Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“You owe me,” I repeat.
“You keep saying that, and I get why you’re upset. You got seriously hurt and ended up in the hospital because of me and that kills me.” She swallows hard. “You have no idea how much it kills me. But you still went pro and lived the life you wanted.”
“The life I wanted?” A harsh laugh flows out of my lips.
“You played pro and kicked ass,” she says, studying me closely. “Which is why I don’t understand why you’d retire after three years.”
“So you’ve been keeping up with me.”
“No, I can’t,” she says quietly, as if pained. “People tell me things anyway, though.”
Right. People. Prescott and Marissa. I’m so annoyed with those two, but I’ll deal with their undying loyalty to her later.
“You have a lot of student loans,” I say.
“Oh, my God.” Her eyes widen. “Did you know where I was this whole time?”
I run my fingers through my hair and take a breath. “Do you really think if I knew where you were, it would have taken me this long to get to you?”
She searches my face for a long moment. The thing about it is, we both know she’s going to do it. If the tables were turned, and I felt as guilty as I know she feels, I would’ve already agreed to this. Even if just to try to make up for some of her pain. She frowns slightly and I think I finally have her.
“I can’t just leave,” she says quietly and closes her eyes. “People need me here.”
I stare at her. PEOPLE NEED YOU HERE? I needed you. I still fucking need you. I hate myself for thinking that, and even more for wanting to scream it at the top of my lungs. Not that I would give her the satisfaction. I add it to the list of things that piss me off. It’s a long fucking list.
“One week,” I say. “For now.”
“Why me?” she whispers, searching my face intently.
“Do you have any idea how much I lost because of the attack?” I ask. “I dropped in the draft. I didn’t get the money I’d been promised. The teams I wanted to play for, who were interested in me, passed. And then you. . .”
And then you fucking left me there by myself, to pick up the fucking pieces of the heart you shattered because I was stupid enough to fall for you. I don’t say that, obviously, and I don’t think I need to. Sadness flashes in her eyes just the same. It’s gone quickly, replaced by a serious expression as she seems to mull it over. A small frown forms on her face as she opens her mouth and shuts it a few times. I just know whatever she’s going to say is either going to hurt her or hurt me. I wait.
“Can’t you marry someone else?” she asks, finally, her voice a shaky whisper.
She doesn’t even look me in the eye as she says it. She can’t. I know she can’t. I take a moment to revel in how difficult it was for her to say those words.
“No,” I say plainly.
“Lach.” Her shoulders drop. “I can’t go back to Fairview.”
That’s what it comes back to, which is the exact reason I agreed to attend the sports luncheon in the first place. I have no doubt that she would have given me the name of the attacker by now if I hadn’t mentioned Fairview right off the bat. I could extract it from her. Fuck it out of her. I know she’d let me. The thing is, I no longer want just a name. I’ve sat with the knowledge of what they did to her, to me, for too long. I’ve learned to exercise patience. Well, that might be a stretch, but I’ve gotten good at exercising patience. Fuck, okay, I’ve gotten better at it.
After I recovered, I wasn’t plagued by my injuries or how they happened, I was plagued by knowing what they’d done to her. She’d only touched the surface of it back then. This time, I want her to tell me, in great detail, what they did. I don’t want a name, not yet. With all the pent-up rage I have, I’ll spoil my own plan before it unfolds, and I haven’t waited this long just to fuck it up in a hasty attempt to get revenge. No. This time, I’m going to sit with the details until we get to Fairview, and then I’ll demand a name from her. She may not give it to me, but I’m ready. I already hired someone to follow us while we’re there without making themselves known. I want every move she makes documented. When the person exposes themselves, I’ll be there to knock the fucking wind out of them, the way they did to me. Worse than they did to me, and I’m not going to catch them off guard with a cheap shot. I’m going to look them in the eye while I do it, because I’m not a fucking coward. They may have been slick before, hiding in the shadows, but I know their game now. They tried to take me out because they saw me as a threat. They think they own her and will scare her into submission again. They may even think they’re an evil menace, but they have no idea what kind of monster they’ve created.