Page 110 of Whips and Chains
I lifted my head, my gaze meeting his.
Violet opened her mouth and tried to answer, but Whip shook his head.
“I had a wife once. Two kids. A family. A normal life.” He sucked in a deep breath, trying to continue, even though it was clearly agony for him. “People I cared about. And when I lost them, I died too.”
Violet didn’t say anything. Just stared up at him, her fingers wrapped tight around his, like that might keep him from running away again.
“What happened to them?” I asked bluntly.
He stared at me, his eyes broken. “A drunk driver hit our car one night when we were on our way home from my son’s Little League game. It was barely five in the evening, and this guy was six sheets to the wind.” He swallowed hard. “Car flipped. The three of them were killed. I walked away without a scratch.”
My stomach sank, twisting with a sick feeling of regret and sorrow and pain.
Violet’s gasp was only muffled by the way she clapped her hand over her mouth. “Whip…”
I shoved my fingers into my pockets. “Shit. I didn’t know…”
Whip lifted a shoulder. “Nobody does. First rule of murder squad. No personal details, right?” He laughed bitterly. “Except I screwed that up. Kissing you. Fucking around with you. I kept blurring the line, and now I’ve crossed so far over it I can’t even see it.”
He gazed down at Violet. “I just can’t do this again. It hurts too fucking much. You love Levi. You have since the day I met you. Whatever we just did…it’s only going to end in both of us getting hurt. And that’s the last thing I want for you.” He gave her a tight smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.
He let her go and stepped back toward the gates again.
Suddenly, I was really fucking scared that if I let him walk through them, then I might never see him again.
“What if she didn’t have to choose?” I blurted out.
They both stared at me.
But it was Whip who saw through it first. “What if Violet didn’t have to choose?” He swallowed hard. “Or what if you didn’t?”
His words hit deep. Too fucking deep, in a place I wasn’t ready to fully admit to. I didn’t know what I wanted from Whip.
All I knew was I didn’t want him to walk away.
That it might end me if he disappeared in the night, and I didn’t know where he was or if he was okay.
Fuck.
I didn’t know how to say any of that. My tongue felt ten sizes too big for my mouth, and I couldn’t get out the words.
Violet took pity on me. “It’s late. We’ve been drinking. Nobody is going anywhere tonight.” She swallowed hard. “Nobody has to choose anything right now. I need you both. Tomorrow, or next week, or sometime soon, I’m going to be offered up on a platter for a psychopath. But for tonight, I’d really like to forget about that and sleep knowing I don’t have to keep one eye open.”
She stared up at Whip, clearly already knowing I wasn’t going anywhere. “Please stay. I don’t want you to leave.”
His resolve crumpled. “Okay, sweetheart. Whatever you want.” He put his arm around her neck, drawing her into him, breathing deep the scent of her hair.
They walked back toward me and the clubhouse.
I readied myself to trail behind them, following them back inside.
But Violet, with her sheet tucked in on itself so she didn’t have to hold it up, caught my wrist as they passed, her fingers sliding down, palm pressing against mine until we were holding hands.
That’s how we returned to the clubhouse. Whip’s arm around her. Her fingers wrapped around mine.
A public declaration that nobody was choosing anything.
At least not tonight.
