Page 51 of Revved
Turning his back on the guy, he headed to his office. The conversation was closed, he did not want to be talked around, couldn’t afford to be. His mind was made up.
He’d lost it, completely. If Rusty’s brother hadn’t been there to drag him off the guy, Reid would have killed him. If he was honest, he still wanted to. He wanted to hurt that son of a bitch for what he’d done, for touching her, for daring to speak to her.
But that wasn’t what freaked him the most. What really got to him was the look on Rusty’s face. He couldn’t get it out of his head. The shock, the confusion—the horror.
His father was right. He was nothing but a chip off the old block. He’d always known it. That motherfucker had infected him, had poisoned him long ago, and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing but keep his distance, go back to the way it was before Rusty exploded into his life. Before she threw light into the darkness that was his world, shining bright, completely rocking his narrow existence.
Avoiding her calls the last couple days hadn’t been easy. Whenever her name flashed up on the screen he’d had to fight himself every damn time not to pick it up, to beg her to understand, to make her believe that hadn’t been him, that he wasn’t that monster.
But that would be a lie. He was that monster. He’d proven it.
Rusty meant something to him. He cared for her in a way he had never cared for anyone else, to the point he couldn’t stomach the thought of being with another woman. He couldn’t imagine ever hurting her that way and truly believed, deep down, he never could. But then how could he risk it? How could he risk her? What if one day she pissed him off, and he lost it with her? What if he did hurt her?
How could he live with that?
He glanced at the clock. It was after five, and he wasn’t getting anything done. Screw this. Grabbing his keys, he left for home. Law would lock up. He needed to get out of there, let off steam, clear his head.
Twenty minutes later he was pulling into his driveway.
And almost turned around and went the other way when he saw who was waiting for him.
He sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Rusty parked there—the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his head, not since the minute he’d laid eyes on her. She was leaning against her pickup, arms crossed, so damn beautiful, it hurt to look at her. Her long hair was down, straight around her shoulders. She’d showered before she’d come. He could tell because she wasn’t wearing her usual work boots, shorts, and tank. No, instead she had on a green sundress. It was short, showed off her long legs. Her arms were bare, exposing all the colorful ink decorating her smooth skin.
How in the hell was he going to get through this?
Taking a deep breath, he shut off his car, shoved the door open, and stepped out. It was now or never, and the latter wasn’t an option. It didn’t matter how tempting a lifetime with Rusty sounded. He couldn’t have her. “What are you doing here?”
She jerked back, the movement small, but he hadn’t missed it. She straightened her shoulders. “Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been busy.”
This time her reaction wasn’t small, she flinched like he’d struck her, then wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t need to worry about Brian. He’s not going to press charges or anything. Once Deke found out the whole story, he took care of it.” She frowned. “I think he threatened to destroy his career if he didn’t forget the whole thing. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Rusty…”
“Deacon gets it now. He’s not pissed at you, he?—”
“Rusty,” he said louder, and she jumped, staring up at him. “I don’t give two shits what your brother thinks about me.”
Her arms, still around her waist, tightened. “But I thought you’d want to…”
“I’m done.” The words were razor blades against his throat, but he forced them out.
“What?” she whispered.
“I’m done. I thought there was something between us. I was wrong.”
Heat hit her gorgeous face, pain shattering the hope in her eyes. It fucking killed him. “We’re done?” she repeated.
“Sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I don’t do relationships. Never have.” He started toward the front door. “I’ve gotta run, got things to do.”
“You don’t do relationships…you’re sorry?” She moved toward him, grabbed his arm when he tried to pass. “I don’t believe you. This is about what happened with Brian. This has nothing to do with you and me. Admit it.”
Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he removed her hand from his arm but couldn’t bring himself to let her go. “There is no you and me, not anymore.”
“You said you wanted to give us a chance. You said you wanted to get to know me.” She visibly shook. “So what? You were lying?”
Her lower lip trembled, and his gut twisted into a hard, angry knot. Rusty did not cry easily, despite the tender heart she guarded. She also didn’t let just anyone in. She’d let him in. And he was about to hurt her, shatter the trust she’d placed in him. And he hated himself for it.
