Return of the Bad Girl (21 page)

Her shoulders stiffened when Gabe called, “I’ll see you at home, princess.”

“Asshole,” she muttered as she slammed the office door.

Why are you pissed at him? He gave you an incredible orgasm—twice, in fact—and you act like he insulted you.

As she climbed into her car, it struck her; she’d been deluding herself when she thought maybe he’d felt something more. The whole time she’d been worried he might be thinking this would lead to a more permanent situation, maybe even a relationship, but the minute it was over, he was all business.

So were you.

Had she wanted him to want more from her than just sex? She’d been telling herself for weeks that he was not the guy she wanted to make a fresh start, yet she was drawn to him and not just because he was her type. She’d seen subtle signs that maybe he wasn’t all that he seemed. That this was the strongest attraction she’d had for a man in years, and now that she’d given in, she couldn’t shake the desire for more.

Lord, was she a hot mess. How the hell was she going to survive living with him, knowing exactly what he could do to a woman?

Chapter Eighteen

“Communication is the key to any healthy relationship . . . which explains why the silent treatment is a woman’s favorite form of torture.”

—Miss Know It All

C
AROLINE DROVE HOME
to feed the kittens, but once she was done, she didn’t really feel like sticking around and hashing things out with Gabe. She’d calmed down enough to realize she had blown up at him over nothing, let her own issues fuel her crazy, and now not only had she slept with him, but she’d been
that
girl, the one who wigs out after sex and scares the hell out of a guy.

Looking for something to take the edge off, she grabbed a beer from the fridge and chugged down half of it without taking a breath. Water would’ve probably been better, but despite her reasonable deduction that the awkwardness after sex had been her fault, stealing Gabe’s last beer gave her perverse pleasure.

He was going to be pissed, and she didn’t even care. Actually, she was sort of looking forward to it.

Jumping in the shower, she cleaned herself up and decided to head over to Justin’s family farm for dinner after all. She needed advice, and the only person she felt comfortable enough asking was Val.

Thirty minutes later, she was kicking up dust with her tires down the long dirt road leading to the Silverton farm. Green fields went on for miles, the only trees being closer to the white ranch house, tall green pines to block the wind. As she pulled up next to Val’s truck, nervousness settled in the pit of her stomach. What had she been thinking to drive all the way out here without calling? What if Val told her to take off?

Val would never bail on you. Ever.

But still, Justin’s family was here. How was she going to get Val alone without drawing attention to herself? She might as well wait and call her a little later.

Hand on the gear shift, she was just about to throw her car into reverse when the front door opened, and Val stepped out onto the porch. A few seconds later, Ellie followed, and before she could escape, both of her sisters were standing next to her driver’s side door, staring in at her.

“I thought you couldn’t make it,” Val said.

“I changed my mind,” Caroline said, opening the door. “If the invitation is still open.”

“Of course it’s open,” Ellie said, pulling the car door open wider. “We were just getting ready to eat.”

As Caroline stepped out, a dark smudge on Ellie’s cheek caught her eye, despite the layer of cover-up she’d tried to apply. Reaching out her hand, she touched Ellie’s face. “What happened?”

“I got into a fight with one of my girlfriends at Buck’s,” Ellie said. It was entirely plausible, but Caroline didn’t buy it. Not with the way Ellie’s eyes shifted away. Her baby sister might be a hell of an actress, but she couldn’t fool Caroline.

“Don’t get me started,” Val said, shaking her head. “I’m just thankful she didn’t get arrested, or I might have had to bail her out.”

Caroline didn’t miss Ellie’s pleading eyes and decided to back her sister’s play. For now.

“Val, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier. I’ve just been a little on edge lately.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I know I handled my invitation badly. You’ve got a lot going on, and I didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

“No, look, I haven’t been exactly available to you, and I know my taking off twelve years ago was sudden, but there are things you don’t know. Things that are hard for me to talk about. But that last argument with Dad . . . He asked me to do something I just couldn’t do, and when I refused, he told me to get out and never come back.”

“He said you refused to go to college at Boise State,” Val said, her voice laced with confusion.

It was time. With Kyle’s attack weighing on her mind, she had been considering telling her sisters, especially now that their father knew.

