She holds her hands up, and her voice is bordering on hysteria when she says, “Don’t come any closer.”
My feet crunch on glass, and I back up to see a picture frame smashed on the floor. I pick it up, and my heart trips up when I look at the freckled face little girl in photo, and a woman who can only be her mother. But the picture is damaged from the broken glass.
“Rachel,” I begin. “It’s ruined. I’m sorry.”
“Jaxon, please. Just leave.”
“I’m not leaving. You’re not okay. That guy almost—” I carefully set the photo and broken glass on her nightstand, and her face is pale as she looks at it. I somehow get the sense that it might just be the only picture of her and her mom.
“I know what that guy almost did,” she says.
“It’s not safe for you here.” I grip a fistful of my hair. “Sleep at my place tonight.” She opens her mouth, likely about to protest and I say, “Take the spare room.” I take a step toward her, but she gives a hard shake of her head.
“No. Don’t.”
I go still, take in the tension in her posture, the way she’s protecting herself with her pillow. “Rachel, what the fuck. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I need you to go, okay.”
I take a few deep breaths, to calm myself. What the fuck is going on? She’s acting like I’m the bad guy in this situation. Jesus fuck, some guy must have done one hell of a number on her. My insides boil, wanting to kill the bastard that had made her frightened of me. So help me if any guy from her past had laid a mean hand on her, I’ll fucking kill him. That’ll really give the sorority girls something to talk about.
Unable to let this go until I get to the bottom of matters, I inch back and change tactics, wanting the open Rachel from last night back. Then again, we were both so lust drunk, neither of us were in our right mind.
“Rach—”
She points to her door. “Leave, Jaxon. I want to be alone.”
I reluctantly look at the door, note that it doesn’t have a lock. Fuck. Any one of these assholes could come in here and try to attack her. I should pick her up and take her to my place whether she likes it or not. But that would only frighten her more.
“I’m right next door,” I say and point to her window. “Yell out to me if you need me, or text, and I’ll be here in two seconds.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I glance around her room, and pick up her desk chair. “At least put this under the knob.” It wasn’t much but it was enough to keep those douche-bags out.
“Okay, I will.”
She stands. I hand her the chair, and step out into the hall, closing her door behind me. I wait to hear her secure the chair under the door and turn to give a warning glare to every male in the vicinity. Message received, they clear a wide path as I stomp through the house, the fucker who tried to assault Rachel nowhere to be found. Good thing. I’d like to beat the shit out of him, but in the end, no good could come from that
I head home, and with my adrenaline pumping, I’m unable to wind down. I pace, flick the TV on and off again. I open the fridge and search for a beer, but I drank the last one earlier.
Fuck this.
Knowing there isn’t a guy in the house next door who’d dare touch Rachel after my warning glare, I grab my keys, tug on my leather jacket and helmet, and head outside. With the night air so warm, I opt for my motorcycle instead of my car, and climb on. A good hard ride, and a good fuck are the only two things that are going to get my mind off Rachel. I rev the bike, loudly, and glance up when I catch her watching me from her room. I have no idea what I did to make her so angry with me, but she’s on the run and obviously frightened by violence. I’m a guy with a violent past and that’s where I need to keep it, or risk losing my daughter.
I pull out of my driveway, ease into traffic, and make my way to Jericho’s, the pub I rarely get to anymore, but used to hang out at every weekend before Cassie was born. Do I miss it? Yeah, but I wouldn’t change my life for the world. Cassie means everything to me and I’d give up breathing for her. I ease my bike between two big trucks and set the kickstand. Music blares from the open windows of the pub as I walk to the double doors. If push them open, and enter, keeping my back to the wall as I glance around. The smell of stale beer, smoke, and cheap perfume swirl around me, and I grin when I catch my buddies playing pool in the corner. Not much had changed over the years.
“Look what the fucking cat dragged in,” Jericho, my friend and owner of the pub says, as he spreads his arms wide.
“Jericho, long time.” I embrace him and we pat each other on the back as we hug in that typical man way. “Bet you could use a beer or two.”
“Or two,” I say. We part and he gestures to the waitress for another round.
“You here looking for trouble?” Sam asks, as he gives me that lopsided grin that has women dropping their panties. I glance at the pretty blonde on his arm. In the past we would have double-teamed, but those days are behind me.
“Just looking for a beer and a game,” I say, as he puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a welcoming squeeze.
“Missed you, bud.”
“Like the Cleveland Browns miss a touchdown?”
He laughs. “Yeah, just like that.
