Page 34 of Ruthless Love

My hands are shaking, and I’m hoping Hollie can’t see it. Normally, a show of force like this doesn’t bother me, but after the argument we had last night, I’m worried. We didn’t leave on good terms and if there’s one thing I’ve constantly worried about; it’s that he gets hurt, and I’m not able to say goodbye. Bringing my thumb up to my mouth, I worry the nail between my teeth. From over on the table, my cell phone starts going off with texts.

Hollie and I glance at one another. This can’t be good. Running over to the table we’d been sitting at to eat our lunch,I flip the phone over and unlock it. My heart trips as I see it’s the group chat I’d originally been banned from. There’s only one reason they would add me back. The person texting is the self-proclaimed head of the group, Celeste Clemmons.

C: Marissa, if there’s anything we can do for you, please let us know.

I’m beyond angry at them. I have no idea what’s going on, and they’re just assuming I will allow them back in my life.

M: Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on, but I figure since y’all let me back in the group chat, it’s not good.

C: Oh honey, I had no idea you didn’t know.

Fuck you, Celeste.

M: Would anyone like to enlighten me, or do I need to find out for myself?

Their answer doesn’t matter as I glance up when the bell to the front door of Dirty Thirty dings. Wyatt walks in, blood on his uniform, and his face white as a ghost.

I shake my head. “Don’t…don’t tell me he’s dead.”

“He’s not, but he’s lost a considerable amount of blood while we waited to get him out. He’s headed to Billings. I’m here to take you.”

Standing there staring at him, the memories I have with Cain are running through my head. From the first day we met, the afternoon he asked me out on a date, the night he asked me to marry him, and the morning we met before our ceremony. We’ve lived an entire lifetime within the last few years. “Let’s go.” I manage to push the words past my tight throat.

Hollie stops me with a few words. When I turn around, she’s shoving bags with pre-made salads and sandwiches in my hands. "There's going to be a lot of people there, and they're going to need food. Make sure you eat some of it, too."

I know I won't, but I take it just the same. Numb, I get in the squad car with Wyatt, and the entire way to Billings, I pray.

Wyatt isquiet for most of the ride, but when we get halfway there, he begins speaking. "I don't like to talk to you about what's going on in your marriage, because we aren't close."

"Go ahead, maybe it'll keep my mind off of what's going on with Cain," I tell him, desperate for anything to stop the nightmares that are rolling through my brain.

"He's seemed happier the past few weeks. So different than he's been since the two of you split."

I scoff, glancing around the inside of the police car. "You can call it what it was, Wyatt. I left. For better or worse, I gave up our vows."

"He didn't look at it that way."

Maybe now is not the time, but I'm seeing this ride to Billings for what it could be. The chance to get an inside look at my husband from someone who knows him almost as well as I do. "How did he look at it? There's no way he'll ever tell me." I don't add that if he doesn't make it, I'll never have the chance to ask.

Wyatt sighs. "He's going to kill me for telling you this. He never really wanted you to know how he dealt with it. At first, he was very much of the attitude that you would be back soon."

"Of course he was," I giggle. "He always thought there was no way I could refuse him, but I was determined this time. Things had to change."

"He realized it pretty quickly, but he didn't know how to tell you that he was ready for it. If it had been up to him, he would've been beating down the door at Enchanted Chapters two days after you left, but I think he realized he had to take it seriously."

Marissa early in her leaving had wanted him to come in, carrying a bunch of roses, and professing his love, but now I realize it wouldn't have worked. I wanted more than the grand gesture. I needed him to prove himself, and truthfully, he's done it.

That realization hits me hard.

What have I been trying to get him to prove to me? Why did I go to my apartment instead of going home with him? Why have I been trying my best to keep everything with the two of us separate when I want nothing more than to be a couple with him again? "I love him," I blurt to Wyatt. "I should have told him more.”

"He knows." Wyatt reaches over, rubbing my hand. "Trust me. He knows."

TWENTY-SEVEN

CAIN

My chest is screamingafter taking two to the vest. It hurts so much I don't realize I've been hit in the leg until I make a move to stand up. There are still bullets flying all around me, and I'm fucked if I don't find cover soon.

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