Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
It took every ounce of strength Whip possessed to put one foot in front of the other and leave that house. He wanted to go back in there and continue beating the shit out of Angel’s scumbag husband.
When he’d realized the man was getting ready to drown Angel’s cats, he’d lost it, punching the shit out of him.
Then he’d held Dwayne’s head under the water, asking him how it felt.
He was seconds away from killing the man before he came to his senses. He couldn’t protect Angel if he was behind bars. And Dwayne wasn’t worth losing his freedom over.
The man would be pissing blood for a week and wouldn’t be able to see straight for at least that long. And Whip made it perfectly clear that if the bastard came within a hundred yards of Angel again, he was a dead man.
But Whip knew, deep down, he and Angel hadn’t seen the last of that asshole.
Men like Dwayne…they were stupid. Thought they were stronger, better, and smarter than everyone else.
And he wouldn’t want to accept that Angel wasn’t under his thumb anymore.
He’d feel the need to save face. To get back what he considered his property.
Which wasn’t happening on Whip’s watch.
He almost looked forward to putting his fists in the fucker’s face once more.
Except doing so would mean he hadn’t heeded Whip’s warning…and had come after Angel. Which would suck.
Women and cats. They were Whip’s weakness.
Looking over at the particular woman in his passenger seat made anger boil his insides all over again. She looked terrified. Confused. Lost. But she was safe, and he was going to make sure she stayed that way.
It was past three in the morning, and she had to be exhausted, but they had some shit they needed to discuss. She’d spent who knew how long with no say in what happened in her life, and that ended right now.
Whip pulled over in a bank parking lot before heading out of Fallport toward his house. He wanted a neutral location for their upcoming conversation, so she wouldn’t feel pressured one way or another.
He took a deep breath, then turned sideways to face her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sounding freaked out.
“Nothing. We need to talk. And there are cameras in this lot, so we’re being recorded. Want you to feel safe. You have some choices to make.”
The woman in his passenger seat stared at him with uncertainty and a whole heap of mistrust. He hated that look on her face, but he understood it.
He was a stranger. A big son-of-a-bitch, and if she’d lived in Fallport for any length of time, she’d probably heard about him.
Had heard the rumors. How he was an asshole.
Didn’t give a shit about anyone other than himself.
The gossip wasn’t wrong. He was a grade A asshole, and he didn’t give two fucks about anyone or anything except his bar.
Until now.
“On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it that your husband will heed the warning I gave him tonight?”
Her lips twitched upward. “The warning?”
“Yeah.”
“You call beating him unconscious a warning?”
“Yes. The only one he’s gonna get.”
“Or what?”
Whip frowned. “Huh?”
“What’s going to happen if he doesn’t heed your warning?”
“He’s not going to touch you or your cats again, Angel.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Do you really want to know?” Whip forced himself not to say “fuck it” and just drive her where he wanted, without getting her input.
To his surprise, she seemed to actually consider his question. He liked that about her. That she wasn’t impulsive. That she seemed to weigh the consequences of her words.
“All I want is to feel safe,” she said after a long pause.
Whip’s heart hurt, which wasn’t something that had ever happened to him before.
He was the cold bastard everyone steered clear of.
Who liked cats because at least they were honest about what they wanted and needed.
People, not so much. He’d had forty-five years to learn that people were devious, sneaky, and would fuck over their own mothers if it meant getting what they wanted.
“I can make that happen,” he told her firmly. “You think anyone is gonna fuck with me?”
“Dwayne…he’s…”
“I don’t give a shit what he is,” Whip said, when she hesitated. “He’s not going to lay one finger on you or your babies ever again. Now, answer the question…one to ten?”
“One,” she said without hesitation.
Which both pleased Whip and pissed him off at the same time.
“You have some choices to make,” he told her.
Angel nodded. He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know.
“Long term, you can get the fuck out of this town. I can help with that. Got some men I mostly trust. They’ll take you under their wing, and you can work at one of their bars as a waitress or something until you get back on your feet.
If you want, we can get you a new name, you can start over somewhere else. ”
“Men you mostly trust?”
