Page 30 of Redemption
“I’ll be back for you,” I say aloud.
And I have to get a life. I’m twenty-seven and talking to a remote.
The family room is at the back of the house, so it takes a few minutes before I reach the front, and during that time, the doorbell rings no less than ten times.
Whoever it is is annoying. That should have been my first warning to ignore the person on the other side.
Turning the knob, I swing the door open, and regret seeps into my soul.
Hayes stands on the other side, sporting two black eyes and a smirk. That smirk makes me wish I hit him harder.
The bruises under his eyes and across the bridge of his nose are starting to turn yellow, and in a few days, they won’t be visible at all.
Too bad.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I came to collect my reward,” he says, a smile that causes my chest to tighten, slipping onto those perfect lips.
Nope—not going there. I will not think about Hayes’s lips anymore, especially not the way they are just plump enough to fit perfectly against mine.
No. Get it together.
“About that,” I say, dragging my eyes up to his and keeping them there so I don’t lose my mind again and fantasize about his lips, “I decided you cheated, and I’m not going.”
The corner of his eyes crinkle. I think he’s smiling, but nope—not looking at those lips.
“Oh, MJ, you act like you have a choice.”
I’m about to ask what he means by that when he leans forward and throws me over his shoulder. It’s like an instant replay of the first time he kissed me.
“Put me down, you big oaf,” I say, squirming in his arms, but it’s useless. He just tightens his hold. “You can’t just manhandle people like this.”
“And you can’t hit people with a tire iron, yet here we are.”
The jab is made as he deposits me in the passenger seat of his truck and slams the door.
Truly, it’s like I’ve lived this day before. The next thing you know, he’ll be scooting across the bench seat of this truck he’s had since he was sixteen and leaning in to kiss me. Only nope, there’s no way that’s happening—not this time.
I don’t have to worry about it, though, because he jumps in his truck, starts the engine, and takes off down the pristine driveway. Ironically, it’s one of my favorite places in this town. Trees line the pavement, making it look enchanted. Too bad it leads to the house of a villain—or maybe it’s a reformed villain because lately, my mom doesn’t seem so bad.
“This is kidnapping. As a cop, you should know that,” I say, poking the bear.
Hayes ignores me, so I try a different tactic—one that he could never say no to before. I let myself be vulnerable.
“I’m not ready to go withyou, Hayes,” I say, my voice nearly a whisper.
Without warning, he pulls the truck over to the side of the road. Once we’re stopped, he turns to me, and I can practically feel the air thrumming with tension.
“It’s been six years, Mallorie Jade,” he says, tracing his fingers over mine. The contact sends a shiver over my skin, and I pull my hand back to sit it in my lap. That contact—the way he steals my breath every time he’s around—is what got us in trouble the last time. I can’t lose my head around him anymore. “It’s time. He deserves a visit.”
Heaving a sigh, I nod, and he turns back to the steering wheel, driving us back onto the road toward a place where I’ll have no choice but to let Hayes see all of my brokenness.
Chapter 10
Hayes
The rumble of my truck motor breaks through the quietness in the air as we pull into the parking lot. Not even the birds are singing today. It’s like they know the wounds we are about to tear open and are paying reverence to them.
