Page 78 of Explosive Prejudice

He snorted. “Really? Are you going to shelter me forever?” He tried to make light of it, but it fell flat.

“I’m dead serious. What about your dad?”

“What about him?”

“What will he do to you?”

“The fuck are you talking about?” he snarled, anger sweeping over his face.

“I’m talking about that piece of shit who abuses you. Does he do it himself? Or is he using that other asshole to do it? Orson, right?”

Rage throbbed in his eyes like a heartbeat before he clenched his hands into fists. “You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.” He started to walk toward the bedroom as if he could escape my questions. “Where the fuck is my suit? I need to send it to the cleaners.”

I followed him into the corridor, grabbed his shoulder, and forced him to turn around. “Shay-Lee.”

“What?”

“After everything I just told you, you can trust me. You can tell me what he does to you.”

He frowned. “So that’s what this is all about? You share your sad story with me as some sort of emotional blackmail, expecting me to do the same?” He shrugged me off and walked into the room.

“Of course not.”

“Good.” He took off the clothes I’d lent him and then reached for the suit he’d worn last night. “Because I don’t have shit to tell you, okay?” He fumbled with his pants. “My dad is great.” His bottom lip quivered. “He’s the fucking best.” His voice almost broke with the lie.

“You don’t need to hide the truth from me. I’ve seen the bruises on your skin, Shay-Lee.”

“They’re from football.”

I grabbed his shirt before he could reach for it. “Bullshit. The season has been over for months.”

“Give it to me.”

“No.” I put a hand between us, not letting him take the damn shirt. “Not until you tell me the truth. Let’s start with this.” I grabbed his arm and raised it between us so his bruised wrist was in full view. “Why did he do this to you?”

“He didn’t do it.” He snapped out of my hold and hugged his wrist close to his chest, hiding the purple marks. “You have no right to ask these questions.”

“You’re right, but I don’t give a shit.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head. “Well, you should because you’re hurting me.”

His biting and tormented words made me pause because that was the exact opposite of what I wanted. The idea that he was defending those monsters drove me insane. Even worse, I was disappointed to learn that even now, he still refused to take down his mask while I had clearly let go of mine.

“I’m okay, Diesel. You don’t need to worry.”

And we’re back to Diesel.

“If you’re okay, what were you doing on that hotel balcony that day? What were you doing on the beach last night?”

He shrugged, and then I noticed the tears in his eyes. “I-I don’t know,” he admitted, sniffing. “But please don’t force me to say things I don’t want to say.”

It was like a punch to the gut, but I had to pull myself back together.

“My God, you’re impossible to deal with.” I sighed, reached for him, and pulled him into a hug. We’d already fucked more than once, so what harm could one more hug do?

Shay-Lee leaned into the embrace and snuggled his head in my chest, allowing me to hold him tight. Resting my chin on his head, I smiled. “I’d never do that. I’d never force you into anything.”

Shay-Lee needed someone in his life, someone who’d care for him and understood him.

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