Page 35 of Suspicious

Inhaling sharply, I grit my teeth. “It’s no reason to strip on a clubhouse bar, Bea!”

She snorts out a laugh, trying to pull away from me again, but I hold her tighter. “Let’s face it, Loki… my business is screwed. My name in the health and wellness industry will be mud. What else is left for me? I may as well resort to stripping. Hell, it sounded like the woman in the song I was dancing to made one hell of a living being a whore. Maybe I should look into that?” Her eyes flood with tears because I think she honestly believes this is what her future looks like.

“I’m gonna fix this, Bea. You’renotgoing to end up having to sell yourself. I would nevereverlet you do that.”

She shoves me away from her, heading for the door. “You can’t promise me you’re going to fix shit, Loki. You can’t promise me any-fucking-thing. I should havenevercome to you.”

Reaching out, I grip her wrist and pull her back to me, but she grits her teeth and starts flailing about again. “Just let me go, Alex. Let me go out there and forget for one night.”

I pull her back to me, shaking my head as she continues to try to push me off her. “Getting drunk is not going to make the problem go away, Bea.”

Tears flood her eyes, her efforts to push me away intensify, her nails digging into my arm, causing scratches and lines of blood to form. “Please, Alex… everything is so intense.I just want it to stop!”

I bring my hand up to her face to try to calm her, but all she does is push me away, shaking her head. “If you don’t let me stay and party… I’ll get in my car and fucking leave.”

“Can’t let you do that, Bea.” I take a step in front of the door.

She throws her hands in the air in frustration. “You holding me hostage now? Am I your fucking prisoner? Should have figured you’d be into holding people captive. You’ve changed so damn much.”

That stung more than I care to admit, but I know she is lashing out because she’s hurting and drunk.

I need to calm this situation down.

“Just get in the bed, Bea. Sleep it off.”

She widens her eyes like I have deeply offended her. “I am a strong, independent woman. Idon’ttake orders from anyone, and especially notyou!”She surges forward, racing straight for me. I sturdy my body, ready for the impact, and she jumps directly on me. I grab hold of her as her legs grip around my waist, her actions uncoordinated and frantic as her hands start pulling at me everywhere. Her nails claw at my skin as she tries to pull me away from the door.

“Motherfucker!” I’ve finally had enough of this bullshit. “Dammit, woman,” I yell.

I have to cool her down.

She is out of control.

She desperately needs a reset.

So with her attached to me, screaming some bullshit against my ear that I can’t even understand, I make way for the adjoined bathroom, kicking open the door. Then, with all my might, I shove her off me into the alcove of the shower. Her ass falls tothe tiles with a thud, her back hitting the wall as she cowers in the corner, letting out a huff.

“The fuck, Alex!”she yells.

Glaring down at her, I reach for the faucet, her eyes going wide as saucers as I flip on the cold water. It rains on top of her in a stream, drenching her clothes and all. She gasps, her hands thrusting up to cover her face as she cradles herself into a small ball. Her breathing quickens, her body trembling as I begin to hear the sounds of soft whimpering.

Moving to the side a little so I can get a better view of her face from beneath her hands, tears clearly stream down her face while a wave of panic overcomes her as she nestles on the bottom of the shower, trembling as she has finally realized she’s losing it. Her body wracks with sobs, curling into a tight ball as if to hide herself from me.

The sight of her falling apart is my undoing, and without hesitation, I step into the shower, boots, clothes, leather cut, and all. I squat down beside her, sheltering her from the water. The harsh, cold pummels my back as I pull her to me. Bea instinctively slides her arms around my neck, her whole body merging with mine as I pull us to the other side of the shower out of the stream of water.

I hold her so fucking tight, her body shaking against mine, sitting with her in my lap, cradling Bea to my chest, holding onto her for dear life as tears fall down her face as steady as the shower flows.

My heart races hard enough that my chest hurts. My hand reaches out, almost on its own, and I gently cup her cheek, my thumb brushing against her soft skin. “Please don’t cry,” I whisper.

Sniffling, her eyes slowly lift to look at me, defeat heavy in her gaze. “I… I feel lost, Alex.”

Choking down the tension building inside me, I gently nod. “Iknow... I know exactly how that feels, Bea. But this, this shitisn’tyou. Drinking yourself into oblivion night after night.”

She drops her gaze from me like she’s ashamed. “I didn’t plan it.”

“Plan what?”

“To get drunk again… it wasn’t even on my mind. But then when you figured out I caused the breach, and then you pulled away from kissing me—”

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