“It’s low of him to do that.”
“Yeah?” she looks at me, and her eyes are blazing. Anger replaces fear. I know what that feels like—anger is safer. Fear can eat you up, but anger can be controlled. It’s a safer route to follow when shit hits the fan. There’s a reason I fuck everyone up that crosses me. It hides how small I feel sometimes. “And how is what he’s doing any different than what you did?”
At first, I want to get pissed at her. Who the fuck does she think she is, comparing me to her abusive, drunkard dad? But then I realize she’s not wrong. I don’t hurt her, but what have I been doing to her? I used her to get my shit done or else I would spill her secret just like he did. I can’t argue with her and tell her I’m not like him because…I am.
At least, to her I am.
“Let me help you,” I say.
She shakes her head. “There’s no way you’re helping me.”
“Why not?”
“Why would you?”
I open my mouth to answer, but I don’t know what to say.
“You look out for yourself, and everyone knows it. You don’t give a shit about anyone else. So, why would you get involved in my business?”
I don’t know why I would get involved in her business. I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is that when that man started threatening her and aimed to hurt her, something protective flared up in me.
Even now, when I look at her I think:mine.And there is no way in hell that bastard is going to lay a hand on her.
“I’ll take care of it,” I say tightly through gritted teeth. “You just leave it to me, and he’ll be sorry he tried to blackmail you at all.”
Raina stands. “Don’t, Stone. This has nothing to do with you.”
“The hell it does! He came into this room and—”
“Threatened you? Hurt you? Fucked you over? That’s me. The moment I leave, my trouble leave with me. You’re already well on your way to screwing up my life. If you let this go, it will happen without your guiding hand, and you can sit back and enjoy a job well done.”
Her words are laced with bitterness, and she puts down her glass. When she storms past me, I reach out to her and grab her around her waist so she can’t leave. She’s tiny in my arms, delicate. I didn’t realize just how small she was. Her personality is so fucking big, she was a giant before me.
I hate that asshole for doing anything to make her feel small.
“Let me go,” she sneers at me, trying to wriggle free. But I hold onto her, and when she looks up at me, the fight goes out of her. I can’t figure out what I see on her face. Her eyes are guarded, but something in her eyes…
“Just let me help you.”
“Why?” she whispers.
Maybe no one has ever tried to help her before. Maybe she’s had to fight all this bullshit alone all this time. My heart goes out to her, and that confuses me.
Why?She asks me that, and I don’t know how to answer her. Because I’m not sure why, either. I just know that I want her to be safe. If anyone is going to give her shit, it’s me. If anyone so much as touches her, I’ll fucking kill them.
“I have to go,” she says in a voice that’s almost broken.
I let her go. What am I going to do, hold onto her forever? The thought crosses my mind briefly, and that scares the living shit out of me.
She walks out of my room without looking back, and I fight the urge to go after her.
It’s not long after that when someone knocks on my door, and Chaz lets himself in before I can tell whoever it is to fuck off.
“Hey, man, I was thinking…” his voice trails off when he looks at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say.
“Okay…you look weird.”