Chapter Three
Todd?!” I choked out.
I couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. Fury, humiliation, devastation—each emotion slammed into me in waves, and I nearly doubled over from the pain. Only the last shreds of my dignity kept me upright.
That and Owen’s large, solid frame as he stepped forward to stand beside me. He had probably only moved to see who it was, but I found his presence at my side reassuring.
Todd strode into the light, and he was as good-looking as I remembered, and as impeccably dressed as always.
The kind of man who turned heads when he walked into a room, he was effortlessly handsome with a roguish charm that lingered long after he was gone.
Tall with a lean, athletic build, he moved like he owned the space around him.
A smirk played at the corners of his mouth as he approached.
I remembered for a moment what it felt like to be the focus of his gaze, the centre of his attention. I had known his reputation, yet I still fell for him when he turned his charm on me. It had felt like I was the only one who mattered; it had felt like I was loved.
And then I discovered that Todd didn’t know how to love anyone but himself.
He took the stairs two at a time, his gaze never leaving my face, and I was vaguely aware of the door opening behind us and Jace coming to stand on my other side.
“Charles thought you might want the extra support,” Jace murmured, and I’d never been so grateful for Charles’s friendship. And his uncanny ability to know things.
“What are you doing here, Kira? Is this where you moved? I’ve been texting and calling. Trying to explain…” Todd stepped toward me before glancing at Owen and Jace and then recoiling at Owen’s scars. I had the urge to smack him.
“Hi, there. I’m Todd Calder, Kira’s fiancé.”
“Ex-fiancé,” I ground out. Could this night get any worse? “What are you doing here?”
He ignored me and extended his hand to Owen and Jace, neither of whom took it. Todd’s face flamed, and I almost smiled.
“You look good, Kira,” Todd said, finally withdrawing his hand and schooling his face into a smug expression. He eyed me up and down like an object he was considering for purchase.
I was so furious I saw red. “Look good? Look good?!” I advanced on him, hands clenched at my sides. “You rat bastard! Don’t ever touch me again! I’m so glad I never ended up with you!”
Todd’s eyes widened at the venom in my voice. “Kira, let’s discuss this privately. You’re making a scene.”
“I’m making a scene?! Me?! I have nothing to say to you, Todd.
We’re finished.” I fought back tears with every breath, only seconds from a full-blown meltdown.
It had all been too much. I needed to leave before I started crying, and I would rather die than have Todd witness my pain. I couldn’t stand to look at him.
I forced myself to walk slowly down the stairs and kept my head high.
As I neared my house, however, I had the sudden urge to run, to get as far from Todd as possible.
I slipped inside my front door, rushed through the house, and exited out the back, my strides eating up the ground until I was in a flat-out run.
I didn’t know where I was going. I only knew I needed to be anywhere else.
Tears streamed down my face and my lungs burned, but I pushed myself to go faster.
I crossed streets without looking, turned down random sidewalks, and darted down darkened alleys.
Maybe if I ran fast and far enough, I could escape all the shit that had happened in my life.
Maybe I could leave the pain and embarrassment, the loneliness and sorrow behind.
I ran until I collapsed on a park bench, breathing hard and wiping tears. My head felt clearer, but my heart still ached.
“Thought I lost you for a second,” Owen said as he sat next to me and draped an arm across the back of the bench.
I jumped in surprise. “You followed me? But I went out the back. How did you—”
“Went to check on you after you left Granddad’s place, and I heard your back door open. Saw you tearing off down the street and decided it wasn’t the best time of night for a woman alone to go for a run.”
I looked around for the first time since sitting and noted how dark it had become. Where was I? How far had I run? I was new to this neighbourhood and didn’t know my way around yet. I didn’t even have my phone or purse, having left them at my house when I went to Charles’s.
“Oh,” I said, embarrassed by my rash behaviour but still irritable from the evening’s events. “Why do you care anyway?”
He ignored my question. His gaze scanned our surroundings, sharp and assessing. From this angle, I couldn’t see his scars, and I had no doubt that was his intention.
“So that older woman at Gran’s celebration of life—the one you were avoiding—she’s Todd’s grandmother?”
I nodded, and a fresh wave of sorrow and humiliation rolled through me.
“I’m sorry, Kira. Damn, I really messed up.”
“It’s fine. Seriously, Owen, go home. I want to be alone.”
