Page 127 of Property of Stone
And badass-ery.
She was surprised when he grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers together. They had never shared that kind of “intimacy” before. Yes, they had sex plenty of times so far, but holding hands was on a different level.
It was far from a “friends with benefits” scenario. That was how she looked at her sharing his bed. She never expected anything more.
She never expectedhimto want anything more.
Maybe he still didn’t, but Stone didn’t seem the type of guy to hold hands with women.
But him holding her hand actually felt…nice. Even normal. Not a word she’d associate with the whole situation up to that point.
Maybe he only did it to distract her. He certainly skirted around her question about what he planned on doing to Vic.
“You’re more violent than he ever was.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s your response? You’re not even going to disagree?”
Stone shrugged. “No reason. It’s the fuckin’ truth.”
Well, at least he owned it. But still… “That’s not reassuring.”
“Ain’t meant to be. Sometimes the truth can’t be ignored.”
“I’m asking you, Stone, please, don’t kill him. Or even have him killed. He’s still my son’s father. Despite what he did to me, I don’t think he’d ever hurt Wren.”
She was torn. Stone “handling” Vic would mean she and Wren could live the rest of their lives safe from her ex.
However, if she didn’t let Stone do what he wanted to do, would she always be looking over her shoulder? Worried Vic would be waiting around the corner?
While she didn’t want to continue living in fear, death was final. That wasn’t a decision she should make. For anyone.
Time would tell if asking for leniency was a stupid decision. With her batting record, this could end up being a huge mistake.
His jaw turned to concrete and his fingers squeezed hers. “What about you? You think he won’t do it again to teach you a lesson?”
“You already know that answer.”
“He might not hurt Baby Bird, but that don’t mean he won’t use your son as a pawn. If your ex snags him, bet you’ll do whatever he wants you to fuckin’ do to get your boy back.”
That was true. She would sacrifice herselfif it meant saving Wren. “That doesn’t mean I want him dead. Maybe he learned his lesson inside.” She could only hope.
Stone snorted. “You mean the same fuckin’ way I did every fuckin’ time? Can tell you most people inside don’t change when they get out. Who they are at their core is who the fuck they are. Gonna take a major life alterin’ moment to really change.”
“Prison is a life altering moment.”
“Yeah, right. Your worry stems from him blamin’ you for all the bad shit in his life. And you have every fuckin’ right to be worried. He ain’t a reasonable motherfucker. Tellin’ you now, he takes Baby Bird, he comes within ten miles of you, all fuckin’ bets are off.”
“I can live with that.” Those words came out of her mouth, but could she? “But don’t forget, my request is not only about Wren and me, it’s also about keeping you from being arrested.”
She didn’t want Stone going to prison again because of her.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
In a perfect world, Vic would move on and go about his life, leaving her and Wren alone. If he did and caught up on the mountain of back child support, she might eventually consent to supervised visits.
But this world was far from perfect.
