Chapter 75
BLAIZE
Kadence held me until my sobs stopped, and I was ready to kill Doc. She didn’t need to see me like that, but it didn’t change anything. Kadence didn’t see tears as weakness. I was still the same woman she loved, only the weight of everything didn’t feel as heavy.
I should've known Doc would do something, but I was expecting Hawke to go to Kadence. Kadence adjusted herself, looking at me. “Thank you, princess.”
“You don’t have to thank me for helping you. I love you.” She brought my hand to her lips, kissing the back of it. “Doc told me about the night they died,” Kadence whispered.
“I wasn’t myself when I killed him,” I whispered. “When Olivia died, a part of me died with them both. I wanted to join my family.”
I remember the night Elijah died, and then I had no desire to live.
Hawke had to stop me from shooting my brains out on the pier.
I wanted to be reunited with my family, but Hawke knocked sense into me about building the life we always wanted.
It worked enough to keep me alive, but I had no true motivation.
She traced her fingers on my skin. “I’m sorry, Blaize.”
I kissed the side of her head. “I’m better. I will always remember my wife and daughter. I will miss them until my dying breath. Sometimes I believe Olivia sent you to me. You are a lot like her.”
Kadence adjusted herself and rested her head on my chest. “How did the two of you meet?”
Her curiosity made me feel happy, but there was also guilt. “Are you sure you want me to talk about my wife?”
She nodded. “You love her. She was your wife for years. I’m not going to be the kind of partner who makes you forget about her or your child. Now tell me how you met. Was it as dramatic as our meeting?”
I smiled. “She tried to rob me at gun point.” I laughed remembering how Olivia looked when she had a gun pointed at me, but she had the safety on and she was trembling.
“So you married the woman who wanted to kill you?”
“She was trying to survive. Hawke said I had a habit of attracting broken women and healing them. Olivia was the woman who made everything make sense when I didn’t understand life. She was homeless ‘cause her mom kicked her out after Olivia told her mom that her stepdad was sexually abusing her.”
Kadence tensed, knowing the two of them had a lot more in common. “Parents aren’t supposed to blame their kids for the bad things that happen to us.”
“I killed her stepfather, and her mother begged for forgiveness. Olivia didn’t let me kill the bitch, but I ruined her life.
I took Olivia, and I never intended on falling in love, but I fell hard.
When we moved to Westhaven, she was pregnant with Charlee.
She wanted a quiet coastal town, and I chose the wrong one.
Maybe I should’ve gone to Georgia and fought with Cinder before coming here. ”
“So did you and Cinder ever share Olivia? I know you and Hunter did.”
I shook my head. “No. Cinder doesn’t do the sharing scene. I met Cinder a few months before Olivia died. She was at my bar, sobbing over whiskey. You should meet her sister one day. The two of you are similar.”
She arched her brow. “Are we actually similar or do we share similar trauma?”
“Colorful hair, bratty, and headstrong.”
“Hey, she seems like my kind of girl. You made a lot of friends in this life, huh?”
And a lot of enemies. “I met some great people, but this life has consequences. Your life will always be in danger because of me.”
She shrugged. “I like a little danger, because I love you. I know you’ll protect me. Besides, I’m still waiting to get fucked on your bike.”
“One day, princess.” I brushed a strand of her blue hair behind her ear before caressing her. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m your partner. I want you to lean into me and trust me with everything. Don’t wear your mask around me. You can wear it with everyone else, but not with me.”
This woman really would be my damnation, but I would take whatever the universe would give me.