Page 94 of Redeem Me

A flashback of the night Scarlett and James were here sears through my mind.

‘I live for two things. My kids and revenge. I have no intention of leaving this earth until I’ve taken care of all of them.’

It was just the drink talking.

Wasn’t it?

I’ve always known Caelon has a darkness in him. Hell, it was half the attraction. But he wouldn’t really act on it, would he? It’s one thing to be with a hot billionaire vigilante in a fictional romance, and another entirely in real life. A shudder ripples down my spine.

‘It’s better if you don’t know. All you need to know is that I love you.’ He rests his chin on the top of my head as he cradles me in his arms.

‘And I love you, but if we’re a partnership, you need to be honest with me.’ I swallow hard, raising my face to meet his gaze. ‘Is this about avenging Isabella?’

His lips purse into a tight line. ‘The less you know, the better.’

‘Don’t do something stupid. Don’t put your past in front of our future.’ I cup his face and angle his chin down, forcing him to meet my stare.

‘Don’t you see? I need to deal with the past in order to have a future. Danny Bourke killed Isabella and I have it on good authority that he’s about to wake up from his coma. Killian’s been doing some digging for me. He’s foundevidence that Danny was paid by the O’Connors to kill my wife.’ The wordwifestings like a bee. ‘If that’s true, the O’Connors are going to pay with their lives. That’s a promise, not a threat.’

I pause for a beat, trying to steady my hammering heart and find the right words.

I can deal with tortured, dark and pained.

I can’t deal with the man I love doing something so vindictive. No matter what Jack O’Connor, Danny Bourke, or anyone else did in the past, we don’t get to decide who lives or dies. ‘If you do this, if you choose revenge over redemption, it’s over between us.’

His molar clank as they slam together. ‘You don’t mean that.’

‘I do. I can’t be with a man fixated on revenge rather than planning a future with the person they claim to love.’

Caelon’s eyes close. ‘Don’t make me choose, Tranquil.’

‘Even if I could get over you hurting, maybe even killing a man, I’ll never get over it if you got hurt or sent to prison.’

‘I won’t,’ Caelon’s eyes snap open.

‘You don’t know that.’ A crushing tiredness settles over my skin and seeps into my bones. A mental and emotional exhaustion. First, there was the drama with Dermot, and now this. It’s too much.

‘There’s no way in Hell I’m giving you up’.’ Caelon’s eyes bore into mine with an intensity that sears into my soul.

He sighs heavily. ‘I love you.’

But does he love me enough?

‘Take me to bed.’ I can’t talk about this anymore tonight. I can’t begin to contemplate what he might be capable of. I just need to feel the Caelon I thought I knew hold me.

‘With pleasure.’ He swallows the last mouthful of beer and places the bottle on the marble counter, then slides hishand beneath my legs and swoops me into his arms like he’s carrying me over the threshold.

‘You’re sleeping in my bed tonight,’ he growls, carrying me up the stairs.

My heart expands in my chest.

He hasn’t had another woman in his house, let alone in his bed. He’s choosing me. This proves it. All the talk of revenge is just that. Talk. It has to be.

The remnants of dread roiling in my stomach wither and I bury my face into his chest, inhaling his strong masculine scent.

Chapter Forty-One

IVY

---