I warned her of what would happen if I found out she had lied. I knew she had been lying to me. She’d forgotten just how well I knew her. I also knew one day I’d come face to face with the guy she thought she could use to forget about me.

“I’m her boyfriend. Are you a friend of the family?”

“No, I’m the father of her child, and the man she’ll be fucking for the rest of her life… however long that might be.” I made sure to make eye contact with her when I said the last. “So now that we are all clear about the role in her life, I’m going to have to ask you to remove your fingers from her body before I break each one of them.”

“Shelly, who is this guy?”

I snapped and I wasn’t even sorry for it. Screams rent the air after I knocked the frat boy on his ass and made quick work of bashing his face in.

“Keenan, please!” Sheldon screamed, but I heeded to none of it. Visions of the two of them together assaulted me and each blow to his face and body was my way of beating them away.

“You’re killing him. Please stop.” She tugged on my shoulders, and with each desperate attempt to stop me, her strength grew until I could no longer ignore the scene I had created.

The black fog slowly lifted, and when I stood to my feet, I grabbed her hand and walked her back to our table as if nothing had happened. I switched from card to cash to pay the bill and led her out of the restaurant, blatantly ignoring the bloody mess that was left by her boyfriend and the man who might have gotten her killed by the end of the night.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SHELDON

A RIVER OF sweat had formed over every inch of my body. We had been driving for almost an hour now, and I had no idea where we were going. He never said a word other than to order me inside of Keiran’s car after nearly beating Eric to death.

Keiran had always warned me what would happen when he found out, but I hadn’t believed him just as I never truly believed Keenan would come back. I had been searching for a way to tell him about Eric despite our not being together. I knew he would be upset, but the level of brutality he unleashed in that restaurant went far beyond everything I thought I knew about him.

After another hour, I couldn’t stand the silence and fear of the unknown, so I curled as far against the door as I could and let sleep take me.

The rough slam of a car door jolted me awake some time later. “Where are we?” I asked as soon as the door was opened.

“You’re home. Now get inside.”

Home? Did he say home? The city lights that filtered through the windows of the parking garage were a far cry from the peaceful dark nights of Six Forks.

The eerie look in his eyes set my heart racing. There was nowhere to run so I sat back in the seat. I could tell by the hard set in his jaw that he took the move as defiance rather than fear. When he leaned down, the sweet smell of his skin and cologne invaded my senses, temporarily causing me to forget that I was with him against my will.

The click of the seatbelt unlocking cleared the fog of lust.

“You have tried my patience for the last time, Sheldon. Get in the fucking building or you will spend the rest of the night regretting that you disobeyed me.”

I took his threat for what it was worth and stepped from the car. The elevator ride to the very top of the building seemed longer than it should. Maybe because it felt like I was on my way to my impending doom? Maybe it was because I held my breath?

The elevators doors finally opened up to a large, spacious apartment. It's sterile, trendy look with hard lines and glossy surfaces didn’t give the feeling of home.

Keenan had to place his hand on the small of my back and force me into the apartment. I looked around for a place to hide if need be but quickly figured it would be useless since it was his place. Regardless of the size of the apartment, there wouldn’t be many places to hide, and he’d likely know where to look. I turned to face him finally, seemingly accepting my fate. I just prayed that maybe he’d calmed down during the drive.

“Did you fuck him?” His voice was calm, giving the appearance of a casual question, but the quiet, deadly storm brewing in his eyes was anything but calm. I took a slow step back hoping he wouldn’t notice my desperate attempt to retreat. His gaze slid down and slowly back up, letting me know that he had noticed.

“Where will you go, Shelly?”

“Keenan, you’re scaring me.”

“Am I?” I could only nod due to the tremble of my lips increasing beyond control.

“Sheldon… I asked you a question. One you have yet to answer. Please don’t make me force the answer from you.”

I barely noticed the skilled way he stalked me. He moved so silently, and before I knew it, I was backed through the open doors of the balcony with nowhere to run.

Being cornered surprisingly gave me the opposite effect than I had anticipated. Instead of cowering in fear, my own rage pounded through my veins.

“You have no right to be upset. So what if I fucked him? I belong to him, Keenan. I don’t belong to you. I haven’t for four years… maybe I never did.”

I choked on my last words when his hands closed around my throat. My feet fought for the ground when he lifted me high. We were moving, but I couldn’t see where. It wasn’t until my ankle banged against the railing that I realized I was dangling over the edge with only his strength and mercy to keep me from falling twenty stories.

“Answer me,” he demanded. “Or I’ll make our daughter a motherless child.” Coldly, he made a show of releasing a hand from my neck. I was only held up by one.

I told myself not to struggle, but I couldn’t help but to do just that.

My vision blurred.

My face heated while the rest of me had gone cold, and suddenly, I couldn’t fight anymore.

I made the effort to take one last look, hoping to find the boy I fell in love with a lifetime ago.

I froze.

When my eyes finally locked with his, it wasn’t rage I found in his expressive depths. Tears streamed down his face, and all I could see was hurt, panic, and lost love just before it all faded away.

* * * * *

SEVEN YEARS AGO

“Are you cold?”

“A little.”

Keenan shrugged off the hoodie I often saw him wear and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“How’s that?”

“Better.” To be honest, I was still a little cold but I appreciated the effort. We were having a late night, forbidden picnic in the park. I wanted to look my best for our first date so I foolishly chose the thinnest and shortest dress I could find in my wardrobe. I had only just turned fifteen, so I didn’t have many that my mom deemed appropriate for a girl my age.

“Liar.”

He grinned just as his arms came around. I didn’t expect it or for him to settle me on his lap and wrap them tighter around me. My body instantly warmed from the feeling of his. It was equal parts flustering and body heat.

“How about this?” he whispered against my neck.

“I definitely feel warm now.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want my girl getting sick.”

“Your—your girl?” I stammered.

“I told you I’d make you mine.”

Keenan hadn’t wasted any time asking me out. It had only been two days since he first spoke to me in the hall. He said he had a few hoops to jump through first, a.k.a. my brother. Yesterday they’d gotten into a pretty bad fistfight. Dash wouldn’t agree to let him take me out and apparently, the confrontation escalated. What I didn’t understand was how they could possibly still be friends.

Keenan currently sported a black eye and several bruises that disappeared inside his shirt. Dash hadn’t fared any better from the fight.

In the end, Keenan made the decision that he would take me out on a date, and Dash couldn’t stop him.