Page 45 of Hers to Tame
Lily has given me some painkillers to help me sleep, but it only comes in fits. Every time I close my eyes, I see the look on Brett’s face right before he choked me. Finally, I hear whispering outside the door before it creaks open slowly.
Sitting up, I watch as Colin enters the room looking exhausted. He walks around the bed, sitting down next to me before pulling me onto his lap. All I can do is cling to him as I sob against his chest. His arms are like steel vises around me and finally, I feel truly safe again.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper to him. Setting me back on the bed, he kneels on the floor so he can look directly at me. Turning on the light next to the bed, his eyes widen when he sees my throat.
“He did this to you.” It’s more of a confirming statement than a question. I nod my head before trying to explain to him how sorry I am again. Pushing up the sleeve of my T-shirt, he looks at the bruises forming on my arm.
“Why are you sorry? What could you possibly be sorry for? I should have taken care of this before now. I’m the one who owes you an apology.” He lays his head on my lap. “Can you forgive me for not being here when you needed me?”
How could he ever believe any of this mess is his fault? I created this problem years ago. I don’t understand why he decided to try something now, after all these years, but that has nothing to do with Colin.
“Colin,” I whisper. I don’t really know what to say to him. I never doubted he would come or that he wouldn't try to fix all of this. He is my Daredevil after all. Looking up at me, he gently kisses my lips before standing up.
“You need to get some sleep.” He turns off the lamp before undressing. Climbing under the covers, he pulls me to him until I am wrapped in his arms. Somehow, I manage to get to sleep without nightmares plaguing me.
When I wake in the morning, Colin is gone. Staggering into the kitchen, I find him making me tea. “Mom said herbal tea with honey will help with the throat.” I sit down on one of the barstools. “Do you want something to eat? I can make some oatmeal or I think there’s yogurt in the fridge.” I just shake my head. I think the tea might be all I can get down. “Izzy wants you to come by the hospital. She thinks we need to have someone look at your throat just as a precaution.”
“Okay,” I croak. I don’t think he was really giving me an option. Before I finish my tea, Matt walks out of the bedroom followed by Lily. I can see the stress on his face as he listens on his phone. After a few more minutes he thanks the person on the other end before hanging up.
“That was the officer from last night. He said they went to Professor Marx’s house. Seems he had some woman with him that swore he had been with her all night. They had no choice but to leave him there.” Matt looks at me with concern on his face. “You can stay here as long as you need to until this situation gets resolved.”
“Oh it’s getting resolved.” We all turn to look at Colin. He is shaking with anger but his voice has an eerily calm quality to it. “As a matter of fact, it’s getting resolved right fucking now.” He stalks toward the front door, collecting his keys on the way. I step in front of the door to stop him from doing something rash, but he simply moves me out of his way. “Lily, take Maggie to the hospital so Izzy can get someone to look at her throat. I’ll be back later.”
“Colin, don’t be stupid. The cops will handle this. Matt, talk some sense into him,” Lily says, trying to pull him back into the apartment. Wrenching out of her hands he starts down the hallway toward the elevators.
“Hold on, I’m going with you,” Matthew says before kissing Lily on the cheek, then chasing Colin out the door.
15
Colin
My blood feels like it might boil right out of my skin. I don’t know where he lives, but I sure as hell know where he works. I can start my hunt there. Climbing in my car, I pause, watching Matt getting into the passenger seat.
“What are you doing?” I ask when his door closes.
“Helping you find him,” he says calmly.
“You don’t need to be involved in this.” He turns, calmly looking at me.
“I know what you’re going to do, because if he had done the same thing to Lily, I would make sure it never happened again. I’m in the middle of this, so don’t ask me not to go.” He turns to stare out the front windshield.
Damn, I knew this guy was tougher than he let on when I worked him over in the bar restroom. But I think I’m developing a whole new respect for him. Throwing the car in gear, I pull away from the curb.
Matt makes a few calls while I drive toward the campus Professor Marx now works at. I’m not sure how, but Matt finds out where he usually is when at work. It’s the weekend, but I have to take a chance he’s here before trying to hunt for his address. I find a parking space near the library, slamming the car into park.
“His office is in that building on the second floor.” Matt points at one of the buildings. “But according to what I found out, he’s usually in the library on Saturdays.”
“I’m sure prowling for his next conquest,” I spit out before getting out of my car. “How do we hunt down someone in a library?”
“I don’t know that we have to. Isn’t that him?” Matt points to someone walking out of the library talking to a couple of coeds. Even without knowing what he looks like, Matt could pick him out as a predator. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m moving quickly toward him. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, I back him against the granite sign outside the library.
“Hey, what the hell?” he shouts in surprise. The girls hurriedly move away from him. “Oh, I know you. You’re that blond fucker who was eating with Maggie.” This idiot really does have a death wish. “Sweetie, call the cops.”
“Do you really think they’re going to get here in time to save you? You put your hands on my girlfriend and think you’re just going to walk off?” My hands tighten on his shirt as I stare down at him. Looking at his smirk, I know with absolute certainty that if I had been told what he did the first time, I would have left law school to come kill him myself.
“That cunt is crazy. I was nowhere near her.” My fist slams into his face, wiping that sleazy smile right off. I hear a satisfying crunch. He tries to push me off, but I’m hopped up on adrenaline and rage.
“What did you call her?” I’m screaming at him. “Please, call her that again. I can still recognize your face.” I connect to his ribs with the same uppercut I used once on Matt. “You fucking call her that one more time, I’ll fucking bury you. You think she’s crazy? You haven’t seen my kind of crazy yet. Do you understand?”
