Page 93 of Once Kissed

“What if he stops you?”

“He can’t,” I try to insist, despite my shaky voice. “Once I pass the boards, I’ll finally have a way to make my own money.”

“Tess, this is a sick man who has gotten off on hurting you, scaring you, and forcing you to do things against your will. Do you think that’s going to end with your graduation? If you don’t think he has another ace up his sleeve, you have another thing coming.”

His eyes sweep over my body, while his hands travel the length of my arms. “Do you see yourself?” he asks me. “Do you have any idea what you look like right now? He’s killing you, baby. This man is destroying everything you are, and everything I love about you.”

He hauls me to him when I sob into my hands, his words and their truth dismantling me. “I don’t want to be like this,” I admit.

“Then don’t. Let me get you out of here. I make a good living. I have money put away. I can carry us through until you can stand on your own. Will you let me?”

I clutch the front of his shirt, knowing what I have to say, and wishing I didn’t have to. “I can’t.”

Curran’s muscles tense beneath my hold. He doesn’t move or speak, not for a long time. But when he does, his words crush me more than an avalanche of falling stones. “If that’s the case, you’re more broken than I thought, and I can’t fix you.”

He wrenches himself away from me and grabs his jacket, then marches toward the hall. Without another glance back, he throws the door open.

I call to him, but he leaves anyway, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter 24

Curran

I drive around for two hours. The cop in me is gone. The Philly boy raring for a fight? He’s front and center, looking for a way to find fucking Newart.Bastard piece of shit.I swear I could choke him with my bare hands.

He damaged my girl, spent years reducing her to nothing, and I’m not sure there’s a way to get all of her back.

What pisses me off, though, is that Tess is right. Me storming in there, pretending to save the day, won’t save her in the end.Sheneeds to walk away from him. I can’t make her do it. No. I owe her more than that.

I make it back to my apartment after hours of senseless driving, but can’t even put the key in the lock. She’s a mess, and I left her like that. I glare at my door for about ten seconds before I hotfoot down the back stairs and head back to her place.

It’s almost one in the morning when I reach her building. I rush out of my car, pausing only to nod toward her guard sitting in his vehicle. I knock on her door moments later. She opens it slowly, her eyes red and swollen.

Shit. I was hoping I’d wake her. It would mean she’d slept, and not stayed awake crying like she obviously had.

“Hi,” I say like a dumbass.

Tears leak from her eyes. Damn. For as much as I think her father is a supreme dick, being the one to cause those tears, I’m no better. “I’m sorry I left.” She doesn’t answer, choosing instead to wipe her cheeks. “And I’m sorry for what I said. It won’t happen again.”

Her voice shakes. “What won’t?”

“Huh?”

She struggles to speak. “What won’t happen again? What you said?”

I shake my head. “I’m not going to keep quiet about what I think of your father. It’s wrong what he’s doing, and barely on the side of the law. But I was wrong, too. I shouldn’t have left you. Not like you were.”

She presses her lips and backs away into the apartment. “Do you want to come in?”

“I really do,” I answer, meaning it down to my gut.

Aw, hell. That only makes her cry harder.

I shut the door behind me, flipping the deadbolt and pulling her against me. “Baby,” I say, when she falls into my arms. “Don’t cry.” She cries harder. “Okay…I guess you can if you want.”

Her shoulders shake. It takes me a sec to realize she’s laughing even through her misery. “Thank you,” she mumbles.

I lead her to the bedroom and strip down to my shorts. She removes her glasses and slips into bed, cuddling close when I gather her to me. “What do you want to do?” I ask.

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