Chapter 7
My feet were moving before my brain gave them the command, charging toward the house and up the back stairs that looked as if they could give out at any moment.
Colt called my name, but I didn’t listen.
I knew better than anyone just how vicious Maryanne could be, and I wasn’t going to leave Ronan to deal with her, even if he was a stranger.
I slid open the patchy screen door and skidded to a stop in the kitchen. The first thing that hit me was the stench. Rotten food and something else, something more rancid. Vomit, maybe?
“Get the hell out of my house!” Maryanne screeched.
Ronan didn’t even blink. He simply pointed to the paperwork on the counter. “Sign, and we’ll be out of your hair.”
Maryanne whirled on me. “What do you think you’re doing, you sniveling little bitch? You think you can suck me dry all these years and not pay me back? You owe me.”
Ronan moved so fast he was nothing but a blur. One second, he was on the opposite side of the kitchen, and the next, he was between me and my mother. “You don’t talk to her. You don’t even look at her.”
Maryanne scoffed. “Should’ve known the innocence thing was nothing but an act. You’ve been spreading your legs for every guy that looks your way.”
“One more word…” Ronan’s voice held a tremor that vibrated throughout the room.
Maryanne’s eyes widened, and she went pale. “W-who are you?”
“You know,” he growled. “You’ve always known. But still, you crossed us.”
My brows furrowed. None of that made sense.
“S-she’s not one of you.”
“Shut up,” Colt snapped, striding into the room. “You’re a damned waste of space. Sign the papers, or I’ll make your life a living hell. You know I can do it.”
Rage flashed in Maryanne’s eyes, but there was fear there, too. She stomped over to the counter, scrawling her name across the page. “Take her.” Maryanne turned those hate-filled eyes on me. “But don’t you ever come back. You’re dead to me.”
I met her stare, not looking away. “Being dead to you would be sweet relief.”
A growl rumbled out of Ronan’s throat.
“What the fuck is all the racket?” Chuck bit out as he lumbered into the kitchen. He wore nothing but boxers and a dingy white T-shirt that was stained in several places.
My stomach roiled at just the sight of him.
His gaze sharpened as he took in the full kitchen. “What the hell is going on?”
“They’re taking Leighton,” Maryanne bit out.
Chuck instantly straightened. “The fuck they are. She’s ours.”
Everything in me cramped and twisted at that demand of ownership. I’d lived in fear for the past two years that one day, his comments and stares would turn to the darkest sort of action. I’d escaped him so far, but I knew time was running out.
Ronan studied the newcomer for less than a beat before he was prowling toward him. “She doesn’t belong to you. And if I find out you laid a finger on her, I’ll break every single one, and then I’ll remove your balls from your body.”
Chuck’s face went beet red. “You can’t come into my home and—”
“But it isn’t your home, is it?” Colt cut him off, moving with a silent grace and blocking Chuck’s view of me. “You’re a freeloading piece of shit that isn’t worth spit.”
Chuck charged forward, swinging out. I opened my mouth to yell, to warn Colt, but he didn’t need my warning.
He ducked beneath Chuck’s punch and pulled his arm behind his back, forcing Chuck to his knees.
“Stop. The only reason you’re still breathing is that Leighton didn’t want us to make a scene. ”
“Let him go!” Maryanne shrieked as she ran forward.
Ronan shoved her back. “Don’t. This mess is your making. You don’t get to intervene.”
“Fuck off!” Chuck yelled as he struggled to break free. “She’s a damn cock tease, acting like she ain’t flaunting her shit in front of me.”
I shrank back as nausea rolled through me.
Colt moved with a speed that was almost too quick to clock. A snap filled the room and then Chuck’s screaming howl.
“My arm! You broke my fucking arm!”
Maryanne burst into angry tears. “Get out! Take the bitch and get out!”
Ronan grabbed the papers from the counter as Maryanne sank to her knees beside Chuck.
Colt’s arm was around me then, ushering me out of the house and down the steps. “Don’t look back,” he urged.
I didn’t. I’d gone numb. The kind of unfeeling state where your body buzzed with pins and needles.
Ronan opened the back door to the SUV. “I’ll drive.”
Colt helped me into the vehicle, and I moved on autopilot, scooting in. He got in behind me, slamming the door. “Go.”
My body trembled. “You broke his arm,” I whispered.
“He should’ve broken his fucking neck,” Ronan growled.
Colt cupped my cheek, turning me toward him. “Are you okay?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Breathe with me, okay?”
I watched Colt’s chest rise and fall. It was only then that I realized my own breaths were rapid and out of control. I struggled to match mine to Colt’s. I wasn’t sure how long it took, but finally, my heart slowed.
“That’s it,” Colt said. His hazel eyes searched mine. “Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head. “Not like you think.” Not yet.
Colt’s arms came around me, pulling me to him. “He won’t touch you ever again.”
Colt’s chest rumbled with each word. Even though I knew the vibrations were rooted in fury, they were reassuring somehow. It should’ve felt weird to be comforted by someone who was basically a stranger now. But the truth was, Colt could never be a stranger.
So, I let myself be lulled into the warmth of his hold. And Colt didn’t let go. I didn’t even bother asking where we were going. I didn’t care, just as long as it was away from my living nightmare.
The only sound was the hum of the SUV’s engine and the beat of Colt’s heart. Eventually, the vehicle slowed to a stop.
“We’re here,” Ronan said, voice gruff.
I forced myself to sit up, feeling the loss of Colt’s arms instantly.
I blinked as I took in the sight out of the front windshield.
We’d come to a stop on the tarmac of what looked like a small airport.
And there sat a sleek private plane with two men standing outside, almost looking as if they were guarding it.
I glanced at Colt. “Are we taking that?”
He nodded. “We should be back home in a few hours this way.”
My gaze went from Colt to the plane and back again. “Are you rich?” The inappropriate question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Ronan snorted. “You have no idea…”