“Jace took care of Todd, by the way. Escorted him to his car while I went to check on you.”
I smirked, guessing Jace’s escort had been anything but gentle. Good. “Thanks. No idea what he was doing in the neighbourhood or how he found me. Might have to move again.”
Owen shot me a look of disbelief. “You’re not leaving your house for that asshole. We’ll slap a restraining order on him if we have to.”
“We? Why are you still here, Owen?”
“I’m not leaving, Kira. I’ll sit with you all night if I must. Run more with you if that’s what you need. But I will see you safely home when you’re ready to go.”
I grumbled “aggravating man” under my breath even though I was secretly pleased. “You just feel guilty for your false accusations.”
“You’re a fast runner,” he said, changing the subject. “I had a hard time keeping up with you.” I took this as a compliment since it came from one of the fittest men I’d ever met—though he hadn’t been breathing hard when he sat down next to me, so I suspected he’d had no issue matching my pace.
“I used to swim competitively,” I explained. “Builds good endurance.”
“Ah. Impressive.” I looked away, hoping the dark would hide my flushed cheeks. Why did I care about his opinion? My reactions to this man needed to stop. The last thing I needed was to fall for another Todd.
“When I was ten, my grandparents took me to Scotland, and we swam in a loch.” Owen’s voice, soft and wistful, broke the silence between us.
The image of a young Owen swimming in the Highlands, surrounded by craggy moors and wild heather, was such a departure from our current situation that I forgot about Todd and my heartache.
“That sounds incredible,” I admitted.
Owen chuckled. “It was freezing, but Gran said I would regret it if I never tried. So, I jumped in, and then I had so much fun, she and Granddad couldn’t get me out. My teeth were chattering and Gran wrapped me in a blanket and hugged me until I was warm. It’s one of my favourite memories.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Owen. I should have said that earlier. I wish I could have known your grandmother. Were you two close?”
Owen’s silence told me all I needed to know.
I wanted to comfort him, but I had no idea how. All I knew was that when my parents had died, I wished someone had listened to me.
“I’d love to hear more about her. If you’d like to tell me.” I turned toward him, crossing one leg under me. Placing my elbow on the back of the bench, I rested my cheek in my hand and gave him my full attention.
Surprise and gratitude flashed across his face, and then he started telling me stories about his gran. Sometimes we laughed, sometimes his voice broke with emotion. I nodded and asked a few questions, but mostly I listened.
“I love hearing Charles’s stories,” I said when Owen grew quiet. “He and Marion had so many adventures together, and their marriage was full of love.”
Owen nodded. “Their relationship always inspired me. My parents divorced when I was twenty, but my grandparents’ love for one another is something you don’t often see.
Thank you, Kira. For being there for Granddad.
I can’t imagine how hard losing Gran has been for him, and I was so focused on my own grief and so busy with work…
” He rubbed his eyes and stared into the darkness again.
“I should have been there for him, but I wasn’t. ”
I clenched my hands in my lap so I wouldn’t reach for him. “To be honest, Charles has helped me a lot these past two months. I’m glad I met him.”
“Can I ask—”
Owen’s question broke off, his attention narrowing on something behind me. I twisted to discover four men approaching. We stood, and Owen moved in front of me so fast I barely registered the motion. His body shifted into quiet readiness, his focus entirely on the threat before us.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered, his voice low.
I let out a gasp as the impossible took shape before us.
The men seemed distorted, like I was viewing them through water, and their unnatural movements filled me with growing horror.
Their limbs were too long, and their eyes burned with a faint red flame that contrasted starkly with their ashen skin.
Every instinct screamed at me to run, to hide, to deny the reality of the creatures advancing on us, but my legs refused to obey.
My stomach lurched. There had to be something I could do.
“We don’t want anything to do with you,” one man said, sneering at Owen.
“Give us the woman and we’ll leave,” another said.
Owen stilled, his entire body turning rigid.
A glint of steel caught my eye as a knife sliced through the air, narrowly missing my shoulder. My heart slammed in my chest. That had been too close.
Owen let out a furious curse and lunged forward.
The first man swung at Owen, but Owen easily sidestepped him and grabbed his wrist, twisting hard the wrong way. There was a sickening crunch followed by a scream of pain, and the man hit the ground, writhing in agony.