“You get today man, and then I’m going to have to talk to Dragon. There’s just too much shit that could go bad. I warned you this Kavanagh wasn’t a fucker to be messed with.”
“Yeah, I got it. Thanks, man. Let me know if anything else comes up. I want to stay close to Dani, just in case.”
“Yeah sure, but get your ass in here when you get your bitch settled.”
I hang up feeling like lead is sitting in my gut. I look through the glass doors of the bridal shop and Dani is up on a pedestal in a pink dress, but it’s different from the others. It is cool…frosted and I love it on her. She’s standing there with a small smile on her face, touching the dress with those sweet, soft hands of hers that make me beg and I make a vow. A damned vow that I will keep her safe and end this fucker Michael once and for all. Not only that, but when it’s all done…I want Dani in a dress, with a smile on her face saying I do. I’m marrying that woman. I’m claiming her in every fucking way imaginable and no one is standing in my way—especially some cocksucker in New York that gets his rocks off by hurting women.
Dani looks up and our eyes lock. Hers are haunted and I want to be the man that takes the ghosts away. I put my hand on the glass, palm open and fingers spread. I want her to know that I am her man. She studies me for a minute, and she looks so hurt, lost, alone, one of them or hell maybe all three. Then she gives me a half smile. It doesn’t reach her eyes, it doesn’t overshadow the ghosts. I need to try harder, especially since, I’m the motherfucker who put the sadness there this time.
Yeah, I definitely need to do better.
Chapter 31
Dani
Just as I figured, trying on bridesmaids dresses blows chunks. It also seems to go on forever. I’d rather be anywhere but here. My mind is busy trying to figure out what the hell I’m going to do. My heart is hurting and I’m trying to resist the urge to take the non-prescribed type medication that used to help me. I haven’t needed to touch the shit since I went to Ray’s. I’ve always had Zander beside me at night when the panic attacks threaten to hit. Now with that damn note on my windshield, it feels like a panic attack is just around the corner. I need my head clear for this. I need to make sure Nicole and Zander are safe. So, I can’t be weak. I can’t. But my hands are shaking, my head is pounding and I really just want to crawl in a bed and sleep. Michael almost destroyed me once before. If he gets his hands on me again, I won’t survive. Then again, he’s not going to let me live. I know it. The world thinks I’m dead. Michael has the green-light to do whatever he wants to me and he will. I know he will.
I can’t sit in this fancy ass store a minute longer. We’ve all had our fittings done except Nikki and if I hear one more time how she’s had my man’s cock in her I’m going to blow a gasket. When Lips joins her that’s it. That’s just it. Jesus! I know the man isn’t a choir boy, but I don’t want to hear about him giving it to women I like.
“I need a drink!” I call out, standing up and needing to get the fuck out of here.
Nikki and Lips are going on how they’d join me, but their men need them blah, blah, blah. If their men need them so much, they need to make sure they’re too busy to get around my man’s cock! If they join me I’d probably scratch and claw their eyeballs out like the jealous bitch I am right now. This is what Zander has made me into. Will he go back to fucking them when I’m no longer in the picture? Shit. I don’t want to leave him. I don’t want to let go of him. The thought of him belonging to another woman besides me, feels like it’s ripping me apart from the inside out. It’s a deeper hurt than any I’ve ever had and when I feel tears sting my eyes and the breath in my lungs lodges in my throat, I know I need to get a grip.
“I’m out of here!” I yell out to everyone, not bothering to turn around, and doing my best not to sprint to the damn door, to get free. When I make it outside, I breathe deep. My eyes are closed and I keep picturing Zander with Nikki and Lips, giving them the smile that should be mine. I know I’m not being logical. I know whatever he did with them was before we slept together, but it doesn’t fucking matter right now.
“Hold up, Dani!” Nicole calls out and I turn to watch her come out of the shop. I stop, but only because it’s Nicole. I really want to take off running. She’s insisting on going with me, even when I try to discourage her by lying and saying I’m going to a bar. There’s no way I can afford to get drunk right now. I finally give in when she threatens to order chocolate milk at a bar. She’d do it too, it’s one of the reasons I love her. So, we head off to Weaver’s a local restaurant in town that’s supposed to have been here since the town was first created or some shit like that. I don’t know, I just know the food is good.