“I’m not going to hurt you, Jude. I’m not going to do anything. What you saw… it was a misunderstanding. It was…”
“I don’t care what it was. I don’t want to know. I just–I want you to let me go. You’re just like him. You pretend to be good, but you’re bad on the inside. You hurt people, and you’ll hurt me.”
“Bad? Hurt you? What the hell, Jude.” He seems shocked, like I’m accusing him of murder.
“There is blood on your hands. You’re violent, evil, and I don’t…” my voice cracks, and I don’t want him to know how heartbroken I am to discover he’s a fraud.
“You don’t what?” Lex asks through gritted teeth, his anger rising, his fist clenched tightly at his side. It’s only a matter of time before he raises a hand to me. I should be grateful it’s not a belt, or something else.
I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering if I should finish my sentence.
You’re stronger than this. Reminding myself that I can do this, I push through the fear pressing against me.
“I don’t want to be here with you.” The words hurt as I speak them, but I don’t know this person. I thought I knew Lex, but I only knew one side of him, and I’ve been around men long enough to know there is always a darker, violent side waiting to show its face.
All this time I’d wished I could find him again.
Now I wish I never crossed his path again.
3
Lex
She thinks I’m going to hurt her. Raise my fucking hand to her. The fear trickling into her blue eyes tells me everything I need to know. That’s why she flinches every time I move, which of course, only angers me further, making me look like a crazed asshole.
I can’t help it though. Like I would fucking hurt her? I promised to keep her safe, not hurt her. I’ve never even given her a reason to be afraid of me. If there was ever a time to be scared of me, it would’ve been the first time we met, not now.
Dragging a hand down my face, frustration seeps into my muscles. Now she wants to leave. Yeah, that’s not going to happen.
“Whether you want to be here or not, isn’t up for debate right now. You’ll stay with me tonight.” I hate being that guy that tells a woman what she’s going to do, but it was fate that we met once. It’s something more that we stumbled upon each other again.
Then there’s the shit she saw tonight… god, this is a fucking mess.
“You can’t make me stay here. I… I didn’t see anything if that’s what you’re worried about, and I won’t tell anyone.” Her bottom lip trembles as she speaks. I should let her go, but I’m too selfish to do that. It has nothing to do with what she saw or didn’t see. I don’t care about that. I just want her here with me.
“Look, you can stay in the bedroom, and I’ll stay on the couch. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t raise my hand to you. I don’t hurt women.”
“No, only men, right? You were beating that man and would’ve killed him if I didn’t stumble upon you and your friend.”
Shaking my head, I tell myself she doesn’t have the first clue as to what’s going on. We weren’t going to kill him, teach him a lesson, yes, but I had no intention of killing him. Luke, on the other hand, the look in his eyes, the darkness that surrounded him. It was hard to step outside of that heavy fog and not give in to the rage that was pulsing through my veins. Then I saw Jude, and everything else faded away.
“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it to you, which I’m not going to do.”
Jude crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. She had been timid and afraid, but now she looked as if she had gained some courage. Did she believe me when I said I wouldn’t hurt her?
“I’m going to go into the bedroom,” she tells me and gets up. I follow her steps with my eyes until she’s around the corner. Then I hear the door to the bedroom shut, and the lock clicks into place.
Fuck. This was not how I planned on this night going, or how I figured my reunion with Jude would go. Walking into the kitchen, I grab a bottle of water and look out the window and into the back yard. I try and find something to ground me. My anger is rising, bubbling up inside of me. Squeezing the bottle a little harder, I almost paint the walls with water when a knock sounds against the front door.
Who could that be?
Walking to the front door, I look through the peephole and give my head a shake when I see Roman standing on the doorstep, a scowl etched into his face. I’m not really surprised that he knows where I live, but more to the fact that he’s here at all.
Opening the door, I greet him, “Hey, you lost?” I manage a grin, despite my shit mood.
Roman’s lips don’t even twitch. “Hey, can I come in. I need to talk to you.”
Taking a step back, I gesture for him to come in. Roman isn’t a small man, in fact, he’s similar to me in height and weight. With the two of us in the house, the space seems to get smaller. Closing the door, I walk into the living room, and he follows behind me.
“What’s up?” I let my arms hang down at my sides.
Roman’s gaze darts around the room like he’s looking for something, “Where is the girl?”
My stupid heart slams into my throat, and I decide to divert the attention off of Jude, “What happened to that guy? Did Luke take him to the hospital? He said he would take care of him, but I wasn’t sure what he planned to do?” I wasn’t even going to bring up the fact that it almost sounded like he was going to get rid of him.
“He took care of him, so don’t worry about it.” His voice grows deep, and it’s strange to see Roman so unhinged. “The girl. She’s here. I want to see her. Talk to her.”
I shake my head without thinking. “She’s here, but she’s already scared…”
Roman grins like the devil, rolling his shoulders like he’s ready for a fight. “Good. Keep her that way. Fear keeps people in place. Make sure she keeps what she saw to herself.”
“We didn’t do anything wrong, Roman, and she didn’t see anything. Not really. That guy deserved everything he got.”
“He might’ve deserved it, but the girl is a liability, if she tells someone about what happened, both you and Luke could be in trouble.” He’s acting like we killed someone instead of beating the fuck out of some scumbag.
“Dude, we didn’t kill him, and my brother is the dean of the school. He’d back me up if need be. I’m not worried.”
Roman grits his teeth. “You should be. Make sure the girl stays afraid and keep an eye on her. I’ll be in touch with you.”
Blinking, I’m a little shocked at how unreasonable he’s being. He’s always chilled and laughing, but this side of Roman is anything but laidback or joyful. It’s like I’m seeing a whole new side of him for the first time. The angry look on his face would have most men pissing their pants by now. I’m not afraid or intimidated though.
“Is everything okay, man?”
“Just do this, and I’ll call you later.” He sighs, turns, and walks back to the door. At the last second, he turns and looks at me over his shoulder. Something like remorse flicks across his face. “I’m serious, Lex. The girl is a liability. Make sure she stays quiet or someone else will.”