Page 33 of Pound

“I kinda shut it out for the year, but I heard it. She was raised by a father and brother who abused her in unspeakable ways. She’d only known violence from men. What I suspected was cheating was abuse. Her violence was trained into her and she begged my forgiveness in the wreckage. I was too stunned or too proud to give it to her before she lost consciousness.”

And just like that. Her world crashed down around her. The story too familiar to be coincidence. Meri’s need to know everything had risen. She suppressed the newly embraced dreamer side of her just a bit and let the logical Meri take the wheel. She needed to confirm. She wasn’t sure if she hoped the story of Lea, possibly Anna, was a unique one or that there were two separate people who’d suffered that fate. Either way was going to suck.

“Where is your wife, or ex-wife, now?” She had to be an ex, right? No way would Pound do that or would Trip let him. Nope, not going there too.

“She was hurt pretty bad. She was in a medically induced coma for a while. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t visit. I was banged up too, but when I got better, her family had moved her to a private facility, and I was kept away. I was served with divorce papers. I thought at the time it was what she wanted, so I signed and never looked back. Years later, when I put the pieces of the crash back together, I realized what she’d really said that night. She wouldn’t have divorced me and asked me through lawyers to stay away. Of course, it was too late. She’d passed years before I got my head on straight.”

Meri’s heart broke anew. The pain and guilt that laced every word were sharp. But Lea was dead.

“I’m so sorry, Joe.”

“I just wish I had listened and seen the signs. They were all there. She died thinking no one cared about her pain. She died divorced and in the hands of those who inflicted it. She confessed all to me and my brain shut it out. I shut her out.”

Pound’s voice was rising and roughening. She could feel the tension coiling in his whole body that was wrapped around hers. The anger he was directing inward was palpable.

“You can’t do that. You can’t go into the past and dig up shit like an archaeologist and examine the bones of relationships through the eyes you have today. Everything seems clearer looking back at it. You know things now you didn’t know back then. Sure, you would’ve done things differently had you realized, but that doesn’t make you wrong just because of what you know now.”

Meri took a deep breath; she was starting to repeat herself to try to make him understand. “If you’re guilty, so am I.” She was about to say something that might get her disowned by her best friend and her brother because she should speak about this to them first.

“When Jake showed up at my place, he said things. Things that… ripped my heart out. I haven’t asked JJ about it, but I don’t think he was lying. I mean, it explains so much. But I also haven’t told Trip. He’s my brother and I’ve kept my mouth shut. And not just because I’m worried about how he’ll react but because I haven’t come to terms with a rapist fathering my children.” It made her physically ill to even think about it.

Pound coaxed her back onto the bed and managed to turn her around to face him. Her legs instinctively wrapped around him while he held her in his lap and pulled her close.

“Shush, babe. He knows.”

Mari pulled back in shock and gave him a questioning look.

“It’s not my place to tell, but JJ told him, and Trip handled it. That’s all you need to know.” Pound’s mouth took hers with promise and hope.

Meri pulled back ever so slightly. “Is he dead?” In her heart, she knew the answer, but she needed to hear it. Needed confirmation.

“All I’ll say is you and the twins never have to worry about him again.”

He’d said it. Not the exact words, but the meaning was clear. A tremble of fear surged through her.

“Then Leone will be coming for Trip.” She scrambled off his lap and the bed to pace the floor. “He promised he’d come for whoever denied him Jake’s debt. Oh my god, I have to go to the kids. He’ll be coming for them.” Meri had entered full-blown panic mode. What could she do? She searched the bags for something to wear. “I have the money to cover it. It’ll wipe out the kids’ college money and I’ll have to sell the house, but it’s worth it to protect everyone I love. But the blood debt….”

“Meri.” She heard Pound calling her name but was laser focused on what to do.

“MERI!” He was breaking her focus.

“WHAT?” She spun to see him standing naked with an intense look on his face. He was stunning. He stepped into her personal space and cupped her cheeks.

“He’s dead.”

“But I have to—”

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah, you said he’s dead, but I still have to fig…” Her words trailed off as the meaning of his broke through her panic.

Her knees gave out in relief, and Pound was right there to catch her before she hit the floor. He turned and dropped into the chair with her across his lap.

“You need to breathe, sweetheart. He’s not a threat, and neither is Jake. And I promise I’ll handle anyone else who comes for what’s mine.”

Mine.

His.

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