Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
“It’s okay, Marley.”
He licked a tear off my chin and his tail thumped against me.
Tommy came back inside once the gate was shut.
His face was still like thunder.
I stared at him.
Marley started growling.
Tommy frowned at the dog. Marley was growling at him.
He went into his office and picked his gun up. I went upstairs with my puppy.
Tommy was there, a couple minutes later, standing over the bed, where I sat, holding Marley, who was squirming to get away. I let him go but instead of jumping off the bed, my dog sat on the bed, between me and Tommy, staring at Tommy.
Tommy sat on the edge of the bed.
He patted Marley’s head, and said, “Good boy.”
Marley tilted his head curiously at his master. At any other time, I’d have laughed. My little baby dog was smart. He was trying to figure all this out.
I looked my husband right in the eye.
His chest was still heaving. Still pissed.
He was staring at me. I was staring back.
“He never contacted you? Not since that dinner?”
I shook my head.
He narrowed his eyes.
“You don’t believe me?” I accused.
“Didn’t say that.”
“You better not fucking say that!” I yelled.
He gave his head a shake and blew out a breath. He put his palms over his eyes and rubbed.
“I gotta go hit something.”
“You do that,” I snapped.
His hands dropped and he stared at me a minute.
I rolled the other way and got to my feet on the other side of the bed.
I stormed to the bathroom and slammed the door. I washed my face and drank a glass of tap water.
I looked at my reflection.
I shook my head.
I felt the tears threaten but I didn’t let them come. I opened the door. He was standing there, looking down at me. I couldn’t read his expression. My dog was in his doggie bed, chewing on his big red Kong toy.
I tried to walk around him but he stopped me with his hands on my shoulders.
“Get off,” I pushed his chest with both hands. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
His eyebrows rose in challenge.
I glared.
He backed off and looked at the floor.
“Fuck you, Tommy. Just…fuck you.”
I stormed out.
He caught me in the hallway and I was up in his arms.
“Put me down!”
He put me down on the bed and pinned me, his eyes on mine. Remorse in them. Maybe. I didn’t know. I didn’t really care. I needed space.
“Don’t be like this. I need you.”
“I need to not be afraid that you’ll keep killing people.”
“Tia.”
“You’ve gone dark.”
My heart hurt.
It hurt so much.
He blew out a resigned breath. “I’ve always been dark, baby girl.”
“No. You used to be dark sometimes but now? It’s like you’re always dark now.”
I looked away from her accusing gaze, from her beautiful, wet eyes. She was probably right.
“That little fuck was a headache I didn’t need today, after all the shit we’ve been dealing with.”
“You didn’t have to put a gun in his mouth. Beat him up!”
“Anyone tries to get between you and me, behind my back? They will get a gun in their mouth. They will get their face beaten. He comes around you again, he’s not just getting it in his mouth. He gets dead. Capiche?”
She turned her face away and wouldn’t look at me.
“No crying or pleading will work on me next time, Athena. I mean it.”
She still wouldn’t look at me.
I grabbed her chin and looked her in the eye. She looked back. She was looking at me with what looked a whole lot like hate.
I let go of her, feeling like her expression was a slap. She got up and curled her lip at me. She looked like she wanted to slap me, like she was weighing out the pros and cons of doing that. I leaned forward, glaring back at her. I was pissed and I wasn’t hiding it.
She chickened out. Her eyes dropped to the bed.
Smart girl.
I left her there, went outside to talk to Will and the other security guy who Will was switching out with. I reminded them of all the rules and told them not to let her leave the house, which they already knew was a rule.
She still didn’t have free reign to come and go without security, never had. I hadn’t felt like it was safe enough, but I needed confirmation that they knew no one could approach her and she couldn’t leave. It was also stupid to let a truck in here. By the time I finished reading them the riot act, I was sure it penetrated.
Her eyes, her anger? I didn’t know if she was pissed enough to try to test me by taking off. I wasn’t taking a chance.
She was right about me being in what felt like a perpetual state of dark. I was dark enough right now that she did not want to test out my tolerance for that shit. I was gonna make it so she didn’t have that opportunity to push.