“Want to go to the baby store?” Kyle asks once we’re in the truck.
“Yes!”
He laughs and drives me across town to the baby store. Now that I have a place to stay and money in my pocket, I can buy the things I need. I’m coming to the decision that I need to tell Kyle the truth. I want to tell him what caused me to run, because he deserves that after all he has done for me, plus I’m growing to trust him. Before I know it, we’re parked, and Kyle comes around the front of the truck to help me out. He pulls open my door, and as he drags his hands down my body, to my waist, my breath stills at his touches. As he lifts me down, my hands go to his shoulders, and I don’t let go, even when my feet are planted on the ground.
“Chrystal,” Kyle says just before both of his hands go to my cheeks, before his mouth connects with mine. I groan as he doesn’t just kiss me, he takes my mouth. My heart is beating so hard I’m sure he can feel it. I shiver and bring my hands from his shoulders to the back of his head, brushing my fingers in his hair.
He finally breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against mine as we both try to catch our breath. That’s the kind of kiss every woman wants and the one that changes her life forever. “Wow,” I whisper.
He laughs silently, kissing me once more on the lips sweetly. “Come on, let’s go shop for our angel.” I let him lead me into the store, still in a daze. I guess I was wrong. Maybe he is attracted to me.
Chrystal
Our shopping trip went very well, and I think Kyle was just as excited as I was. He bought her a tiny pair of a biker boots and a Harley shirt that he just had to have. We bought a ton of things, but I still have a lot more to get: a crib, a bassinet, and other furniture.
Now I’m downstairs in my apartment, trying to talk myself out of telling Kyle about my past. I’m married, and that is a hard pill to swallow. I’m scared to see his reaction when he learns that fact, along with the other things that went on. I shake my hands, trying to stop them from trembling, close my eyes, and say a little prayer before I swing the door open and make my way up the stairs to his part of the house.
I knock on the door gently, one part of me hoping that he doesn’t hear me. Maybe I can get by for one more night.
The door swings open, and Kyle is standing in front of me wearing a pair of gray sweats and a white T-shirt that does amazing things for him. “Come on in, you don’t even have to knock, Chrystal.” He gives me a look telling me not to argue with him.
I laugh, holding up my hands. “Fine.” I’m not going to argue with that. My smile drops the second I think about why I’m up here in the first place.
Kyle notices and studies me. “What the fuck is the matter?”
I let out a deep breath, gathering every single bit of courage I have. “I need to tell you the reason why I was sleeping in my car.”
His eyes widen in realization, and he takes my hand and walks with me to the living room. I sit on the couch and grab the blanket off the back like it’s going to protect me somehow, keep me grounded. I’ve only told one person about him, about how he treated me—she threw me out on my ass.
Kyle sits in front of me, fully facing me.
“I was married when I was eighteen years old,” I start off, and Kyle’s eyes jump. “When I was sixteen years old, my mother introduced me to the man; his name was Joshua Campbell. I was to marry when I graduated from high school. He was twenty-eight when I met him, and he was thirty when I married him.” Kyle’s face darkens, jaw tight. “I didn’t want to marry him, but in exchange for me, my mother would be living a life of luxury.” I feel bitter at the thought of my mother doing this to me and the fact that I was stupid enough to follow through with it, but I was so young. “The marriage wasn’t bad at first, then the real side of him slipped out when I accidentally spilled his plate of food. That was the first time he hit me.” I whisper the last part, ashamed. “I went to my mother, hoping she would take me in, but she threw me out because she didn’t want to lose her lifestyle. My father is so brainwashed by my mother, he doesn’t know the sky from the ground.” I pull the blanket farther up my arms, chilled to the bone. “So I picked myself up and went back to him, promising myself I would save money so I could run.”
I don’t look at Kyle because I can’t handle that right now, and I need to finish this. “It got worse. He would find things that didn’t make any sense, and I would get beaten. He broke my toes because I left my shoes out and he tripped over them.” The memories of all of this are overwhelming. I never got to deal with everything.
I finally look at Kyle. “I found out I was pregnant, so I had to get out. I bought a broken-down car with cash, I got in, and I never looked back. Here I am. Roseville, Maryland is a place I never want to see again,” I whisper.
Kyle reaches out to touch my face but stops himself. “I will not touch you when I have such fucking anger inside me. He is going to pay. He is never going to hurt you ever again.”
But that doesn’t mean I can’t touch him. I crawl over to him, lifting my leg over his and hugging him tightly. He hesitates to hold me for a second before he gives in, burying his face deep in my shoulder. I close my eyes and just bask in the feeling of being safe. “Chrystal,” Kyle says, and when I lift my head to look at him, he puts his hand on my neck. “If you had one fucking wish when it comes to that bastard, what would it be?”
I think on it, but there is one thing I wished over and over as he beat me down and hurt me. “I want him to die. When he was hurting me, belittling me, I wished him dead so many times,” I admit, not even caring if it makes me a bad person. Kyle smiles. He smiles in a way that sends shivers down my spine. He doesn’t say a word; he just holds me. I fall asleep in his arms, the best sleep I’ve had in years.
Kyle
I wait until she falls asleep, and I carry her upstairs to my bed. I don’t want to be apart from her right now. I just want to fucking look at her and make sure she’s okay. The pain I saw on her face as she relived in her mind the horrors that fucker inflicted upon her, that shit will haunt me. How a fucking man can lay hands on a woman, I will never fucking fathom, but I have one thing in store for him. I pick up my phone and call Torch. “Call and charter the jet. We’re going to Maryland.”
Chapter Five
Kyle
I left Texas at five o’clock in the morning. Techy is staying with Chrystal while I’m gone.
I woke her up and told her I was leaving for a day or two on a business trip. She nodded and smiled her beautiful smile. It killed me to leave her in my bed, but I need to take care of this so she can live her life without the fear of him finding her.
When I pull through the gate at the airport, Torch, Ryan, Jack, and Butcher are already waiting to board the plane. These men are my brothers. They don’t even know why we’re going to Maryland, but they’re fucking here and ready.
They follow me onto the plane, we get seated, and they stare at me, waiting for me to reveal the purpose of our trip. “Chrystal told me why she was running and sleeping in her car. She’s on the run from a man she was forced to marry when she turned eighteen years old. He fucking beat her every day, so I’m going to take care of this shit.” I grit out the last part through my teeth. The thought of someone touching her that way fucking kills me. All of the guys’ faces show shock and resignation because it just became everyone’s mission.