Before she changed her mind, Caroline drew in a deep breath and her courage. “I couldn’t go to Boise State because the guy who raped me went there.”

Both of her sisters gasped, but Val was the one who reacted first. She pulled Caroline into her arms roughly, squeezing her so hard she almost couldn’t breathe.

“Oh my God, Caroline, why didn’t you tell me?”

Tears pricked Caroline’s eyes, and she swallowed hard. “I didn’t tell anyone.”

“But why?” Ellie asked, joining in on the hug.

“Partly, to protect you guys,” Caroline said, second-guessing herself. If she told Val everything, her sister might lose her shit and confront Kyle. “The other half was because I was afraid no one would believe me.”

“Of course we’d believe you! Who wouldn’t believe you?” Ellie said, pulling away to look Caroline right in the eye.

At least, that’s where she assumed Ellie was looking, but her vision was too blurry to know for sure. Val pulled away too, but she was giving off waves of rage that told Caroline her prediction wasn’t far off the mark.

“I want to know who it was,” Val said. “I’m going to kill him. Eviscerate him. Stake him to the ground in Justin’s cornfield and run him over with the harvester.”

Caroline was already shaking her head, despite the insane urge to laugh at her five-foot, hundred-pound sister taking Kyle out. “I can’t tell you.”

“What?” Ellie and Val both cried, but only Val added, “Why the hell not?”

“Because what good would it do? It’s in the past, and if I was going to do something, I should have done it right after it happened, but I was so afraid—” She caught herself before she finished saying that she was afraid Kyle would hurt them and said instead, “You two just need to be careful, okay? Make sure you aren’t going off alone, especially at night.”

Val opened her mouth to say something else, but Justin popped his head out at that moment, flashing an apologetic smile. “Sorry to interrupt, but dinner’s on the table,” Justin said, raising his hand to wave. “Hey, Caroline, glad you could make it.”

“Thanks, Justin.”

“We’ll be in,” Val said, waiting until he’d shut the door again before hissing, “This is not over. I will have that bastard’s name.”

“Down, girl,” Caroline said, reaching out for Val’s hand. “I appreciate you wanting to avenge my honor, but I don’t need you to go all vigilante justice, okay? I just need you to be careful and take care of yourself.” Caroline held up her hand, stopping Val’s protest. “Let’s just enjoy dinner with your future in-laws.”

Val started sputtering that they weren’t engaged and the normal, safe conversation warmed Caroline, who was trying hard to get her emotions in check. For years, she’d imagined what it would feel like to unburden herself on someone else, and even though she hadn’t shared everything, it was still relieving to have this one secret off her chest.

And to know that her sisters had been supportive. Between Ellie’s compassion and Val’s protective nature, Caroline felt cherished and loved; she had forgotten how good it felt to be accepted.

Val headed for the porch first, while Ellie and Caroline trailed behind. Caroline touched Ellie’s arm and pointed to her eye.

“This better not happen again,” Caroline whispered.

“I told you, it—”

“What are you two talking about without me?” Val asked, holding the door open for them.

“Nothing,” Ellie said, quickly.

“I was just giving her a little advice about what to do in a fight,” Caroline said, catching Ellie’s eye meaningfully. “The first rule is, don’t get hit.”

Ellie pushed past Val to get inside.

“What the hell is her problem?” Val asked, rubbing her chest where Ellie had bumped her.

“She’s a Willis; we’ve never been very good at taking advice.”

G
ABE HAD BEEN
stewing for hours at the apartment, waiting for Caroline to get home. Despite all the warning signs that getting involved with her would lead to disaster, he hadn’t been able to stop once they’d started, and sure enough, it had ended with him pissing her off.

That hadn’t been his intention, of course. He’d been nervous as hell, as hard as it was to believe, and when he got nervous, he said stupid shit. He just hadn’t wanted her to read too much into his reaction to their sexcapade—which had been fucking mind-blowing. He’d been reduced to a sixteen-year-old kid, shocked as hell that the hottest girl he knew wanted to “do it,” and he’d embarrassed himself. For a minute there, when their gazes had met as he slid into her, he’d thought there was a connection. Something more than sex, more than just lust. As if their souls had recognized one another.

