Page 44 of The Scars of Us

“Who was it, then?” I gritted.

“It’s not my place to tell you—Kaiya will tell you when she’s ready,” he replied firmly.

We both silently stared at one another for I don’t know how long before Kamden finally spoke, “Thank you again for protecting her.”

I nodded, then headed for the front door, but stopped. Turning back around to face him, I asked, “Will you have her call me? I want to make sure she’s okay.”

He hesitated, shaking his head. “Look, you seem to have feelings for Kaiya, but I don’t think you two should see each other anymore.”

I squared my body, pushing my chest out. “Last I checked, Kaiya is a grown woman, and you aren’t her father. She can make her own decisions.”

He stood up with authority and stared me down with a death glare. “And last I checked, you’re a womanizing asshole. I don’t want my sister getting involved with you.”

“Too late.” I shrugged. “I’m going to see her, whether you fucking like it or not.”

“Oh, really? We’ll see about that.” There was an obvious challenge in his tone.

“Yeah, we will,” I responded. I turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind me. I was going to see Kaiya, and there was nothing Kamden or anyone could do to fucking stop me.

Noise from the kitchen woke me, and I winced from the throbbing pain in my cheek and head.Why did I drink so much? I can’t believe how stupid I was.

As I slowly sat up in my bed, I thought about how Ryker not only came to my rescue, but listened to me when I needed someone—he actually seemed like he cared, despite what he had said to me the night before.What changed?

I dreaded facing Kamden—Ryker had to have brought me home, and I wondered what happened after that.Did Kamden question Ryker? Did they talk about what happened at the club?

Slowly, I trudged to the kitchen, where Kamden was making breakfast.

“Hey.” I plopped down at the breakfast bar, preparing for the inevitable.

As Kamden turned to face me, his eyes focused on my cheek, then immediately set in anger as he stalked over to me.

“Did Ryker do this?” he growled as he gently grabbed my chin, tilting it to look at my face better.

“No!” I snapped, pulling back from him. “Ryker saved me from the guy that did—he stopped him.” I looked away and wrapped my arms around myself.

Kamden placed his arms on my shoulders, looking at me with concern. “Tell me what happened.”

Tears stung my eyes as I remembered last night.Thank God Ryker was there to save me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t come after me.

“I acted stupid—I got drunk and was all over this guy.” My voice was barely above a whisper as shame and embarrassment got the better of me. “He wanted to take things further, and I didn’t want to. He didn’t like that, and got physical.”

When I looked up, Kamden’s nostrils flared in anger as he took a deep breath and gripped the side of the counter. “And?”

“Ryker intervened—he beat the crap out of the guy and brought me home.”

“You told him about Kaleb?” He sounded irritated and confused as his eyes searched my face.

My muscles tensed slightly at the accusation. “Not everything. I just told him that I was abused when I was little. Not who.”

“He thought it was me—I thought he was going to kick my ass.” His stern expression and tone told me he was serious.

“What?” I laughed nervously.

“Seriously—he asked if it was me. He was pissed.”

“Really?”I can’t believe he cared.

“Yeah. I told him to stay away from you.” Kamden crossed his arms.

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