If he meant what he said, I would never be alone again. God, I prayed he wouldn’t let me down again.
18
Cobra
I rubbed Karma’s back as she whimpered, kissing her head repeatedly. I said a silent prayer of thanks to the man who had saved my woman and baby. I owed him everything.
“Where is Issac, baby? I need to thank him for rescuing you.”
“He’s gone. Died four years ago. Liver disease.” Her tears picked up. I could tell this man meant a lot to her—it made me jealous.
I cuddled her in a possessive hold. Losing control and getting angry over the man who saved Karma was pathetic. I should be more confident in myself, but I wasn’t. Not after I knew she’d slept with other men. My sweet, innocent woman had changed.
My fuck up destroyed the unmarred woman who had been only mine.
“I didn’t want to stay in Kansas after he passed. Too many memories. So I had packed Nova up and what little possessions we had and moved us to Missouri.”
“Tell me about Issac.” I shouldn’t ask about him, but the sadness in her voice told me she had loved him—it fuckin’ gutted me.
“Issac was fifty-seven when he took his last breath. After pulling me out of the lake and taking me to the hospital, he invited me to move in with him and his wife, Sissy. He was a tattoo artist and became my mentor and teacher. They were good people. Treated Nova and me like family.”
Relief swelled in my chest. “Why didn’t you stay with Sissy?”
“Sissy had dementia. She and Issac didn’t have any children; she was infertile. After he died, her sister put her in a facility. I couldn’t do anything about it because she was the next of kin. It broke my heart.” She whimpered into my chest. “I couldn’t take care of Sissy and Nova, plus work. So I left to start fresh somewhere else.”
“When did you meet the man Nova thinks is her dad?”
She blew out a calming breath. “I met Stein a few months after Issac died.”
“Stein?” His name left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Yes, Stein. He’s another regret I have.” Karma propped her elbows on my chest and kissed my lips. “I never loved him.”
I held my breath, waiting for her to say she never loved anyone but me. Seconds ticked by as we stared at each other. The words I longed to hear didn’t come.
“Tell me what happened.” This next confession couldn’t be worse than trying to end her life.
“I didn’t want to be alone, and he asked me to move in with him right away. Things were fine for a year or so.”
“And after?” My throat constricted. For more than a year, she was happy with this dude? I hated him, loathed him for all the things he got to do with her, like sex. Christ, I wasn’t strong enough to hear this shit, but what choice did I have? If I had any hope of a future with Karma, I had to accept she’d been with other men.
“He had a lot of debt. He was big into fantasy sports. It was an addiction. When he lost, he got drunk.” She dropped her gaze. “When he got drunk, he wasn’t very nice.”
“Did he hurt you?” I lifted her chin as rage speared into my heart.
She avoided making eye contact as she touched my beard.
I knew her answer.
“I will kill him. Did he lay a hand on Nova?” I was about to lose my shit.
“No. He never touched her.” She straddled my hips and swiped her phone off the nightstand. “Crap, we don’t have much time before I need to pick up Nova from school.”
“Then make it quick. What did Stein do to you?” I wouldn’t let her cut this story short. I wanted all the details.
“We started fighting a lot. He’d take my money when he ran out of his own. It wasn’t like I had a lot. Someone had to keep the lights on and food on the table for Nova.”
“That someone should’ve been me,” I hissed.