Page 114 of The Savage King

He curses again.

“Isabelle,” he says, and I peer up at him. His face is lined with pain, and I feel it in my chest. “If I could turn back time, I would keep driving.”

“Why didn’t you?” I ask, needing to know. My tears increase, and all the terror comes rushing at me. “Why didn’t you, dammit! I was all on my own. They just treated me like garbage. I was going to be sold!”

Decker curses and drops to his knees beside the bed.

“Iz, please.”

I drop my head into my hands, but he doesn’t move.

Eventually, I look up and just stare at him. That’s when he starts to talk.

“My best friend, Chloe. Sex traffickers took her. I was stationed offshore and wasn’t able to help her. Fuck, the reason she was taken was because I wasn’t there to protect her.”

I blink.

“You blame yourself?”

“Of course, I do. Look at me,” he cries. “I’m a killing machine, and she was just like you. Tiny. Same beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair.”

My mouth falls open.

“You loved her?” Jealousy overwhelms me.

Decker shakes his head. “No. Not like I love...not like that. She was my friend.”

His eyes are filled with moisture and when I think he’s going to break apart in front of me, he stands. “This is why I did it. Every woman and child needs my help. I know I can’t help them all, and I made a mistake. One I will regret for the rest of my life.”

We stare at each other both in our own form of hell as life tears us apart.

“You are going home to Todd, aren’t you?”

I nod.

“You are going to marry him? After this?” He points between us, then at the bed.

“Yes.”

“Is it because you love him or because this meant nothing more than a fuck?” Decker asks and my mouth drops open.

“I—.” What answer can I give? There’s no correct answer, and no choice. “I have to. Decker, you don’t understand.”

He simply gazes at me for a long time while I shake and second-guess my entire life. Then he’s back on the bed and takes my face.

“The only thing I understand, Isabelle Walton, is that what just happened between us is far more than anything I’ve ever felt. Go home to Todd, then call me when you realize you are in love with me.”

He stands and curses, slamming his palm on the wall, keeping his back to me.

Tears fall down my face.

Decker pulls open the door and is just about to close it when he turns again. “But if you marry him, I never want to see you again.”

Then he’s gone.

I plant my face on the pillow and sob.