Page 50 of To Hate Adam Connor

I clenched my jaw. “I thought you wanted him to slow down. I didn’t think he was full-on trying to rape you, for fuck’s sake!”

With the speed I was going, I’d be back at the loft in just a few minutes. Then I could smash the bastard’s head in. If I’d realized what he was doing to her, the extent of it, I wouldn’t have held her back.

I barely heard Lucy mumbling next to me. “Okay. Okay. Adam, I need you to take me home now.”

“No.”

“Adam?” Something had changed in her voice, so I gave her a quick glance.

She had paled and was looking at me with those big gray eyes.

Fuck.

Fuck!

“I want to go home now,” she repeated, keeping her eyes on me. “Please.”

I slowed down and pulled over carefully.

“Please,” she repeated again.

I looked at the road then back at her. “We’re almost there, Lucy.”

“You’re not hearing me. Either take me home or unlock the doors so I can find my own way.”

I gave her a long look, studied every little expression on her face. The way her lips were pressing together, the way she was trying her hardest not to blink too many times. That little vein that popped up on the side of her forehead when she was angry, frustrated, or anxious. I didn’t like the fact that I knew about that vein.

I shouldn’t have noticed it.

I should’ve ignored it.

As our wills battled, she lifted her chin ever so slightly and ordered me to unlock the doors.

When I didn’t, she started pushing all the buttons, trying to find the right one.

“Okay. Fine.” I reached for her hand and touched her, curling my hand over her cold one. When she didn’t punch me, I placed it back on her thigh. “We’re going home. I’ll take you home.”

The rest of the ride was…long. Long and quiet and painful. The city was surprisingly quiet that night. I still kept my hand on hers, hoping she’d warm soon enough and stop shaking. The fact that she didn’t push me away…

I stopped the car in front of Jason’s gate and hesitated before I unlocked the doors.

Lucy waited with her hand on the handle, ready to flee.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked into the heavy silence.

“I’d like to get out now.”

I could understand that. I unlocked the doors and watched her shimmy down from the car. Before she shut the door, she mumbled a thank you and walked away.

How could a night out go so wrong?

I waited for her to get inside. Just to make sure, I told myself, nothing more. Instead of entering the code for the gate, she hiked her dress up a little and sat her ass down at the curb.

What I should’ve done was look away and go home. She’d call her friend, get the code, and go wait in the backyard or do whatever the hell she wanted to do. She had been nothing but trouble since the day I’d found her dripping wet in my backyard. She was the last thing my life needed. Quite aware of all that, I turned the engine off to go and join her on the curb.

Neither one of us spoke for a few minutes as we sat next to each other. It was a chilly night, barely any clouds in the dark sky.

“Let’s go home and put some ice on that hand,” I said, tiredly.

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