Page 63 of Hard To Stay

I dropped my face in her neck. I was so caught up in the moment I had completely forgotten about Colton. I took a step back and cradled her face in my hands. I knew she didn’t want to talk about what happened, but leaving me to draw my own conclusions was only making it worse.

“We need to talk about what happened in your apartment tonight.”

She drew back and reached for my hands. “Let’s sit.” She said nervously as we made our way over to the couch. Something in my gut told me that I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear.

She reached out and squeezed my hand. “When I heard the knock on the door, I thought it was you. I asked him to leave, but he was intent on making me listen to what he had to say.” She swallowed hard and took a minute to collect her thoughts. “He had followed me home from the club.”

And there it was. I knew in my gut that he had been tailing us the whole time. What kind of cop did that make me? Where I didn’t even notice that I was being watched? My stomach felt like it was going to bottom out as I surged to my feet. I plowed my hands through my hair. I should have finished that fucker off when I had the chance.

Lexi stood up and reached out to me. She placed her hands on either side of my head. “Please don’t allow your head to go there. None of this is your fault. He was going to make his move, eventually. There was nothing either of us could have done to stop him.”

I blinked and felt my blood pressure rise to an unhealthy level. No matter what she said, I knew this was all my fault. I should have paid closer attention. I should have fucking protected her.

“If I hadn’t pulled that shit at the club, none of this would have happened. So please don’t stand there and tell me this isn’t my fucking fault. Don’t ask me to not blame myself because I can’t.”

“Brad, I’m fine. I’m here. He didn’t hurt me. It’s okay.”

The amount of regret I felt was burning a hole in my stomach. I leaned my forehead against hers. “I shouldn’t have given you a reason to leave that damn club.”

“You’re here now.” She whispered, “and that’s all that matters.”

“He could have hurt you.” I explained, trying to contain the rage in my body.

“But he didn’t.”

This woman amazed me to no end. She just went through a traumatic experience and she was worried about me. I was torn between wanting to hug her or shake the shit out of her. Either way, she was too good for me.

“How’s your wrist?” I asked, pulling her arms back so I could get a better look. It looked like he grabbed her pretty damn good. The marks on her skin had me seeing red. First thing tomorrow morning, I was going down to the police station and using every ounce of leverage I had to make sure he could never get near her again.

“It’s fine.” She whispered, but I could still hear the tremble in her voice.

I grabbed her hand and gently rubbed my cheek along her wrist, hoping to erase his touch from her skin. I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her softly. “I promise you. I will never let him hurt you again.”

She inhaled deeply as my hand drifted up and down her back trying to ease some of her tension. I wanted her to feel safe in my arms. Never in my life had I ever wanted to heal somebody, to protect somebody, or to take care of somebody the way I did her. As I held her in my arms, I promised myself that I would protect her until the day I died.

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