Page 10 of Jericho

I dip my head in agreement, doing my best to keep silent when he uses the pressure he has on my face to push me backward until I'm sprawled out on the floor. I wince in pain, pulling my arm to my chest after it smacks the floor. I know not to get up. He very well may not be done hurting me. The one time I tried to scramble away from him, he kicked the shit out of me. Phantom pain spears me in the side from the broken ribs I earned that day.

"No more questions," I gasp. "No more snooping. I'm sorry."

"I'll be home late," he says before taking a step back.

I watch as he drops the key to the locked drawer on the top of his desk before walking out.

He knows I won't risk getting hurt again. His threat stands true, and I'm crawling out of the room and pulling the office door closed behind me before he can even make it to the front door. I'll never step foot in that part of the house ever again. As much as I want to find Eli and get away from Damien, I'd never risk my son's life to make it happen. I've done so much already to keep him safe.

Chapter 5

Jericho

I may be losing more sleep now over all this Aspen Reese, no scratch that, AspenGaines, shit than I ever have before. It's all I can seem to think about no matter the steps I've taken to get even the idea of her out of my fucking head.

"You just going to ruin it for everyone else?"

I snap my eyes up, giving Jersey a look that most men would cower at the sight of. He's either a fool or overconfident in his abilities because he just continues to glare at me.

"I get being pissed, but that loaf of bread didn't do a damn thing to you," he says, pointing to my hands.

I look down, realizing he's right. I've managed to practically destroy the loaf of bread, but I don't apologize for the mistake. It's better the bread than some unsuspecting fool who gets in my way. I lift my eyes to him once again, a challenge in my gaze.

"Nope," he says, holding his hands up. "Pick someone else. I'm not engaging with your crazy ass this morning. I'll get something from the drive-thru."

I watch his back as he walks out of the kitchen.

"Something I need to know?" Hemlock asks a few minutes later when he enters the room to find me still standing there, staring into the empty space Jersey just left.

"Bad mood," I grunt because fuck if I'm going to open up. The man is my boss not a fucking therapist.

"Is it going to cause a problem in my house?" he asks without a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"No," I tell him before walking out of the kitchen.

The entire house is filled with men who are capable of doing some pretty twisted things. It's no surprise when any one of us might be in a shitty mood, but I also know he isn't going to let things fester until one of us snaps at someone else. He has Zara here, and the man isn't going to risk putting her in danger of getting caught in any sort of crossfire.

I have every intention of going to my room and grabbing my jacket before getting out of the house. We're required to take two days off between jobs and that means I won't get another assignment until late tomorrow. Agreeing to such a schedule seemed fine when it was presented, but now that I need a distraction, I hate the mandatory downtime.

Instead of reaching for my fucking jacket, my eyes land on that goddamned computer. Before I can convince myself that it's a bad idea, I'm once again opening the laptop and logging into the email account with every intention of finally deleting the account. The loss of it will haunt me, but at least it won't leave me feeling like a fool, waiting for her to feel sorry for herself enough to write another email.

Only, I can't click on the delete icon because there's another email, the bolded title staring back at me as if it's the greatest temptation I've ever faced.

I literally feel like a druggie who has a tiny bag of cocaine being waved in his face after struggling for years with sobriety. I know clicking on the email will only cause me additional grief, but at the same time, it's everything I've ever wanted, despite hating the sight of it.

I know picking up my laptop and throwing it against the wall would do nothing but inconvenience me. Within an hour, I'd be at the store buying another one, probably using their free Wi-Fi to log right back into this same email account before leaving the parking lot.

There's no point in resisting it when I know I'm going to give in. Doing so would only be a waste of my damn time. With as much calmness as I can manage, I pull out the desk chair and take a seat before clicking on the email titledSome days I wonder why I even exist at all.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've done something that I knew would get me in tons of trouble. Only a handful because I've always been such a baby about pain. It has kept me safe for the most part, although there are times I can do nothing and still offend him to the point of him hurting me. There aren't many things in life worth the risk, but today I took that risk, and the failed results are all over my face.

He fucking hit her, and I can tell by her wording that it isn't the first time either.

Pain wraps around my heart, squeezing until it leaves me breathless and damn near gasping.

He set me up. I know I shouldn't be surprised by that, but I really thought he believed I was so afraid of him that I wouldn't risk my safety. I don't think it registers to him that I'll do anything for our son. I don't know that he's the type of man that cares for any one thing enough to put his own life on the line for them.

I feel like I've been dropped into an alternate universe with the ease she's showing at bringing up both Damien and Eli, as if we've had dozens of conversations about the two of them in the past.

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