Page 58 of Explosive Union

“Jade?” he questions, and I really wish he’d not use that soft tone of his.

I shake my head. I can’t look at him right now. If I do, I’ll break. It’s coming. I should have known it was. It’s been five years and I’ve not dealt with what happened.

“Leave,” I hiss, the bitterness and anger coming out in full force.

I can’t do this with him here. I need him gone.

I’m about to break down. I feel it all the way in my bones. My heart hurts, and my soul is crumbling.

I make it to the bathroom, where I close the door. I quickly fumble for the shower and turn it on. The moment the water hits the tiles, my legs give out and I crumple to the floor.

My body bows as sobs wrack through my body.

God, I’m broken.

So utterly used and broken.

There’s no way in hell that anyone will want me. Let alone Rocco. He probably thinks I’m crazy.

I run my hands through my hair, unable to control the tears that are falling like a river.

What the hell happened to me?

Why am I crying?

I’ve never allowed anything to get to me like this. So why them? Why now all of a sudden?

I understand now why Marcy killed herself. This pain is unbearable, and this is what she felt like every day.

I think there’s no coming back for me.

They’ve destroyed me.

CHAPTER16

ROCCO

Ihave no fucking idea what’s just happened. I knew something was wrong when we were fucking. I could see the fear in her eyes. But I never thought for a second that she’d freak out.

The bathroom door closes, and the shower turns on instantly.

Fuck that. She’s not washing me off her. I prowl to the door, not bothering to get dressed. The moment I get to the door, a wail rents the air, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Pushing the door open, I see something I never thought I’d ever see. Jade, on the floor, sobbing, her entire body shaking with the force of her cries.

Guilt sits hard in my stomach as I see how affected she is. I move closer to her, not wanting to leave her alone, not while she’s like this. My Jade is a force to be reckoned with. She’ll give as good as she gets. This woman in front of me is someone no one gets to see. The pain radiates from her. She can be pissed at me in the morning.

I crouch in front of her, and that’s when everything changes. I’ve always known that I was protective of the woman in front of me, but nothing could have prepared me for hearing the words that she’s saying, nor the anger and possessiveness that beats against me, urging me to kill them all.

“I can’t get them off me,” she whimpers, her words barely audible. “They won’t stop.” She’s crying so hard that it’s making me want to find the men that did this to her. That made my woman like this.

“Mia cara,” I whisper, and her body jolts. Her teary eyes find mine, and they’re wide and filled with horror.

“I thought I told you to go?” she screams at me. All the while, her body is bucking with sobs.

“Principessa, you think I’m leaving?” I shake my head. The woman has such a low opinion of me. Christ, I know I’m an ass, but I’m not going to leave her alone when she’s at her lowest.

“Please,” she pleads with me. “I just need some time.”