Dad gave Brock another long stare, assessing this guy he didn’t know and deciding whether or not he would let him into his house. “Five minutes. That’s all,” he finally conceded, stepping to the side to let Brock in.
Brock walked in, and instantly the room seemed smaller. My eyes devoured him, or what they could with the swelling. Once my gaze landed on him, I couldn’t look away.
Dad must have picked up on the vibe that something was going on between us. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes. I’ll just be in the other room.” He gave Brock one last glance, an unspoken warning passing to him—you hurt my daughter, I will hurt you.
Brock rounded the couch and flinched. The master of control and feelings struggled now to remain unaffected by my injuries. I’d seen myself in the mirror. I knew it looked bad. Really fucking bad. And over the next few days, it would get worse.
His jaw tightened, the muscles along his neck pulsing. He sat down on the old wood coffee table close to me, looking me up and down with a frown, which turned into a nasty scowl. Something like murder flashed in his eyes and then was gone in the next instant. “Wow, Firefly. You look like you walked into a wall. Repeatedly.”
“Fucking funny. What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t honestly believe I wouldn’t find you. When I heard what happened…” His voice went gruff.
“Everyone knows?” I asked, trying to decide how I felt about the entire Academy knowing Ava beat me to a bloody pulp. It was a tad damaging to my pride.
His next words were said with dark venom that caused a shiver to tiptoe along my spine. “I’m not just going to kill her. I’m going to torture her first. Izzy and Emily too.” When Brock made a threat like that, it was believable. Did I really think the Elite were capable of murder?
Yes.
The admission should have frightened me, and yet, it had the opposite effect. Having Brock close only filled me with security. No one would mess with me. It was those times I found myself alone that I got into trouble.
But also, screw that.
I refused to spend my life suction-cupped to a guy. I was not the girl who depended on a guy to keep her safe. I was fucking capable of doing it myself. Had done it my entire life. Brock was a magnificent lay, but I’d be damned if I stopped taking care of myself and leaned on him wholly. There had to be a balance. I had to be able to hold on to who I was. My identity could easily get swept up in the Elite if I weren’t careful.
“Not if I get to her first,” I replied, meaning every punch behind the threat. I hoped Ava, Izzy, and Emily had a few bruises of their own.
Leaning forward, he lifted his hand toward my face but then halted. “I’m so fucking sorry, Firefly. I should have seen this coming. I knew the bitch was crazy, but…”
You never know what a person is capable of. Ava showed Brock her true colors. I reached out and took his hand. “This isn’t your fault. I’m the one who ditched out on class. It was so stupid.” I could say that now, looking back.
“I wish I could’ve—”
“Wish you could’ve what?” I folded my arms and looked him up and down. “Wish you could’ve stopped it?”
He drew back, frowning. “Something like that.”
Tears filled my eyes and I hated them. I hated all the emotion welling up in me, burning me from the inside out.
I hated most of all the way I wanted him to make it better. Dangerous thoughts, leaning on someone else to make you happy, to take the pain away.
It wasn’t healthy. Nothing aboutuswas normal.
And I needed to stop using Brock as a crutch. At some point, he wouldn’t be there for me to lean on. I didn’t need another toxic relationship in my life.
And yet, Brock didn’t feel destructive.
He felt… right.
He made me feel alive and safe. All the things I longed for.
“What happened?” he asked, his tone gentle despite the storm in his eyes. “The security guard detailing you got there too late.”
So that was who saved me. Any other time I would have ripped into Brock for having someone follow me. Today was the only exception. I explained about the phone and how Ava used it to trick me into meeting who I thought was Ainsley.
Brock made a sound of aversion in the back of his throat. “This smacks of Carter. I can’t help shake the feeling he is behind this, and Ava is his pawn.”
Besides being a cold bitch, I had to wonder… “What do you think he has on Ava?”