Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Where are you going?” Bastian asked.
“To get answers.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kick
Oh, God.
I couldn’t do this.
Not when my entire freaking world had just exploded around me.
I needed time to think about what I was going to say to him, to plan, to…
It was useless thinking about what I needed right then, though, with Rico standing there, tension holding his shoulders back and making a muscle tick in his jaw. With pure betrayal in his eyes.
I stumbled back a step, alarm bells in my mind going off, reminding me how dangerous an animal a man could be when he was angry. And even from several feet away, I could feel the sizzle of Rico’s rage.
“Seems like we need to have a talk,” Rico said, moving inside of the apartment and closing the door behind him.
A choked sound escaped me as I scurried back another few feet, instincts telling me to put as much space between us as possible.
He advanced another step, and I rushed to put the couch between us, adrenaline burning through my veins, making me feel racy and hot.
“Christ,” Rico said, straightening as he watched me, seeing something, but I couldn’t tell what. “I’m not going to hurt you, Kick,” he said, brows drawing together.
“I’ve been stealing from you,” I reminded him. I’d been hurt for far less in the past.
“Still ain’t gonna hurt you,” he said, spreading his hands out in an appeasing gesture. “I don’t put my hands on women,” he added.
I wanted to believe him. He’d never been anything but gentle with me. You know, save for times when we both wanted something harder.
But I knew better than anyone that men’s evil could be lying in wait, just looking for the right opportunity to use it against you.
“Kick,” he tried again, voice softer. But I couldn’t trust that his rage and betrayal had just dissolved like that. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked, his voice still gentle.
“I’m so sorry.” The words sobbed out of me. My eyes flooded at the same time, making him blurry until I blinked the tears out, feeling them stream down my cheeks and drop off of my jaw. “I didn’t want to do it!” I added on a loud, pathetic sniffle.
“Okay,” Rico agreed, nodding as he watched me. “Okay. I see that,” he said. “You need to talk to me.”
He was being too nice.
Too understanding.
After all I’d done was lie to and betray him.
Weeks worth of misery bubbled up and boiled over, drowning me in it.
A loud sob escaped me as I dropped down onto my knees, pressing my face against the arm of the couch, and just… purging it all.
The shock, the confusion, the stress, fear, and—worst of all—the guilt. God, the guilt. I’d been drowning in it. Day and night. Knowing what I was doing to the man whose arms I slept in, whose lips I kissed, whose hands now held my heart. Even if, after all this, all he would want to do was throw it away.
“Christ,” Rico said, sounding taken aback.
I couldn’t blame him. I was a mess right then. Loud sobs that racked my body escaped me, uncontrollable, unstoppable.
It all just needed out.
I’d been holding it all in for too long.
And after finding out about Jake’s betrayal, Rico finding out about my own was just… too much.
“Kick, come on,” Rico tried, sounding closer, but I refused to look up. “Come on. Nothing can be that bad,” he said.
But it could.
It was.
“You’re gonna make yourself… sick or something,” he said, sounding horrified by my display.
I couldn’t blame him. Rico was a good man. But he wasn’t exactly the softest man. I couldn’t imagine he was used to, let alone good with, crying women. And I wasn’t just crying. I was hysterical.
“Alright, come on,” he said. Then he was reaching for me, grabbing me under the arms and pulling me to my feet. “Come on. It’s gonna be fine,” he insisted as he pulled me with him onto the couch, pulling me against him, wrapping his arms around me.
Which only made me cry harder.
It seemed like it was never going to end.
Slowly but surely, I ran out of tears to cry. Leaving me just sniffling pathetically.
Rico bent forward, grabbing a handful of take-away napkins and handing them to me.
I blew my nose then slowly untangled from him, embarrassment mingling with everything else.
“Okay. Now that that’s out,” he said, and his casual tone almost made me want to laugh. “You ready to talk about it?”
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Gotta pick somewhere.”
“I killed my ex,” I blurted out, turning to watch his reaction. I expected shock, disbelief, even terror.
I got none of that.
Instead, he just gave me a little nod.
“Yeah? Bet he had it coming.”
My brows knitted at his reaction, but I had to keep going. I owed him the truth.