Whip shrugged. “Served with them for a couple of years. They owe me.”
She stared at him, and it felt as if she could see right through him. See the awful things he’d done in the name of serving his country. See how those things had eaten away at his humanity.
“And you can get me a new identity?”
“Yes.”
“Or?”
Whip honestly thought she’d jump at the chance to get the hell out of here. Away from her husband. She was an enigma. And she was already way too far under his skin for his comfort. He didn’t get involved. Ever. It was a recipe for disaster. And yet, here he was, involved as fuck.
“Or you can stay. Fight back. Show that piece of shit that he can’t control you anymore. End this.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Of course it’s not. He’s gonna be a pain in your ass. He’s going to try to intimidate you. Or he’ll turn on the charm and try to win you back.”
“Not happening,” she said vehemently.
Whip approved of her assuredness.
“I don’t have any money,” she said bluntly.
“I mean, other than what I’ve managed to hide from Dwayne in that box of tampons you packed.
I don’t think my telemarketing job is gonna cover the cost of an apartment, forget about any kind of security.
I don’t have any friends and don’t get out much, but I’m going to have to leave whatever hidey-hole I end up in every now and then, and Dwayne’s gonna be watching.
He’ll either go in and finish what he started with Mittens and Kevin, or he’ll kill me, like he’s threatened more than once before if I ever leave him. ”
Her words were flat. And matter-of-fact. As if her dying at the hands of the fucker she married was inevitable.
Which was un-fucking-acceptable.
Whip’s mind was going a million miles an hour.
Planning. Going over scenarios. Of what to do next, how to keep Angel and her cats safe.
“For tonight, you can either come with me to my place, or I can bring you to the Mangree Motel. Edna and her husband are good people, and they’ll look after you.
I can pick you up in the morning…well, in a few hours, since it’s already morning, bring you to Simon Hill, the police chief, and you can file a restraining order and fill him in on what’s going on. We can find you a safe place to stay.”
“A safe place.” She snorted.
Again, Whip wanted to say fuck it. Wanted to take her straight to his place and lock her in until he could take care of this Dwayne asshole. But he couldn’t take away this woman’s autonomy. She’d clearly experienced too much of that with Dwayne.
But maybe he could tip the scales and convince her to do what he wanted.
“I have internet. You can do your job from my place. I’ve got security cameras already in place.
If anyone so much as farts within twenty yards of my house, I’ll be notified.
No one’s getting in without a fuck-ton of time and effort.
Both of which would enable me to get there and teach them a lesson on trespassing.
I have a spare bedroom, food in my fridge, and a few cats who aren’t too assholey, which might make Mittens and Keven feel comfortable. ”
He remembered the conversation he’d had with Khloe Walker earlier that evening, which now seemed as if it had been days ago, instead of hours.
“And tomorrow, I’m picking up a litter of kittens someone dumped, to foster them. I could definitely use some help. Apparently they’re mostly weaned, but if there’s a runt, he or she will probably need some extra bottle feedings.”
Whip pressed his lips together. He was rambling. Fucking rambling. He didn’t go on and on about shit. He was a man of few words. And here he was, nervous and babbling as if he was five instead of the ripe old age of forty-five.
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You could never be a bother. And if those are your ex’s words coming out of your mouth, you need to forget everything that asshole ever said. You’re smart, strong, beautiful, and resourceful. What you aren’t is a fucking bother.”
She stared at him for another long moment, and Whip found himself holding his breath.
He didn’t feel this way about other people.
Especially women. If they were scared of him, he didn’t give a damn.
If they went out of their way to avoid him, all the better.
Sometimes women got brave and decided they wanted a walk on the wild side, wanted a night with a bad boy, but Whip hadn’t ever been led around by his dick.
If he needed to fuck, he went out of town and found someone who wasn’t from around there.
Not that he’d felt the need for a few years.
His hand and a hot shower worked just fine to get off.
But somehow this little slip of a woman made him…want. Yearn for more than the cold existence he’d led for years. Being around her was chipping away at the hard layers of ice he’d built around his heart…and he wasn’t sure he liked it.