Page 24 of Lost in You (The Monroes 3)

“I was sexually assaulted when I was eighteen.”

Reaching up, he gripped the door frame and willed himself to breathe. The image that instantly popped into his head had rage boiling within him. Just the thought of Macy alone and vulnerable made Liam want to kill this faceless bastard. He kept his hold on the frame so he didn’t punch the wall. Damn it, no wonder she’d gone at that bag like it was her enemy.

“My mother died the next day,” she went on, her voice wavering slightly. “We all have our own monsters to face. But running from them won’t change anything.”

There was something he remembered hearing, something that didn’t jive with her statement. Running was something she’d know quite a bit about. Little by little Macy’s past was falling into place and he didn’t like the picture he was seeing.

Slowly, Liam turned to face her. “What’s your degree in??

??

Macy jerked slightly. “What?”

“Your degree. What’s it in?”

Her lips thinned. “I didn’t finish.”

Bingo. That’s what he’d remembered. She’d come back home when her mother died and stayed to help her father with the store. Everyone had assumed it had been because of her mother’s death, but now Liam knew there was much more to the story. Why had she chosen now to tell him? Did she just need to finally get it out in the open?

“You stayed because you were afraid to go back.”

Those expressive eyes that were so vibrant moments ago now filled with unshed tears, angry tears. Her jaw clenched as she tipped her chin up in defiance.

“Don’t act like you know how I felt,” she accused. “Don’t pretend you know why I stayed simply because I gave you the abbreviated version.”

“Then tell me the rest.”

Liam purposely kept his tone down. She was upset enough for both of them and he was trying really hard not to smash something because so many disturbing thoughts kept filtering through his head.

At this point he needed the details so he wouldn’t explode. But on the other hand, he didn’t want her to relive the experience. Didn’t want her nightmare to come out into the open and settle between them.

“Your father doesn’t know, does he?”

Macy blinked back tears and shook her head.

“Does anybody?”

“Billy Martin and two of his friends.”

Friends. More than one guy had shaken her very foundation, had removed any light that she held within her, and had altered the rest of her future. They’d given her a reason to run away from her dreams and right back into this comfort zone. Now, years later, she still ran from the monsters who’d hurt her. But that was not an area he would tackle. Everyone ran from something at some point in life.

“Why are you telling me now?”

Macy swiped at a stray tear that slid down her cheek. “I only let you in a bit, Liam. This goes both ways.”

The meaning of her words hit him hard. She wanted in to his dark past. Not going to happen. While he was more than ready to extend an olive branch and listen to her, there was no way in hell he was opening up about his life.

“I don’t share bedtime stories.”

For a moment he had no clue what she was going to say, how she was going to react. But then she stepped forward and placed her palms on his bare chest. When she tipped her head up, parted her lips, and stared at him with such intensity, Liam had to seriously concentrate on remaining perfectly still. From the corner of his eye that lace against her shoulder continued to mock him.

“Then what would you be willing to share?” she asked.

Anger continued to course through him. He reached up and gripped her wrists. “I’ve told you before to stop this. I’m not other men.”

“No, you’re not. And I’m not other women. Maybe I won’t let you hide behind your past or your scars or any other part of your life that prevents you from living.”

“Macy,” he warned with a growl.

---