Page 88 of Ice Cold Christmas
She stared down at the notes in the file. “I don’t remember any of this.”
“You never mentioned it to me.”
Her head snapped up.
“I found out about it when I got the report and the fingerprints from your father’s safe. You never told me that you’d been hurt.” A pause. “If you had told me, I would have wrecked him. Now that I do know, I’ve already taken steps to make sure that he will not be the next attorney general in Maryland.”
“Taken steps? How?”
“While you were sleeping last night, I made a few phone calls. His big donors will no longer be interested in him. Hunter and some private investigators I know are digging hard into Brant’s recent relationships. I want to know who else he hurt. I want to know if?—”
“If he had anything to do with my disappearance?” Her temples throbbed.
“Yes.”
“Had I—had I talked to him, I mean, before my disappearance?”
“No clue, baby. I didn’t even know that you’d talked to Detective Clinton before your appearance.” He scraped a hand over his jaw. “Speaking of the detective, aren’t you going to ask me about Colton Crane?”
Her lashes fluttered. “Am I supposed to ask about him?” She was rather busy dealing with one bombshell at a time. This Brant McKee jackass hurt me? And now he’s going to be some attorney general? Except, Victor was saying that wouldn’t happen. He was saying he’d stopped the man’s whole political future with just a snap of his fingers.
She tried to process everything. Consider possibilities. Had Brant been involved in her disappearance? Just the thought of the guy had unease pricking at the nape of her neck.
“You are supposed to ask about Crane. Seeing as how a detective told you I nearly beat the man to death, I thought you might be somewhat curious.”
She held the file tighter. “Okay. I’ll ask.” Her gaze drifted over his hard features. Lingered. “Did you attack this Colton Crane individual?” Melody fully expected him to say no?—
“Yes.”
“Pardon?” She must have misheard.
“Yes, I beat the hell out of him. Left him in a crying, bleeding heap on the floor. If others hadn’t pulled me off the SOB, I might have killed him.” One eyebrow quirked. “Got any other questions for me?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
He should have been more tactful. One hundred percent. The shock and horror on Melody’s beautiful features showed him that truth. She’d just been dealing with the bombshell about Brant McKee. He should have been way more careful as he told her about his own past. It was just…
Victor had woken up, feeling as if he was running out of time. He’d kept secrets from her before, and he’d hated doing that. As much as he could, he wanted to tell her the truth.
As long as I don’t lose her.
But the way she was staring at him right then…
“Yes,” she told him, voice firm, “I do have other questions. The main one would be why? You’re not some vicious predator. You don’t go around hurting people.”
“I can be quite vicious.” And he could not wait to hurt the bastard who’d abducted her. When he got his hands on that bastard, Victor would be incredibly vicious. He will die.
“Victor! Stop trying to scare me.” She shook her head, as if in confusion. “Why would you want to scare me? I told you, I love you. All of you.”
He wasn’t trying to scare her. Wait, was he? Was he afraid because she’d said she loved him and she— “You don’t know all of me.” Gruff.
“Yeah, shocker. Amnesia.” She rolled her eyes. “But I think I know that you’re not some sadistic killer. I’m holding the file about an asshole who broke my ribs. Pretty sure you’d cut off your own arm before you’d hurt me.”
Hell, yes, he would. And wasn’t that why he was clinging so tightly to one particular secret? A secret he feared might shatter her? Victor wanted to tell Melody as much as he could about himself, but he did not want to hurt her. Ever.
“So, who were you protecting?” Melody waved toward him with her left hand. “Come on. Just spill it. You’re not a monster. But I have noticed you tend to have some big, hyper protective tendencies.” She bit her lower lip. “You know what? I think those tendencies might be what drew me to you in the first place.”
Now she’d surprised him. His eyebrows climbed.
