Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
He shrugged. “Not sure. It angered me at the time. But I was man enough to admit I wasn’t completely innocent. I’d yelled at her. OK, so I’d roared at her. I’d smashed a lamp and turned over a table, but I never touched her. I still let my temper get the best of me, so I could see how it would have scared her. Did I deserve her to tell everyone I’d laid hands on her? No. But I wasn’t blameless. Hell, I’d have left my dumb ass too. I’m a big guy. If I have an explosion of temper, anyone in their right mind is gonna be frightened. Whether or not I get physical. That’s a fact.”
“So, her parents began to see you as a father. Not an enemy.”
“Oh, absolutely. Her daddy even apologized for having pulled a gun on me that first meeting we had after Carrianne’s accusations. He also said I deserved more than just visitations. I deserved joint custody if I wanted it. That was the last time I was in their house. The last day I saw my son alive.”
“Fuck, Shadow,” she whispered, kissing his neck and jaw before finding his lips for a tender kiss once more. It was for comfort, and she was sure he took what she was offering. Their lips lingered together for a few seconds before she pulled back, stroking his jaw with her fingers.
“Yeah. Carrianne either came to pick up Trey early, which wasn’t likely, or she just happened to drive by and see my car.
“I never figured out how she ended up back at the house. We were out back, passing a football when she stormed outside, yelling at me and her parents. She was drunk and high, in no condition to drive. Trey was seven at the time. He’d already decided he wanted to be with me or his grandparents. Carrianne could be a handful, and it was painfully obvious she wanted little to do with Trey. But, having figured out her parents were letting me have time with him, and learning her dad was going to help me get joint custody, she snagged Trey by the arm and dragged him to her car, vowing none of us would ever see him again.
“We all tried to stop her, but she was quick on her cell to 911. She’d called and tearfully described a scene where I’d stormed into her parents’ house and was beating Trey and the elderly couple. Everyone was yelling at her to put the phone down, to let Trey go. I’m sure the 911 operator heard nothing but absolute chaos, which was exactly the scene she described.
“She managed to shove Trey into her car and sped off. Her dad followed up with a 911 call of his own, telling them what had actually happened, and that she was obviously under the influence of something, driving at a high rate of speed with a child in the car.”
The shuddering breath Shadow took nearly broke Millie’s heart. It was obvious where this was going, and she wasn’t sure she could listen to the rest. But she knew Shadow was reliving it because she’d insisted on hearing it. So she kissed him once more. Courage for both of them.
“I never found out what happened exactly, but there was a high-speed chase with the police. There were differing accounts, and I didn’t really care because the end result was that she hit the railing of a bridge so hard, the car flipped over the top and into the river below. Neither of them survived. I went a little crazy then. Had it not been for my brothers, I have no idea what would have happened to me. I threw myself into work. And therapy, believe it or not. I wanted control of my temper. In my mind, it was that loss of control that started this whole thing in the first place. Like a death spiral that never should have happened. It worked. I also learned it was something I would always have to work on. The demon would always be there, waiting to get free. So when it gets too close, I work out. Or fight in a controlled environment.”
“Or have wild, raunchy sex?” She gave him a lopsided grin, trying to take the sting out of it, but understanding the emotions he had to set free.
He grinned at her. “Yeah. Sometimes. Doesn’t happen often. In fact, this is the first time in a very long time I’ve felt that pull. All because I was afraid I was gonna lose you, Millie.” He shook his head. “I can’t lose you.”
“You realize this has been so fast as to not even be believed. Right? Literally hours, Shadow. Are you sure about this?”
“Honey, I was sure about us the moment I laid eyes on you. You were fierce, explosive dynamite in the tiniest package I’d ever seen. And yeah. You could kick my ass because you have no concept of fair fighting, and there would be no way I could ever hurt you. Hell, not even sure I could beat you if I didn’t care to hurt you. You’re that good.”