“No, please, baby, don’t. We can get through this. I know you’re mad. I don’t blame you, but this isn’t over. We love each other,” he pleaded. He looked sick. I fought to not let it matter.
“No, we don’t. I can’t love someone who I can’t trust. You found out my dirty little secret. That should be enough.”
I shoved past him, grabbing my phone and then I locked myself in the bathroom. He stood there frozen. The hell with him and Bear. I didn’t need anyone. I’d gone my whole life without anyone really loving or caring for me, I could live the rest of my life like that. I was used to it. Loving people only made you vulnerable and weak. Vulnerable and weak made you prey. I would never be anyone’s prey again. I dug in the laundry basket for the clothes I’d taken off earlier. While I did, I made a call. It was time to leave. I knew they wouldn’t let me go, so I’d have to get help.
Outlaw:
My worst nightmare was happening right in front of me. Tarin was leaving me. She’d remembered why she’d wrecked and what I did. I snatched up my jeans and put them on then I grabbed my phone and called Bear. His sleepy voice answered. “This better be good. It’s one o’clock in the damn morning.”
“Tarin remembered the accident and why it happened. She’s leaving,” I told him in a rush. He swore then I heard the rustle of blankets and Ilara murmuring in the background.
“Whatever you do, don’t let her leave. I’ll be right there,” he said, then he hung up. I went to the bathroom door. I could hear her moving around and she was mumbling. I knocked on the door after I tried the handle. It was locked like I expected.
“Tarin, please, come out. Let’s sit down and talk about this. You know I love you. You love me. We can’t let this tear us apart. I told you, I'm sorry. I never should have done it. I knew it as soon as Petrillo said he thought he had something. You're hurting and I know it’s my fault. Please, stay and talk to me. Talk to your dad,” I begged her.
The door jerked open. She was standing there in her clothes from yesterday. She still looked pissed and hurt. She hobbled over to grab her crutches. After she had them, she turned back to me.
“I don’t want to talk to you or my dad. I don’t want to see you or even hear your names again. The sight of you makes me sick. I’m leaving, Outlaw. Either get out of my way, or I’ll have you removed.”
“Stop calling me Outlaw! You’re not leaving until we get a chance to explain and talk. You can’t have me removed, Tarin. It’s our damn compound. None of my brothers will help you leave,” I told her. Her calling me Outlaw was grating on my nerves. I’d fought so damn hard to get her and now I was watching her slip through my fingers. There was no way I was going to let that happen. I’d lock her up if I had to.
I heard the thunder of feet coming up the stairs. Thank God, Bear was here. He burst into the bedroom. His hair was disheveled, and he had a wild look in his eyes. His gaze landed on her and he sighed. “Tarin, honey, I’m sorry. We messed up. I know it. But we can’t let this destroy our family. You’re my daughter. Outlaw is your old man. We can explain.”
She sneered at him. “I’m not your daughter. My father was Merrill Mercer, a child molester. We don’t have a family to destroy. I don’t have a family and I was stupid to think I ever would. Goodbye, Bear. I’m leaving.”
I saw the flash of pain on his face when she said Mercer was her father, not him. She stepped toward the door. He got between her and the door. I was behind her. I was looking at him desperately. What the hell could we do to calm her down long enough to talk to us?
As we looked at each other at a loss, there was a pounding from downstairs. Who the hell was here at this time of night? Bear swore and then left to run downstairs. She went right for the door. I was hot on her heels. She got to the steps. I tried to hold on to her arm, but she jerked away. I was afraid if I tried it again, she’d do a header down the stairs. I followed her, ready to grab her if it looked like she was falling. I could see the front door. Bear had it open and there stood Bull and Police Chief Scarelli. What the fuck?
We got to the first floor, and she went straight toward them. “Good, I see you got here fast. I’d like to leave please. I’m being detained against my will. If these men don’t let me leave, I want to press charges for kidnapping and unlawful detainment.” My heart dropped. She’d called the damn cops!
“What the hell is going on here?” Bull snapped.
“I’m leaving your damn compound and I’m never coming back. Your two brothers seem to think I can’t, so I made sure I had someone here who would help me,” she told him. She picked up her purse by the door. Scarelli looked at us then he looked at Bull. They had a silent exchange. Finally, Scarelli turned to look at her. She was watching him expectantly.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I think this is a family dispute that needs to be settled in the family. I’ll leave you to it. Ms. Mercer, I think you need to sit down and listen to these men. They’re good men. Whatever happened to piss you off, I know they’ll make it right. They won’t hurt you. However, please don’t call the station unless it’s a true emergency. My men won’t take your calls otherwise.”
He looked a little uncomfortable saying that. Her mouth fell open in shock then she screamed. “You’re in their goddamn pocket! I should have known. Fine, go back to town. I’ll find a way out of the place. They can’t stop me,” she snarled.
He shook his head as he walked off. Bull gave us one more look then said, “You get this figured out. We’ll talk later. Tarin, sweetheart, you need to listen to them. They never meant to hurt you. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” He went after Scarelli.
I sagged in relief. Bear shut the door and turned to face her. She was staring daggers into us.
She hobbled into the living room then into the kitchen. I got between her and the butcher block with the knives. As pissed as she was, she might just stab us with one. “Tarin, let's sit down and talk,” I told her. She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t sit down either. She opened the fridge and got a bottle of water. She shoved it in her pant pocket and crutched past me. She went for the stairs. Bear got in front of her to block her.
“Tarin, stop it. We need to talk. Acting like a child and ignoring us isn’t going to help,” he told her. She stared at him. She wasn’t pissed anymore. It looked more like she was resigned, which scared me more. What was she plotting? It was a staring contest until Bear suddenly picked her up and carried her to the couch. He sat her down and took a seat beside her. I took the chair across from them. She wasn’t making eye contact with either of us.
“We’re sorry. We shouldn’t have hired Petrillo to look into your background. We were more looking into Mercer. I told you that it didn’t fit that he never invoked his rights. He and your mom had a prenup, Tarin. She shouldn’t have gotten anything other than child support, but he gave her a shit ton more. He didn’t contest it or ask for custody of you. It didn’t jive. Both me and Outlaw knew there was more to the story,” Bear started to explain.
She didn’t move. He sighed before he continued. “I was the one to agree with Outlaw to contact someone to look into it. We didn’t like it, but we did it. When Outlaw called to say Petrillo was coming over to talk to him and that he had something, I went to find out what. We both said we felt like we were hiding it from you and we agreed to tell you after he left. Only you overheard it before we had the chance. I know we hurt you, honey. It kills me that we did, but we didn’t mean to and we’ll never do anything like this again. I swear.”
She remained mute and still as a statue. She was staring at the floor. I jumped in. I had to get her to say or do something.
“He’s right, Tarin. We won’t ever do anything like this again. I planned to tell you when you woke up and we realized you didn’t remember. However, the doctor said that you’d heal better if you weren’t stressed, so I decided to wait. It kills me that you feel this hurt and betrayed. I never want to hurt you. I love you. Please, say something, anything.” We waited in silence to see what she’d do or say. When she finally looked at us, my heart broke. Her face was filled with pain and what looked like loathing.