Page 121 of On the Double

“It could happen.”

Lock was smirking at me and my good mood instantly faded. “I have to go.”

“Yeah, go save the world.”

“Not the entire world. Just a portion of it.” I hung up without another word and shoved my phone in my pocket. “What are you grinning at?”

“Oh, nothing. Just the lone ranger of the group who vowed to never be in a relationship.”

“It’s not—” I stopped myself before I could lie any further. Sitting down across from him, I allowed myself a moment of realism. “Okay, maybe it’s a relationship, but not the kind you’re thinking of.”

“Right, because all of your relationships so far have been so similar to this. Face it, you’re falling in love with her.”

I dropped my gaze, staring at the floor like I wanted to murder it. “It can’t last.”

“You can allow yourself to be happy.”

“Not like that.”

“Edu, you’re not your father.”

I clenched my jaw, fighting off the anger that always got to me when I thought of him. “Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t turn out like him.”

“I highly doubt that.”

He didn’t know. I never told him all of it. And if he did know, he would tell me to stay far away from all women for the rest of my life. I knew what lived inside me. I knew the demons that would surface if I ever let things get out of control. And I wouldn’t let that happen, especially not to someone as beautiful and innocent as Harper.

I smirked at the word innocent. Then I thought of her lying on the table, getting her nipple pierced and squirming as I played with her pussy. No, Harper wasn’t innocent, but she definitely wasn’t made to fight off an asshole like me.

“Have you even talked to her about it?”

I snapped my gaze to his. “No, and she won’t find out about it.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’d want to fix me. She’d think that with some help, it would be fine. I won’t give her that kind of hope.”

He shook his head at me. “You’re not just denying her. You’re denying yourself. You could be happy if you just fucking tried.”

“Tried?” I said, my voice barely a growl. “You think I should try after what I’ve done?”

“You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

He didn’t have to live with it the way I did. Only I knew the truth of what happened that day. He only knew part of it. Would he still look at me the same if he realized the kind of brutality I was capable of?

“Edu—”

I stood and went to the back of the plane, away from all the guys. Away from the nagging that I was sure to get if I hung around Lock any longer. The plane started down the runway, and I sat down in a seat, staring out the window as that day flashed through my mind.

“Edu, you have to come home.”

The pleading in my mother’s voice had me getting up and heading to the door. I was at the recruitment office, ready to get the hell out of this town and my house.

“Mom, I’m not coming home.”

“He’s going to kill me, Edu,” my mother pleaded.

By the slurring in her voice, she was already on her third cocktail. Anger filled me as I tried to figure out what to do. I could walk back into the office and finish filling out the paperwork, or I could get dragged back into another fight between my mother and father.

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