Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 138522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“Jean Claude wasn’t calling you, Abbie,” Reid says. “He was using you to get to me.”
I blanch. “What? Why? I’m confused.”
“He knows things about Jean Claude,” Gabe says.
“In other words,” Reid explains, “anything he can use to control me, he uses. In this case, the shelter, and my brother’s love life.”
My throat restricts. “Translation. He’s using me to hurt you.”
“Don’t answer that, Reid,” Gabe says tightly, his jaw set hard. “I will. Just not now.”
“Now is fine,” Reid says, walking to the door. “I’ll leave you two to fight. I know that’s how Carrie prefers we do battle. And I’ll leave Jean Claude a message. He won’t immediately take my call. That’s how he operates. It may be tomorrow before he calls back. Come see me when you can, Gabe.” In other words, alone, without me. He doesn’t wait for a reply. He opens the door and leaves, shutting us back inside.
The minute it shuts, Gabe cages me against it, his hands on my waist, legs bracketing my legs. “I’ve asked myself over and over why you turn yourself into the monster in the room. After today, I get it. I know why. Because your prick of an ex turned you into that monster. He made you take the blame for everything. He conditioned you to believe that everything was your fault. So you run, to save everyone from yourself. I’m not him. So yes, you were right. You’re being used. Your ex, my father, Jean Claude—all pieces of shit—use people as weapons. We don’t blame ourselves for their actions. We blame ourselves for our own actions, and blaming ourselves is an action, Abbie.”
I’m stunned into silence. He’s right. Kenneth messed with my head, my self-esteem. My self-worth. I do blame me all the time.
“We won’t let them use us, Abbie, but they did us a favor. We found each other. We found Dexter.”
My heart swells with those words. “I don’t want them to take you, or Dexter, away.”
“You underestimate me if you think anyone is taking me from you or you from me. He inhales and presses his hands to the wall on either side of me, lifting his body from mine. “What I want you to remember, Abbie,” he adds, his voice low, rough, “is that I don’t hurt people just to hurt them but when someone tries to hurt me or someone I love, I draw blood. That’s who I am. That’s what I am.”
“One day you will stop talking in code and hiding who you are.”
“I just told you who I am.”
“Is that what that was?”
“You want more?”
“KM, Gabe. Every time you make a statement like the one you just made, she’s in the room.”
“Kendall was my past, Abbie. She’s nothing. Now, stop blaming yourself. That’s an order.”
“Okay. I’ll stop blaming myself, but promise me—”
“Anything you want, Abbie.”
Chapter seventy-nine
Gabe
“Anything?” Abbie asks.
“Anything? What do you want? An orgasm? Another puppy? A cat?”
“Now you’re just trying to distract me.”
She’s right. I am. Distract her the hell away from the topic of Kendall and a confession that won’t go my way. That’s the problem. She thinks I’m a better man than I am even when I tell her that I’m not. Over and over, I tell her. I warn her. She sees something better in me than I see. She makes me want to be that better man. And I will be. That’s what matters.
“What do you want me to promise?” I ask, still pressing her against her office door, holding her here. Wishing like hell I could whisk her away, deal with this problem, and then bring her back where I plan to keep her by my side. The police complicate that desire, burn it to ruins, in fact.
Her hands touch my face, fingers trail my jaw. “Promises later but food now would be good.”
Aware that she’s let me dodge a bullet, I take the out. “Promises in bed tonight. Lunch now. Let’s order in.” I push off the door. We’ll move to my office and eat there, while you reach out to your mother. When do you have to be back with Human Resources?”
“One o’clock,” she says. “And me in your office is pretty much announcing we’re together, right?”
“I have lunch meetings all the time, baby.” I open the door. “Meet me there in five, if it makes you feel better.” I disappear out of the door.
I’ve just entered my office and sat down and she’s already there. “Shut the door.”
She shuts the door. “You’re sure about this?”
“Yes.” I motion to the conference table. “My lunch meeting location,” I say, grabbing the phone and dialing Connie, Reid’s assistant, who is currently covering for Lulu while she’s on vacation.
Reid pokes his head in the door. “Jean Claude called. I’m going to meet him.”
“What happened to a few days?” Abbie asks, twisting around to look at him.