Page 136 of Unhinged

“Why? So you can worry about me for no reason?”

“No, so I can beat the shit out of the fucker for every reason.”

“Can we not do this?” I grab my shoes and coat and put them on in a rush.

“Where are you going?” Ignoring him, I go outside onto the porch. Greg soon joins me as he puts on his coat, still bitching, “You’re not walking away from me. I’m not dropping this.”

I sigh, rubbing my unbruised temple. “Can we sit in your truck? I don’t want to talk with Amos there.”

He concedes, “Okay.”

We walk over, and I climb into the back seat. I’m shivering, but not as much from the cold as I am from my nerves. As he starts the engine for heat from the front seat, he asks, “What’re you doing back there?”

My heart drums to the beat of my nerves. “Can you please sit with me?”

Greg gets out and joins me in the tighter space. Sitting sideways, he perches his arm on the back of the front seat. “Spill it.”

Amid my teeth chattering, I plead, “Hold me?”

Greg’s frown softens, and he scoots closer. The second he puts his arm around me and I smell his cologne, I cry into my best friend’s ELO shirt. Greg puts his other arm around me and moves closer, whispering, “I’m here, doodlebug. I won’t ever leave you alone there again.” I nod against his chest. I don’t need Greg to defend me, but it’s nice to hear he would, anyway. “How’d it happen?”

Reluctantly leaving his arms, I sit back. “One of his friends left their phone at the table. I went outside to return it, and Tanner was drunk—”

“It was that asshole?” Greg pushes on his coat sleeves, but they don’t budge. I don’t want him to be anxious over this shit.

I shake more, rustling my coat, and Greg puts his arm around me again. “What else did he do?”

“It pissed him off that I kept turning him down for a date. He trapped me against the railing.”

“He fucking what?”

“He called me a cock tease. He said I needed to apologize to his cock. Oh, my God.”

Greg tenses and his voice is an angry whisper. “Did he touch you?” My hand goes to my mouth. I can’t tell him. I’ve said way too much. “Simone, I need you to be honest with me.” Shit.

I nod as I cry. “He grabbed my right breast through my shirt.” Greg’s breath is sharp and swift. “I shoved him and kneed him in the balls. I don’t know if he pushed me or I lost my balance, but I stumbled, and his elbow hit my eye. I fell against the railing. I thought I was going to throw up or pass out. Before I knew it, I was on the ground but didn’t faint.” It’s deathly quiet in the truck, with only the heat blowing and no music. Greg darts his eyes from the dashboard, windshield, and my side window as he rubs his jaw. I notice he does that when he’s considering raising the hell Eden couldn’t. I sniff. “I’m sorry, Greg. I didn’t want to tell you and trigger—”

Greg’s voice is liquid steel, and his eyes are black fire when he looks at me. “Baby, the only thing you’re triggering in me is the urge to kill the fucking son of a bitch.” I laugh uneasily through my tears. “You think I’m kidding?”

“There were seven of them.”

“I don’t give a shit. You may have seen me pissed off, but they attacked you. My wife. I wouldn’t hesitate to tear apart any of those motherfuckers in a blind rage.”

Sniffing, I ask, “Why would you do that?”

“Because I… I… No one touches you, Simone. Including me, if you didn’t want me to.” The thought of Greg not touching me is crushing, and I cry again. He pulls me close, and I inhale him. His scent is my favorite. Greg strokes my back through my coat and kisses my head. He whispers, “I’m so sorry he did this to you. You need to report this to the police.”

I shake my head. “It’s nothing.”

“It is not nothing.”

“It’s my fault. He said shit, and I mouthed off. I was alone. Any woman knows the dos and don’ts of personal safety. I failed.”

“He assaulted you.”

“Not like you were.”

“Simone Amanda Rodwell, stop saying that shit. You didn’t ask for it. He violated you. It’s the same thing.”

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