfaithful. That doesn’t mean he deserves to die.”
“But he’s threatening to kill the man you love. So, he does.”
After taking a painful breath, I returned my gaze to the floor. The brilliance of his eyes was too much to watch.
He dropped the conversation. “Pack your things. Or I’ll do it for you.”
Five
Damien
It was a long and silent drive to my place. She was quiet in the passenger seat, her suitcase in my trunk, along with a couple extra bags of the essentials she needed. Everything that had been left behind were things she could live without…because who knew when she would return.
When we arrived at the house, I carried all of her things up the stairs to the top floor. She tried to carry her own shit, but I didn’t let her touch anything. I still hadn’t forgotten her scent on my sheets, and I wanted to carry everything into my bedroom so I could inhale that smell once again, to feel her presence all over the place.
But I carried her things into the bedroom next door. She had plenty of space in the suite. A king bed, a large fireplace, a small living room where she could watch TV, and a private bathroom. I could have put her farther down the hall, but I wanted her close enough to reach at a moment’s notice.
I placed her stuff inside the empty closet.
She looked around at the bedroom, her shoulders visibly relaxed once she knew she had her own quarters. Her eyes lingered on the white bedspread before she looked at the matching furniture in the living room. A fire was already in the hearth because I’d asked Patricia to prepare it before I returned.
“If you need anything, I’m right next door. And you already know Patricia.” It’d been a long time since we were together, but it felt strange to be alone in a bedroom with her without gliding my hands through her hair. Without making her mine. When she was married, I didn’t cross the line after my mishap on the balcony, but now that she was available again, it was hard to respect that invisible barrier.
I wanted her to have her space to move on from her marriage. I didn’t want to share her heart with anyone else. Liam had agreed to that condition, but I certainly wouldn’t. But now that we would be sleeping just a few feet apart, it was hard not to rush. There were times when I forgot about the dilemma we faced. They were quick moments, more like instances, when I looked at her and just forgot…like now.
“Thanks…it’s beautiful.” She turned back to me, her arms across her chest.
I wanted to linger, but I knew I should give her some privacy. “I need to work on a few things.” I dismissed myself and headed to the door. “Knock on my door if you need me.” With my hand on the knob, I turned back to look at her, hoping she would say something.
Her eyes were locked with mine and she was rigid, like she wanted to say something but didn’t have the words.
Neither did I.
Hades sat across from me at the table in my bedroom. He’d recovered from the moment when I’d tossed out his scotch and denied him the kick he needed, bouncing back as if that never happened. “You don’t have to not drink because of me.”
“Yes, I do.” Now we drank water…like fucking pussies. “It’s fine.”
He cocked his head slightly. “Give me more credit than that.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You were gonna drink that whole bottle of scotch by yourself.”
“I wasn’t, asshole. Just wanted a glass. Goddamn.” His fingers interlocked behind his head. “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re more loyal to Sofia than you are to me.”
“Definitely her.”
He smiled slightly. “So, you shot him?”
I nodded.
“And got blood on my car?”
“Sorry about that.”
“You could have at least cleaned it up.”
“After you told me to never fucking touch your car?” I countered.
He smiled again. “Fine…you win.”
This was what I missed most about our relationship, how easy it was to talk back and forth, to know each other so well we could talk shit like it was nothing.
“And she won’t let you kill him?”
I shook my head. “He gave her an ultimatum. He’ll drop the feud if she takes him back.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s romantic…forcing your woman to stay with you when you constantly cheat on her.”
“She said no.”
“I’d judge her if she didn’t.”
“But she won’t let me kill him…”
“Okay, I judge her for that.” He took a drink of his water and cringed slightly, as if he’d subconsciously been expecting scotch. The heated liquor would normally burn his throat, but once that heat was gone, it made him cringe.
“She’s in the bedroom next door.”
That made him do a double take, both of his eyebrows rising in surprise.
“She couldn’t stay alone anymore. I suspect Liam will try to take her.”
“Take her how?”
“Abduct her. Literally.”
He pulled his fingers off the cold glass.
“Take her to another country, keep her as a prisoner until she’s successful brainwashed or gives in out of exhaustion.”
“You really think he’d do something like that?”
“He basically told her he would.”
“Fuck, this guy is a nutcase.”
It’d always been obvious to me. The way he was so easily baited into violence, the way his emotions would rise and fall without warning, the way he would love Annabella fiercely but then cheat on her a moment later. Now that he knew I’d fucked his wife, he’d flipped again…and this time, he wasn’t going to un-flip. “Yeah.”
“So, you have no plan right now?”
“Not really. I would just hunt him down and kill him, but she still won’t allow it. What else am I supposed to do?”
“Seems unfair since you’re the one protecting her right now.”
“Yeah…” It made me angry if I thought about it too long.
“I get why it’s a difficult decision to make, but since she loves you, I don’t see why the decision is that difficult.”
I shrugged. “Maybe she’ll change her mind…eventually.”
“Not eventually. Soon.”
I wasn’t gonna let Liam take my life, so I’d kill him if I absolutely had no choice…even if that meant losing her forever.
“How long has she been here?”
“Couple days.”
“Anything happen? You know what I mean…”
“No.” I took a drink from my glass and automatically cringed too, unable to believe I was drinking something so bland.
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “I said you can just drink the scotch.”
“It’s fine.”
“Fine. Enjoy your horse piss.” He clinked his glass against mine.
“She’s stayed in her room most of the time. I think she wants space.”