“Yep. I did. It’s fine. I know he won’t tell anyone. Let’s get this over with,” Vann said as I led her over to the couch. I sat in the corner with my legs open wide, pulling her in between them. No way in hell I was letting her go when she needed me. She obviously agreed because she didn’t hesitate to fall right between them.

As I sat and listened to what happened to Vann, my anger was getting harder to control. I felt it radiating through every limb of my body, and I wanted to punch something. I wanted this guy. Who the hell did he think he was?

The questions went on and on. I learned more than I needed about the ‘gifts’ she’d received.

“Do you know who Gary is?” Z’s question pulled me from my murderous thoughts.

“No. I have a Facebook page, and he sent a couple of messages to me through there. I also have an email or two. The cops looked into it, but never found anything.”

They were obviously stupid. The internet had all sorts of fun ways to track—one very important thing I’d learned in my line of work. “Can I have your username and password?”

Vann turned around and looked at me, trust in her eyes. “Sure.”

Damn. How the hell did I open my mouth and spew that shit about getting her out of my system? I didn’t deserve her, but damn if I wasn’t gonna try and be the man she deserved.

“Wait!” Kinsley’s voice boomed from the kitchen. “Where did this come from?” Coming into the living room with a large manila envelope, she handed it to Z.

The front of the envelope said Savannah in the same scrawl as the letter. “Gloves,” I barked at Z.

“No shit,” he growled, pulling out another pair of gloves. “Where did you find this?”

“It was under some of my magazines on the counter.”

As Z opened it, Vann’s breathing picked up. I rubbed her back in an attempt to sooth her, but nothing seemed to work.

“What the hell?” Z gasped.

Pictures fell out, scattering all over the coffee table. Vann left my arms and moved closer. I wasn’t far behind her. “Don’t touch them,” I warned her.

“Oh my God.”

“Breathe, Vann … breathe,” I whispered in her ear.

“How did he …” Vann’s voice trailed off as she continued to look at the pictures laid out before us.

Dozens of pictures in full color spread on the table—pictures of her driving, at the bar, in her room, on her laptop, getting out of the shower … masturbating.

My cock twitched at the site, but I wasn’t a total selfish asshole, and kept that under wraps. It infuriated me that some asshole was seeing her like this.

“First thing, we get blinds for this entire house and up the security system.” My admiration for Kinsley was growing. The way she protected Vann was commendable. Now I just needed to put in my two cents and hope it didn’t backfire in my face.

“Vann’s coming to stay with me.”

Vann turned her head, eyes wide, boring into mine. “No. I’m not.”

“Yes. Until we find out what the hell is going on. You’re staying with me,” I argued.

The fire in Vann’s eyes lit. She stood and moved in front of me. “I don’t need your macho caveman bullshit. I’ve been dealing with this for years … without you,” she growled at me.

Standing, I tried to reel in my temper, but it won. “Damn it, Vann! It’s just a couple of days. What’s the big fucking deal?”

“The big fucking deal is … I refuse to stay at your house and be your little plaything! I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself!”

“We already covered that plaything bullshit. Get over it!”

“Get over it! You want me to get over it? And we haven’t ‘covered’ anything!”

“Would you stop repeating yourself? And yes, we did!”

“Over it! I’ve been stuck in this nightmare for five years, come home, and you tell me you want to fuck me out of your system. No fucking way!”

“Vann, we already talked about this.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“I know you’re hurt and pissed, but calm down.”

“Calm down, huh? I have some asshole try to kidnap me, writes me letters threatening to do so, there’s even pictures of me masturbating for everyone to see.” She waved her arm to our friends standing in quiet awe of this not-so-little conversation. “And you want me to be calm? Add to that … I saw my dad today for the first time in five years, met my little sister, and you fucked me again!”

“You wanted that just as much as I did.”

“Whatever,” she grumbled.

“You didn’t?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Don’t go throwing shit in my face.” Stomping out of the room, I needed to get some air.

Vann

“You saw your dad today?” Kinsley’s voice was loud enough for me to hear, yet quiet enough to have concern laced in her words.

Turning, I stared at her. “Yep, and I’m having dinner with his new family tomorrow. The woman he cheated on my mother with and their child … my sister. That should be fun.” My words dripped with sarcasm.

“Why did you say yes?”

“I had to, Kins.” My anger began to wane. “He’s my dad, and no matter what he did to mom, I gotta at least hear him out.”

“Was it weird meeting her?”

Blowing out a breath, I grabbed Kinsley’s arm and pulled her into the kitchen. I needed some space.

Climbing up on the bar stool, I patted the one next to me. “It was weird. She knows all about me, and I know nothing of her. I want to be mad at my dad for that … but I know that was entirely my mom’s doing.”

“Wow. How will it go with the wife? What’s her name again?”

“Julie. And I don’t know. When I first saw him I couldn’t move. I had it all planned out to yell and scream, but nothing. It will probably be the same with her.”

“You’ve had a busy day.”

“Yeah.” My body slumped.

“What was that with Deke?”

“He thinks he can just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Not. Gonna. Happen.” My spine stiffened at my words.

“You know I’m not a fan of his, by any means, but he might be right.”

I gaped my mouth at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No. I’m not. Vann, he obviously cares about you. He has a messed up way of showing it sometimes, but you have history. You’ve trusted him with Gabriella, and when he came here today, you obviously didn’t push him away.”

“I know,” I said, hanging my head as shame washed over me.

“Then whatever that was in there … you need to reel it in. We all know you’ve been through a lot, but a guy like Deke can’t be pushed too much.”

“What, so I’m just supposed to let him take care of me? Where was he when I needed him five years ago?”

“Where were you?”

“Shut up,” I said, burying my head in my hands.

“You see my point. You’ve got some seriously fucked up shit going on here, and you’ve gotta get it worked out. Look, I know you love him. Figure it out.” The silence after those words were spoken was deafening. I jumped out of my seat and rushed to Deke. He didn’t say a word as I walked to him, but I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves.

Instead of some big speech, I walked up to him and tightly wrapped my arms around him. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

When Deke didn’t reciprocate, I felt the tears begin to fall. Suddenly my bed sounded like a much better place to be. As I started to pull away from him, he wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tight.

My legs gave out, forcing all my weight onto Deke, who scooped me up into his arms, weightlessly, kissing me on the forehead repeatedly. Burrowing my head in his neck, I could feel him walking, but at this point I just didn’t care where we were going … as long as I was with him. As he gripped my body tighter in his arms, I could feel my tension easing away.

“I’m gonna lay you down.”

The soft bed caressed my body, but the coldness swept through from the loss of Deke so close. Moments later, I felt the bed dip next to me. I didn’t ask, but just moved into his arms, resting my head on his now bare chest.