Page 46 of Filthy Hot

KYLE

I’m notsure how long I stay in this room. It’s got to be hours. The sun is beginning to set. I stare out the window, wondering if there is anything I can see to identify my whereabouts, but there is nothing. It’s just a backyard with a fence and some trees. There is a house on either side of the backyard and one past the back fence.

We’re in some neighborhood somewhere, and I doubt anyone is going to see me in this room. The door swings open again. I turn around expecting to see the boss or maybe the guy who took me.

But that’s not who opens the door.

It’s Xavier.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

And I mean that.

I fully wonder what the hell he’s doing here, and how he got here. Because the last time I saw him, he was tied up and getting shoved into the house just like me. He chuckles, his eyes findingmine, and I can tell he thinks he’s really getting away with something.

“You don’t think I am just going to let this shit happen and not be part of it, are you?”

“So, you’re part of this group now?” I ask. “They just let you in?”

He shrugs a shoulder. “I’ve given them what they wanted. And they’re going to give me what I want.”

“So, you did all of this to get me?” I ask. “Why?”

He grins. That smile used to mean something. It used to be attractive. But I know who he truly is inside now. Nothing about him is attractive. I want absolutely nothing to do with this man.

In fact, I want to see him get his just deserts. I want to watch him crash and burn. But right now, I’m wondering if that’s going to happen.

Why does this man get to come out on top? Why does he get to be an absolute nightmare and live?

I hate him.

Everything about him.

“You’re mine, and no fucking woman is going to walk away from me like that. You should know that by now.”

“I don’twantto be yours,” I grind out.

He shrugs a shoulder and takes a step forward. “I don’t give a fuck what you want. It doesn’t matter what the fuck you want. You are not in your own little world running and hiding anymore.”

I open my mouth to tell him to kick rocks because I will never be whatever the hell he wants me to be. I’m done with him. I’ve been done with him for four years, and I’m not going to go down without a fight. Never again.

The words don’t come out. I’m frozen as the man who clearly wields power—a lot of power, so much that it radiates from him—walks into the room. It’s the same one as earlier wearing more casual clothes.

Xavier presses his lips together and steps to the side. I am shocked he shuts his mouth. He didn’t when we were with that other guy, so this confirms he must be the big dog.

Likebig-bigdog.

He’s handsome—almosttoohandsome. He knows it, too, but he’s also charismatic, and I find myself staring at him, wondering what he’s going to say next. This is a man who commands others and rooms all at the same time.

He brushes past Xavier and makes his way toward me. I watch as he stops in front of me, just inches from my body, his eyes searching mine in silence. Then he jerks his chin, laughing softly before he speaks.

“You’re defiant. It's no wonder the Dark Horse likes you, and no wonder they are willing to wage war for you.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I try to keep from saying something rude. I have so many things I want to say to him, to Xavier, to anyone who will listen, because I just want to go back to my motel. I want to hang out with Ophelia. I want to lie in bed. I want to feel safe.

I realize now that I will never be safe, I will never be free. Those words don’t mean anything at all. They’re just words. I’ve lulled myself into a false sense of safety. I knew that’s what I was doing, as stupid as I knew it was.

Now I’m screwed. Completely and wholly. I should have kept running. I should have filled up my gas tank and driven as far as I could. What I should not have done was fall for anyone. Especially the man who I did, because falling for Rider made it impossible to walk away.

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