Bury the Hatchet

Chapter Twenty-Two - Bury the Hatchet

HUNTER

"So tell me why I shouldn't go to wherever that son of a bitch is right this second and bash his face in," I said as we headed inside. The second we stepped through the door, I removed my jacket and tie and tossed them on the counter alongside her purse. That still wasn't enough, though. I undid the top couple of buttons on my shirt, trying to get as comfortable as I could for a conversation I knew would be anything but comfortable. She toed off her shoes, meticulously placing them just so in a corner of the kitchen, near the garage but out of the way so we wouldn't trip on them, taking her time about it. When she shot her gaze over to me, eyes as expressive as I'd ever seen them, I kept myself as calm as I could. But given the circumstances, that wasn't saying a hell of a lot. "Tell me why I shouldn't wring his neck the next time I see him, because that's what will happen if you don't give me a damn good reason not to."

Tallie didn't answer immediately. She went into the living room and took a seat. I followed and sat next to her, not close enough to touch her even though I absolutely wanted to wrap her in my arms and try to forget everything we needed to talk about.

She looked so fucking fragile, sitting on the couch with one leg tucked underneath her, the other foot swaying forward and backward, constantly in motion. I couldn't help but notice her perfectly painted toenails. Even her feet were pretty. That either meant I was falling for her harder than I wanted to acknowledge or I had a foot fetish. Either way, every bone in my body was screaming to draw her into my lap, as if that would make anything better besides potentially lowering my blood pressure. But I couldn't protect her in reverse. I couldn't go back in time and keep that fucking bastard from laying his hands on her.

"Talk to me," I said. My voice cracked. I was going crazy not knowing exactly what he'd done to her and how I could fix it.

She rubbed the back of her neck, nodding slowly. "I went to Horizons in time to see Kade during visitation hours," she finally began, her voice surprisingly steady despite the fact that she was staring at the floor instead of looking at me. "Only I never made it inside."

I wished that spark of fire she'd shown a few minutes ago would come back. She'd been right on the verge of plopping her hands on her hips and delivering me a talking-to like she'd done once before, but then she'd stopped herself. Even though I wasn't on board with why she was trying to stand up to me, I fucking loved the fact that she put her foot down. She was growing a spine, standing up for herself at least some of the time, and it was sexy as all hell. I could acknowledge that much once I forced myself to step back and separate from the heat of the moment, once I could see her without vision clouded by my anger and fear.

"Why didn't you make it inside?" I asked.

"Because Lance was there waiting for me."

A couple of tears filled her eyes but didn't spill over. I was desperate to brush them away, but I forced my hands to stay where they were so I wouldn't interrupt her in the telling. It was hard enough for her to get it out at all. No need for me to do anything that might cause her to slam on the brakes again.

She glanced up at me for a moment before returning her gaze to her lap. "Apparently, there had been some cameraman following me yesterday, only I didn't pay any attention to him. The fact that I'd gone to visit Kade in rehab was all over the local gossip sites. But since we've been actively avoiding looking to see what they've been saying about us, neither of us realized it. Lance did, though. It seems they want to tell the world that I'm having an affair with Kade, that apparently I'm in love with him regardless of how in love with each other you and I have been acting. Supposedly that's the reason he overdosed at the wedding and every time since then. That he can't handle seeing me with you all over the place when he and I are really in love. Don't ask me why they think I married you if I loved him. Maybe we're in a love triangle or something else equally ridiculous, but that's beside the point."