Page 33 of Ruthless Salvation
Keir was really starting to piss me off.
“Last I checked, I don’t have to explain myself to you.” I stood with the intent to leave, but Keir did the same, bringing us toe-to-toe.
“You may not owe me an explanation, but you do have a duty to honor our family name. If you’re mistreating a woman, we’re going to have a real problem.”
“I would think you’d know me better than that,” I bit out through clenched teeth. How fucking dare he insinuate I’d hurt Storm or any other woman for that matter?
“No one in this family knows what goes on in that head of yours. Not since you spent that year away.”
The blood boiling in my veins instantly cooled and coalesced like lava pouring into the sea. My entire body stiffened.
“We’re family. That’s all there is to know.”
His shoulders visibly deflated as I pushed past him, done with the conversation.
* * *
Every fiberin my being wanted to confront Storm the second I left that office. I wanted to so badly that it physically pained me not to, but whether he knew it or not, Keir’s admonishment had hit home. I hadn’t made things easy on Stormy. The least I could do was give myself time to cool off before talking to her.
It was her night off from work. I managed to control myself until the following day with the intent of talking to her when she got to work.
A good plan, except that I was blistering with frustration by the time she showed up for work the next day. I felt so fucking powerless, and I hated it.
I stationed myself by the front entrance so I could get to her before anyone else. I didn’t want her coming up with any excuses to avoid me.
“Hey, Storm. Can we talk for a minute?” I asked with measured calm, motioning to the nearby bathroom hallway. It wasn’t an ideal location for a conversation, but it gave us at least some semblance of privacy.
“Uh, yeah.” The uncertainty in her voice sent a wave of guilt crashing over me. I might have been a surly bastard, but the last thing I wanted was to make her scared of me.
I took a steadying breath, trying my damnedest to be gentle. “I thought we were working things out, you and me. I thought we had somewhat of an understanding after the other night, but then I learned you were looking to leave. Why would you do that?”
“Are you serious?” she hissed.
All of the shields I’d been forcing to the ground were instantly back up and armed. Didn’t she realize how hard I was trying? Didn’t she see the sincerity?
“Yeah, I am,” I bit back at her.
“Torin, I know what you’ve been doing, and it’s not okay. I thought you were just being overprotective at first, but now … I know it’s more than that. And it’s not healthy.”
“Letting myself in your place? You’re absolutely right, but I didn’t lie about it, and I can swear I won’t do it again.”
“No, Torin.” Her voice dropped to an angry whisper as though protecting my secret from eavesdroppers. “Thestalking. You’ve been following me for weeks now.”
“And you left your shades open on purpose,” I shot back, growing more defensive.
Storm stiffened. “I didn’t realize the extent of the problem at first. That’s an extension of my own issues. What you did is still wrong. The stalking. Letting yourself in my home. How can I feel safe around someone who’s doing those things?”
How could I ever convince her that a man as fucked up as me would never harm a hair on her head? It was impossible, which meant only one thing. I was going to lose her.
I felt myself dangling from a cliff, my fingers straining to cling to the tiniest twig, keeping me from careening to my death. My ears rang, and my heart thundered to exhaustion.
“Tell me one thing,” I growled breathlessly. “Have I ever done a single thing to hurt you?”
Tears gave her wide brown eyes a glassy sheen before she whispered the most heartbreaking words I’d ever heard.
“Not yet.”
Past