“Who?”
“I don’t know. I just— I thought I saw something and when I went to swerve, my car lost control.”
“Who got you out of the car?”
Disgust shivered through my system, and all at once, his touch turned my blood to poison. With his hands on my thighs, it was becoming impossible to tell the difference between what happened that night and what was happening now. My hands landed on Michael’s, but nothing would sway him.
Nothing had ever swayed him.
“I don’t remember.” When the admission wasn’t enough, Michael’s silence pulled something new out of me. “I thought someone pulled me out and put me on the grass.” When my skin prickled, when I tried to push his hands off me again, the animal held his ground. “I don’t know, Michael. I remember someone pulling me out of the car and then just—” When I finally looked up, everything froze. “I remember someone getting on top of me.”
When that awful shiver ran over my skin, I didn’t notice the tremble in his muscles. When those awful eyes looked back out to me, I didn’t notice the disease that leaked into his blood. It was the same rabid animal that I saw that night with Josh, the same rage. The only difference was the stillness of my hand. My gentle touch had a way of catching his breath. Michael pulled away from me, and after a hiss of frustration, he pushed himself further.
“Who was he?”
“I told you I don’t—”
“The guy you had lunch with,” he hissed, his bared teeth snapping over to me. My brow knitted in response. “The guy you got in a fight with. Is he an ex-boyfriend?”
If memories of that night hadn’t knotted my stomach, memories of Tristan left me completely useless. A shiver ran over my skin at the accusation. A snarl pulled him forward, and whatever peace my touch brought was long gone. His fingers were back in my thighs, his dark gaze pulling me deeper into the fog.
“Answer me.”
“No,” I hissed, batting away his fingertips. “He’s not an ex-boyfriend.”
“Were you fucking him?”
“Michael.” A warning hiss only seemed to tighten his grip on me. “He’s a friend.”
“If you were fighting with him hours before this shit happened, then he’s a suspect.”
“I wasn’t fighting with him.”
“Then tell me who he is.” Michael’s snarl had a way of collapsing my chest, and as I gasped out for air, his hand snapped back up to grab my jaw. “If he did something to you, I will find out. This isn’t the kind of shit you can hide from me,” he hissed. “Tell me his name, Bridget.”
Panic froze my muscles, memories of the past catching in my throat. I wanted to put my faith in the sadness that lurked beneath his skin. Instead, the only thing I really saw was the image of his beast over Josh, of the blood that covered his knuckles. Tristan wasn’t dangerous; he was a kid who hadn’t learned proper boundaries. He’d never gone out of his way to hurt anyone, had he? Hadn’t he just said that night, the one that lurks just beneath the surface, was just a misunderstanding? Though, I wasn’t sure it mattered— not to me and not to Michael.
If Michael ever found out what Tristan did, I’d never see him again.
Could I live if I was responsible for someone’s death?
“No.”
The firmness in my voice tensed his jaw. His fingers tightened. “Birdie—”
“He has nothing to do with this. I don’t need you showing up at his door in a jealous rage.”
For just a moment, the comment seemed to phase him. For just a moment, I saw fear flash over his features. Though, maybe Michael had never known fear. Maybe he’d never known the desperation he asked me to live with every day. His condescending chuckle stole the oxygen from the room, and I allowed my gaze to fall.
“The only reason I’d be jealous of that prick is if I didn’t knowexactlywho you are.”
“Maybe you don’t,” I squeaked.
“Six years and you haven’t even tried to touch someone.”
The danger didn’t settle around me until my head jerked up, until I met those watchful eyes. Whatever sense of survival whispered in my head was gone the moment I met with that dark. It was stupid to think he’d followed me so closely, that he’d never really let me go. Still, to see him now, a new fear prickled through my system.
Did he know the need in my chest?