She forced herself upstairs and into the shower. Forced herself to step beneath the heated spray of the water before she let herself break the promise she’d made him. And there, in the corner, water raining down on her, Zoey slid to the floor, her forehead resting against her knees, silent sobs shaking her shoulders as she let herself accept the fact that it was almost over. He was almost gone, and when he walked away, it would kill her.
EIGHTEEN
His pants once again around his hips, his entire body drained, Doogan sat on the wide bench next to the rack of weights close to where he’d fucked Zoey against the wall.
Hell, he hadn’t even kissed her. He’d just pushed her against the damned wall and fucked her like he was dying.
Resting his elbows on his knees, he wiped his hands over his face and tried to make sense of the emotions ripping him apart. This was why he tried to stay away from her. He was damned if he could sort through everything she made him feel, and all the regrets he’d fought to bury when he’d buried his baby girl.
Just the thought of walking away from Zoey tore him apart.
She was too damned innocent, too damned sweet for the likes of him, and he knew it. And still, he hadn’t been able to walk away from her. Hadn’t been able to stay away from her.
And he was beginning to fear that might well be the only way to protect her.
—
Dragging herself out the shower, Zoey quickly dried her hair before braiding it, then pulling on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt to sleep in. She didn’t expect Doogan to be up anytime soon. Hell, she didn’t really expect him to be up at all. He was too busy trying to find all the reasons why he shouldn’t be with her to see all the reasons why he should be. And Zoey could have fought anything or anyone else to be with him, but him. At this point, she wasn’t going to fight him for it.
Leaving the bedroom, she had every intention of dipping into a bottle of wine and turning on some sappy, romantic tearjerker. She made it halfway across the living room when she came to a slow, stomach-churning stop.
“Well, it was hard enough getting in here.” The voice was pleasant enough; the expression was pure evil, though.
Smiling, the emerald-green eyes were like ice, his expression all the more dangerous for the amused derision in his gaze.
“Dawg’s baby sister,” he sneered, the dull gleam of the gun he held on her terrifying. “I had such plans for you and Dawg. Rigsby was so certain that drug would work.” Fury flashed in his gaze. “All he was concerned with was that pact. All I was concerned with was seeing you in prison and Dawg suffering.”
Luther Jennings looked like his father, except for the eyes. The odd brilliancy to the green eyes marked Mackay blood. He had that. The eyes would have actually been pretty, if they weren’t so marred by hatred.
“You look like his daughter.” He stepped fully from the corner of the room where he’d been standing, his head tilted to the side thoughtfully. “I want you to know, that actually made this harder. For some reason, striking at a child revealed a conscience I wasn’t aware I possessed. Though it would have been easier to mess with Laken’s young mind, I guess.”
Zoey could feel the oily, noxious feel of the terror she’d felt that night washing over her now. She remembered his threat to rape Laken, to hurt her.
“You won’t get away with this, Luther,” she warned him, stepping back, trying to get as close as possible to the metal steps leading to the ground floor.
Doogan was still in the gym. He would hear Luther if she could just get him closer to the entrance to the room where she’d left Doogan.
Luther smiled in vicious amusement. “Your boyfriend left. Pissed him off, did you?”
“What are you talking about?” Doogan hadn’t left. He wouldn’t have left her there alone. And even if he’d had to, he would have told her first.
“Chatham Doogan,” he answered, his voice filled with contempt. “He left. I watched him slip from the back entrance. Didn’t he tell you he was leaving?”
He hadn’t.
Why would he leave her alone?
She couldn’t conceive that he’d actually desert her. Or that he’d slip away without even warning her.
“No,” she finally answered, still backing away from Luther. “He didn’t tell me.”
He wouldn’t have done it. That just wasn’t Doogan. He was too protective, and he cared too much for her. He might not love her, but she meant something to him, she knew she did.
“Keep trying to run, little rabbit.” He laughed at her with a low, evil chortle. “There’s no way to escape, you know. The security system won’t work now until I release it. And I won’t release it until I kill you.”
Yeah. Right. Eli had created that security system for her and he’d thought of that. There was a safeguard. A simple, quick release of the locks that had nothing to do with the electronics. It was a safeguard only she and Eli were aware of.
“Just to hurt Dawg.” She shook her head at the knowledge that anyone could be so vicious. So utterly merciless and evil.