You cannot be too stupid to live, she thought to herself. Do something!
She had no idea what. Instead of thinking about it, she ripped her arm away from Aaron. He was so focused on the words that came out of her mouth that he didn’t realize he needed to keep a tight grip on her. As such, she managed to pull away from him easier than she anticipated. In fact, her force caused her to step back because she thought he’d grip her harder. She managed to land against Alec’s chest, however. Alec gingerly took his hand in hers and pushed her behind him.
Noah’s eyes widened. He was protecting her? Why would he choose to protect her after everything that had happened? She didn’t deserve that kindness, not when she was responsible for Alec’s injuries.
“Noah,” Aaron said, his voice firm.
She winced. Immediately, shame burned her cheeks and she hated herself for giving into her past, for reacting as though she was still with him and he was punishing her for something she did. She didn’t want to flinch every time someone spoke sharply to her, but it was difficult not to, especially considering she had been conditioned to do so by him.
“Come here.”
“She doesn’t have to go anywhere with you, fucktard,” Alec said. He angled his body like a fighter, ready to give Aaron a powerful blow if he needed to.
That was the last thing Noah wanted. Not when she knew he could injure his hands, and those hands were incredibly important for his career. She couldn’t let that happen, but she had no idea what to do about it. There was no way in hell she was going to go willingly with him, even if that might be what he wanted.
“Noah.” Again, Aaron ignored Alec. He tried to look over Alec’s broad shoulders in order to catch her eye, but he couldn’t. Alec repositioned himself in front of her so he couldn’t.
“I’m not going,” she said.
Aaron narrowed his eyes, his body freezing. “Excuse me?” he asked, his voice nearly as soft as a whisper.
“I’m not going.” Noah had no idea where the conviction to repeat herself came from, but it sure as hell got easier to say the more she said it. Confidence bloomed in her, and even though she was cautious, she didn’t stop herself from saying it. “I’m not going with you.”
“You heard her,” Alec said. He flicked his wrist at Aaron as though he was dismissing him. Noah’s eyes widened despite her attempt to control her facial reactions. “Run along.”
Someone behind Alec and Noah opened their door. “Just so you all know,” she said. “I called the cops and they’ll be on their way shortly.”
“Thank you,” Noah managed to say. If the cops were coming, she doubted Aaron would stick around and wait to see what happened.
“Fuck this,” Aaron said. “Noah, I will get you and we will talk about everything that occurred here. Do you understand?” He raised his brows.
Noah pressed her lips into a thin line, doing her best not to let him know just how scared the threat left her. She waited until he walked away, leaving Noah and Alec alone.
“Come on,” Alec said, pulling out his keys and heading to the door. “Let’s get you inside. Then, we have lots to talk about.”
13
Alec
Alec hurried Noah inside. He didn’t want to show it, but his heart slammed against his chest, his fingers shook. Alec was afraid. Not of the bastard. Alec could give two shits about him, and, deep down, Alec knew that he could kick the guy’s ass. He had never been afraid of a fight and he wasn’t going to back down now just because the guy was violent in nature. No, Alec was scared for Noah, and that was something that had never happened before. He had never been scared for someone before.
Once the two were tucked inside, Alec made sure the door was locked. He whipped out his cell phone and shot Jack a text.
Don’t come home. Take my sister to some fancy-ass hotel. I’ll explain later.
The last thing he wanted was for his sister and Jack to get sucked into the drama here. Once that was taken care of, he put his phone back in his pocket and began to pace the length of the living room. Noah made her way to the kitchen. What she was doing, Alec had no idea. Right now, he didn’t care. All he could think about was figuring out a solution to this problem. Except, he didn’t know what the problem was, and Noah wasn’t talking.
“Well?” Alec winced at the gruffness of his own voice. He needed to settle down or Noah wasn’t going to tell him anything.
Instead, he stopped his pacing and released a breath. The fridge door closed and he watched Noah pour some milk into a glass cup before taking it over to the microwave and sticking it inside. She didn’t even turn around.
Annoyance flared up into his gut and he flexed his fingers. She was just going to ignore him? After everything? She had no right.
“Noah,” he said, his voice filling up the living room.
She snapped her head so she could glance at him over her shoulder. How she was able to do that without pulling some kind of neck muscle, Alec had no idea. As it was, it didn’t matter. He tried to read her eyes, but whether it was because of the distance between them or if it was because there was too much emotion that it was difficult for him to get a handle on what was what, he didn’t know.
“Do you want some
