Page 55 of Before the Fall
Tears roll down her cheeks as she shakes her head. “No! I don’t want to lose you again.”
“We are who we are, Tia. That’s always been the truth from the moment you walked into that coffee shop and met me for the first time. I should have never done Michael that favor. If I hadn’t, you’d be happily living your life and never have to go through what happened tonight.”
“And I wouldn’t have you!”
I hang my head and say the words she has to hear. “A killer who held you hostage for his cousin, kidnapped you, got you shot and in a car crash, and …”
Those final words don’t come out because I just can’t say them out loud. I know Victor raped her. I can’t speak those exact words, though.
“Would you have killed him because he touched me?”
Without a hint of hesitation, I answer, “Yes. I won’t apologize for that.”
“I don’t want to lose you, Jaxon. I don’t know what to do. I can’t live with the life you lead, but I don’t want to live without you. What do I do?”
She’s slipping away from me right before my eyes, and I can’t do a thing to stop her because she’s right. My world is no place for her. She’ll never be truly happy if she stays with me now, and I can’t be the reason she’s unhappy for the rest of her life.
“I can give you anything you want in this world, Tia. I have enough money to afford anything your heart desires. Homes, cars, clothing, jewelry, yachts, vacations, and everything else under the sun. I’d happily do it because you mean the world to me, and seeing you smile is worth every dime I have. But what you want I can’t buy.”
Tia throws her arms around me and begins to cry against my shoulder. “I don’t want things. I want you. Why can’t I have you?”
I hold her against me, loving how she feels in my arms and knowing this may be the last time I get to experience this. “You shouldn’t want me. You should want someone who doesn’t live like I do.”
She leans back and looks at me, sniffling as her tears keep coming. “I don’t want anyone else. I want you. Tell me how that can happen.”
Tia knows as well as I do that’s not possible with who we are right now. Something has to change, and I can’t expect that from her.
I slip my arms from around her and ease myself off the bed. “I’ll be back. I want to get you something to eat.”
She hangs her head and won’t look at me as I walk out of the room.
Ryker’s sitting in his office when I walk in, and I have to say I’m surprised to see him at work already. Taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, I shake my head.
“You should be with your wife and boy now, dude.”
He smiles like he knows and doesn’t need to hear that from me. “They’re both sleeping. I wanted to come down here for some peace and quiet since I figured everyone else would be busy tonight.”
I imagine he’s right. Kane and Sophie are in their room, and Cason and Lily are in their room, along with Lukas in his room.
“Why are you down here?” he asks, leaning back in his chair.
As hard as what I’m about to say is, it’s time. “Tia’s got to go home. I’d like your car to get going in the next few hours.”
“Does this mean what I think it means?”
Nodding, I try to smile, but it’s impossible now. “Yeah.”
“Are you sure about this? As the head of the family, you know I’m supposed to ask you that, right?” he says with a chuckle.
“I know. Yeah, this is for the best. She doesn’t belong in our world. It’s not fair to expect her to find a way to deal with the life I lead.”
“If your father could see you now, Jaxon.”
What would he say, I silently wonder. I don’t know. Maybe he’d think I’m crazy for giving up what I’ve cared about for so long. Maybe he’d understand.
All I know is I can live with this, even if it means losing something important to me because it’s the right thing to do.
I stand up and laugh at that thought. “Do you know I just thought to myself that I have to do this because it’s the right thing to do?”