Page 43 of Breaking Conviction
“Wait, let me see the messages.”
She gave him her phone without thinking. Fighting past her blurry vision, she fumbled for the strap on her purse before slinging it over her shoulder.
“Motherfucker.” Wes grabbed his midnight-blue hair with his free hand as he stared at the screen, then stared at her. “I can’t let you go like this. No way in hell am I letting you be alone with that asshole when he’s fucking threatening you with shit like this.”
“I’m fine. I gotta go.” She reached for her phone, but his firm hand cupped her shoulder, stopping her at arm’s length.
“No way. Besides the fact you’re too upset to drive, this is some scary shit.”
It was only then that she realized her blurry vision was caused by the tears streaming down her face. She blinked hard, willing them to stop and tugged her shoulder free.
“I can’t think about that. I’m sorry Wes, but this was a mistake.” She ignored the lilt in her voice and her chest constricting at his stunned expression. Instead, she took the opportunity and grabbed her phone from his hand before rushing out of the BlackStone meeting room.
After a couple of steps, Wes followed at her heels.
“Wait, Naomi. Stop!” She burst through the door to the garage and beelined to her car until his hand tugged her arm again. “Please. Stop. You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do!” She easily tugged free and held her hand up to halt him from getting closer. “This was a huge mistake, so I just need to get home—”
“No,weare not a mistake. Can’t you feel that? I know I’m not the only one.” He ran his hands through his dark hair. “Fuck, Naomi, getting to hold you felt like I could breathe easy for the first time in months. We are not a mistake.This” —he gestured between them— “is not a mistake. Going back tohimis the mistake.”
“You don’t get it, Wes.” She choked on the words as dread and guilt constricted her lungs.
“Well then, explain it to me!”
Unable to look at his pleading icy blue eyes anymore, she pivoted, aiming straight for her Nissan as she yelled over her shoulder.
“Throughout our entire relationship, Dean has accused me of cheatin’ on him, he has...hurtme for those lies he believed, but for once—” She swallowed back the bile of the truth in her words. “For once, he was right. I have to go. I have to fix this.”
“Naomi, no you don’t! Don’t go back to him, please.”
She whirled on him and threw her hands up in frustration. “Why, Wes? So I’ll stay withyou, instead?”
Wes’s mouth opened and shut quickly before he shook his head. “What? Fuck, I’d love for you to do that, but no. That’s not what this is about. I don’t want you to go back to him because I’m scared for you. You are too, I can hear it in your voice.” He sidestepped around her and stopped in front of the driver’s side of her car with his arms spread out, keeping her from getting inside. “Listen to me, Naomi, no matter what you’ve done, there’s no reason for you to be literally shaking in fear of physical harm from this guy.Please. Don’t go.”
His voice broke on the last sentence, breaking something inside her too. Never had Dean cared enough to fight for her like this. He’d been the one to cause all the pain and she’d let it happen over the years because of some twisted view of the type of family Thea should have. The one she’d grown up with and craved for years since.
But Thea had never had that with Dean and maybe it was high time to stop trying to make something happen that just wasn’t there.
Thisman in front of her was making her feel things Thea’s father never had. Sure, desire, hunger, and need, but also strength, security, and…treasured. Dean never had more than a physical or manipulative hold on her.
Apparently, it took this man begging for her safety to make her realize all that. The ice blue in Wes’s eyes pierced her resolve, breaking down convictions she’d held too tightly for way,waytoo fucking long.
She straightened before closing her eyes and making her decision. “I won’t stay—”
“Thankfuck—”
“I won’t stay. But he’s gonna have Thea all by himself if I don’t get there in time. If he gets her before I get home, I won’t be able to leave. I’m not leavin’ my baby with someone hell-bent on hurtin’ me, even if it is her father.”
“Fine, I’ll go with you—”
Alarm shocked through her, making her nerves stand on end. “No, absolutely not, that’ll make everything so much worse.”
“Damn!” Wes pulled at his hair again, making it stand on end. “Fuck, okay... I-I’m going to follow you—” She opened her mouth to object, but he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “He won’t see me. I promise. But I... I need to be near you, okay? I need to know you’ll be alright.”
Habit told her to rebel. That she needed to handle this on her own and keep prying eyes out of her business. But… instinct told her he was right. If she was facing her monster, she needed a knight.
“I-I have to go. Do what you gotta do, but I need to leave now, before it’s too late.”
