Page 34 of Beautifully Shattered
“Trust me. I fucking wanted to.”
I study him for a long moment.
This big, broody man who wants to protect me so fiercely. The man who nearly lost his shit on our wedding day when he found out the lies Wendy spat.
The man whowanted to kill her.
“Why didn’t you?” I ask, trying to pull back on my snappy tone.
“I’ll tell you, but can you at least come here?” He pats his lap. “I can feel you pulling away again.”
Frowning, I glance down at the mattress, to the space I’ve put between us.
Shit. I didn’t even realise I’d moved.
I hate that I did it. Hate that my head is so messed up that I didn’t even notice.
Crawling forward, I straddle his lap, feeling his strong hands grip my hips like he’s scared I’ll disappear.
Eye to eye, we stare at each other, my hands gliding up his arms to settle over the thick, tense muscles of his biceps.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I’m here. I promise.”
Leaningforward, doing what he loves to do, he presses his forehead to mine.
“I’ve fuckingmissedyou.”
Shit. The pain in his voice is like a punch to the chest.
He must have been frantic when he found out I was taken. He must have felt so helpless.
“I’ve missed you too,” I admit, and he pulls me in for another hug.
His arms squeeze me to him, his nose nuzzling in my hair, and I think I hear him sniff me.
Under any other circumstances, I’d call him out on it. Tease him a little. But that’s not where we are at right now.
Right now, we are sharing the darkness.
After a moment, he eases back slowly, like it physically hurts to let go. Then he clears his throat, those dark eyes locking with mine.
“There were a couple of reasons I didn’t kill Wendy,” he starts. “The first was because I needed to make sure the location she gave us to find you was legit. She was our only lead. I couldn’t risk it. I had to keep her alive until I had you back.”
I nod. It makes sense.
“And after you knew she told the truth?” I press. “Why didn’t you kill her then?”
“I’ve been keeping her alive for you,” he admits, his hands slowly roaming over my back like he can’t handle the idea of not touching me. “Killing her… that would have been easy. And a quick death would have been a mercy. She doesn’t fucking deserve mercy.”
A chill ripples up my spine at the venom in his tone. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Ringo is a killer when he can be so gentle with me.
“I needed her to live in pain. To fucking feel it. Every day. So, I kept her alive foryou.”
“For… me?” I echo, and he nods.
“Yes.”
“Why?” I ask, completely confused.