Something was wrong with him, that was for damn sure. Flowery thoughts and obsessing over a woman just wasn’t his style.

Still, he’d wanted to give her time to calm down, so hopefully they could have a reasonable conversation. He hadn’t been prepared to walk into a disaster zone.

The formula bottles for the kittens had been left on the counter without even being rinsed out. Clothes were littered across the bathroom floor, and her towel was thrown across the back of the couch.

So, she was in a hurry. You aren’t exactly Mr. Clean when you’re rushed.

Heading over to the fridge, he’d opened it and reached in, wanting to sit down with a cold beer while he tried to find something to watch.

Only there was no beer.

There had been one can last night when he’d gone to bed, and he hadn’t been home at all today. Which meant Caroline had come in here and taken his last beer, just to be spiteful.

Maybe she planned to pick up more on her way home.

It was almost nine, though, so he wasn’t holding his breath.

A knock at the door interrupted his dark thoughts. Who the hell would come calling at nine o’clock on a Sunday? He pulled open the door and found a pale blond guy standing on the porch. The guy seemed surprised to see him.

“I’m looking for Caroline.”

“She’s not here,” Gabe said gruffly, eyeing the blue suit the guy was sporting. It looked expensive, but then again, the last suit he’d worn had been a rental, so what did he know?

“Will you just let her know that Kyle came by?”

There was something about the guy Gabe didn’t like, and it wasn’t just that he looked slicker than snot.

“Sure, Skip, when she gets home, that’s the first thing I’ll do.”

Ole Kyle didn’t like that. “It’s important.”

“I’m sure it is, but I gotta ask, if you need to see her so bad, why don’t you just give her a call?”

That made Kyle angry, if the deep red of his skin was any indication. “I lost her number.”

“Well, that sounds like a personal problem, Kyle,” Gabe said and started to shut the door.

“Kyle?” Caroline’s voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs.

Gabe opened the door again as Kyle turned toward her.

“Caroline. I was hoping we could talk.”

Caroline paled for a half second before Kyle started down the stairs, and every muscle in Gabe’s body tensed.

This is the guy.

Gabe came out the door with a vengeance and grabbed Kyle by the back of the jacket. There was no way he was letting the fucker take one more step toward Caroline.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Kyle shouted as he tried to shake Gabe’s grip. Gabe let Kyle’s jacket go long enough to allow Kyle to turn around and face him. “I’ll sue—”

Gabe’s fist connected with Kyle’s pretty face, and he stumbled back against the railing.

“Gabe!”
Caroline screamed, starting up the stairs. “Don’t!”

But he wasn’t going to stop, not until he scared the piss out of the little prick.

“This is the guy, right?” Gabe said, collecting the front of Kyle’s shirt in his hand, ignoring the blood from Kyle’s split lip as it dripped onto his hand.

“I didn’t tell you that,” she said.

“You didn’t have to,” Gabe said, pushing and shoving Kyle down the metal steps. The fact that she hadn’t denied it told him all he needed to know. “Get out of the way, Caroline.”

Though Gabe might have sounded calm, he was anything but. He reached the ground with Kyle and knocked him backward with a hard upper cut. He wanted to see this piece of shit quake in his fancy suit, for him to beg Gabe to stop.

Caroline tried to get between them. “Gabe, you can’t do this. He’s a lawyer, and you have a record! Think about it!”

Gabe’s arms shook with the need to twist Kyle’s neck until it snapped, but her words broke through the fog of rage. He couldn’t go back to prison, not with Honey depending on him. And what would happen to Caroline if he was locked up? If he wasn’t here, would Kyle hurt her?

With one last punch to Kyle’s middle, dropping him to the ground, Gabe stood over him menacingly.

“You stay away from her, do you hear me? Do not come to this house again, or I’ll make sure you disappear.”

Kyle groaned and rolled onto his side, coughing. He looked up at them with hatred and rasped, “I’ll be pressing charges.”

“No, you won’t,” Gabe said, rubbing his sore knuckles. “People might start asking questions about what you were doing here, and I doubt Caroline will back you up when the police want an explanation.”