Page 42 of Merciless Protector

Lizzy stepped forward. “Of course, you’ll be here.”

She let go of my hand and seemed to lose energy. “Mom, I can come back later,” Shawn offered.

“You just got here,” she said.

Connor stepped forward. “I have to go to the club. Why don’t I take Tayla with me and give you guys some time?” Connor glanced at me, and I shrugged.

“Thanks, baby,” Lizzy said to her husband.

Shawn moved toward me. “Are you okay with that?”

What could I say? This family hadn’t been together in years if their father was to be believed. How could I stand in the way of that? “I’ll be fine.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine, sending a thrill through me. “I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

Was he putting on a show? He was so upset earlier, but now he acted as though everything was okay. I bit my lip as butterflies flooded my belly despite it all and followed Connor out. My head was in the clouds, trying to process everything that had been said. Shawn had told his parents I was his fiancée. Had he just said that to get back at his father? The conversation spun in my head as we descended to the garage level. Then I remembered this was the same man who said he wanted to walk away from me. The same man who had lied to me about his name. Who knew what else he wasn’t telling me? And I could feel the frown forming on my face. When I glanced around, I couldn’t be sure if it was the same level as the one Shawn and I had entered.

“If you don’t want to go with me,” Connor began. “I can drop you off.”

I blinked several times and focused on Connor. “No, it’s fine.”

If I went to the hotel or wherever we were staying, I’d ultimately be picking apart everything that happened between Shawn and me since he came back into my life.

We reached a marbled ruby-red sports car, and Connor grinned. “It’s a Dodge Viper concept car. Only one of its kind. You like?” he asked as he stroked the impressive paint job.

“It’s nice. A little flashy. But cool.”

He chuckled and popped the locks. “I’m not usually a car guy like my brother. But this baby stole my heart the minute I saw it.” To each his own, I thought, not wanting to insult the man that was doing me a favor. I think he took my silence as reluctance as he added, “Matt will come for you when he’s done.”

For a second, I forgot who Matt was. “Oh, Shawn,” I said out loud when I should have only thought it. I buckled my seat belt. “At least that’s the name he told me.” I tried to mask the bitterness, but it came through.

As he pulled out of the garage, he said, “Matt’s a good guy.”

“Of course you would say that,” I muttered.

“True. But he really is. First, I should clear something up for you. The name on Matt’s birth certificate is Matthew Sean. The spelling of Sean is different. But staying close to the truth when you are lying is best. Thus, he wasn’t lying about his name, as I don’t think he spelled it for you. And he concealed the truth for the people in that room.”

How could I fault him for that? There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my family. Hell, that had been the reason for my capture in the first place.

“Second, Matt’s business with Ruin is for my sake. When Lizzy got pregnant, he volunteered to look for him so I could be safe for our growing family.” I widened my eyes and turned to face Connor. He bobbed his head but didn’t glance my way. “You see, Ruin ruined my life at boarding school. He and a group of his friends, sanctioned by a teacher, made my life hell. I won’t get into the details, but they had a fight club. The loser gets fucked, literally. And Ruin liked being the winner, so he’d pick on us younger boys who couldn’t defend ourselves.”

I glanced at my nails, sorry for the boy who was now a man. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. But you and I have a lot in common. And I have every intention of using any resources available to me to stop him.”

“You have my vote,” I said.

He was silent a second as all the energy I’d put into hating Shawn dissipated.

“You know something else I’m sure Matt didn’t tell you?”

I looked up. “What’s that?”

He gave a quick glance and said, “He didn’t ask your brother to pay him back the money he paid for you.” I clamped my mouth shut. Dumbly, I hadn’t thought about any of that. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, he doesn’t care much about money.”

“That’s easy for someone who has it,” I shot back.

“Maybe. But Matt’s a different guy. He had a studio apartment in Chicago. You’ve seen his parents’ place. He could afford a lot more.”

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