Page 30 of Finding Home with You

A half laugh escapes me. “Taking a bullet?” I ask. “What the fuck is that? You’ve been watching too many crime shows, Red.”

“Fuck you, Ryan,” she shouts, taking another swig of beer. “Did you think I wouldn’t even care?” she asks, her voice getting louder. “That it wouldn’t matter to me if you got hurt or fucking…whatever?” she asks, frustrated as she throws her hands up in the air.

“Oh, you’re a fine one to talk,” I say, stepping toward her.

“What the fuck does that mean?” she asks, straightening as I step closer.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say, sarcastically. “The key? Under the doormat? You think that’s safe?”

“For fuck’s sake,” she says, rolling her eyes. “It’s the back ass of nowhere here, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“The worst,” I say, closing the gap between us. “How about this?” I add as I shove the photo in her face.

Erin’s eyes flick to the picture and I watch as all the color drains from her face. She swallows hard, immediately downing the rest of her beer before she turns and walks out of the room.

“Don’t you walk away from me,” I shout, following her.

“Fuck you, Ryan,” she says as she walks into her bedroom.

I follow her in. “Tell me what this is, Erin?” I shout, waving the photo at her back. “How are you connected to all this?”

Erin ignores me now, instead pulling off her clothes and throwing them in a pile on the floor. When she’s down to her underwear, she stops, as though suddenly remembering I’m in the room.

“Oh don’t stop on my account,” I say, my words dripping with sarcasm.

She storms out again only to return a few seconds later, now holding a gun. She’s careful with it, holding it so the barrel is pointed at the floor. I can see the safety is still on but it doesn’t stop me from losing what little amount of self-control I had left.

“You have a fucking gun?” I shout, ready to explode. “What the fuck do you need a gun for?”

“Get out,” she says, her words strangely calm.

“Erin,” I say, stepping toward her, hands up as though I’m conceding. “Give me the gun.”

She shakes her head, never taking her eyes off me.

“I’m not going to say it again,” I say, taking another step closer as I lower my hands and slowly move toward hers. “If you don’t give me that gun right now, you are in serious trouble.”

I reach for it, just as she shakes her head and mumbles. “Fuck you, Ryan as if you even give a shit.”

It takes only a second for me to disarm her, years of police training no match for her likely country club membership. The second the gun is in my hands, I’ve released the mag and emptied the round in the chamber, putting all of the pieces in the top drawer of her dresser.

“Erin…” I start, at the same time as she says, “He’s my father.”

I freeze, unsure if I’ve heard clearly. “What the fuck did you say?”

Erin slams her hands on my chest now as she pushes up on her toes and gets right up in my face. “He’s my fucking father, Ryan. He’s everything I’ve tried to escape from and the reason I hide out in this town. He’s a fucking nightmare and he scares the shit out of me, okay?”

Her words are rushed, forced out of her as though now she’s allowed herself to voice them there’s no stopping any of it. As I stare down at her, her eyes wild and cheeks flushed, I suddenly get hit with a hard dose of reality.

“Motherfucker,” is all I can say before I slam my mouth hard against hers.

Erin grabs my shirt, pulling me closer as she kisses me back equally hard. My arms slide around her waist, hauling her body against mine as I walk us backward. When her legs hit the bed, I slide my hands roughly up her body, yanking off her bra. Erin gasps as I push her back onto the bed now, her face still flushed as I step between her legs and start to unbutton my shirt.

Her eyes flick to the bandage on my arm, her mouth opening with a question I don’t give her time to ask. “Not the time, Red,” I say, shoving my pants down. I stand naked between her legs now, my dick hard and throbbing with want. Erin’s chest is heaving, the flush slowly spreading to her breasts.

I lean over and suck a nipple into my mouth, biting down hard as my fingers slide into the side of her panties and rip them right off her.

“Fuck,” she gasps, her body bowing off the bed.

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