He grinned at me and pulled me into his arms. “Bloody hell, talk about small world.” He chuckled as I hugged him back just as hard.
Holding the tops of my arms, he reared back and studied me. “How are you? What are you doing here?”
“I’m….” Deciding to leave the first question, I moved on to the next. “A friend has been brought in. You, are you okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Jenny’s brother was brought in last night.” He looked around. “She’s just gone to find a doctor.”
“Nothing serious, I hope.”
He shrugged, a look of worry crossing his face. “He was stabbed.”
No. It couldn’t be. It was just coincidence.
“Oh. Umm, my friend was also stabbed.”
Ben frowned, tipping his head. “Robbie McMahon?”
No. Oh God. Rage floored me and my body shook as I tried to control the tremble in my jaw. “Yeah. Uhh. How do you know Robbie?”
“We became friends last year. That’s how I met Jenny. Through him.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes and vomit twisted deep in my belly. “I, uhh. I need some air. I’ll come find you later…”
Ben nodded, frowning with concern, but he didn’t stop me leaving.
Everything blurred in my vision as I fought through people to get outside, my mind whirling, and as the fresh air hit me when I burst through the front doors, I hurried around a corner and threw up what little was in my stomach.
I swore I heaved up my heart along with every bit of devastation choking me.
I jerked when hands scooped up my hair and held it back from my face. Yet, when I turned, expecting to find Ben, I was filled with a raw rage when I found Anderson staring at me blankly.
Shock covered his face when I spun round and slapped his face. But that wasn’t enough, it couldn’t be. My fists found his face, his chest, his stomach as I rained blow after blow on him. I screamed at him, my wrath taking my formed words and turning them into a garble of syllables.
“You fucking bastard! How could you? How could you do that to me? To Ben?”
Realisation made his eyes widen. He should have known Ben and his fiancé would be here, especially since she was Robbie’s fucking sister.
“Did you not think I’d find out what you’ve done?” I didn’t care about, or feel, his fingers that had now found my throat as he pushed me back against the wall to contain me. “You set him up. Why? Ben has nothing to do with this. Why hurt him?”
“I suggest you calm the fuck down!”
“Calm down? How could you do this? This is wrong on so many levels, Anderson.”
“You think I care?” he spat. “You think I care about your stupid fucking ex? His life is of no concern to me, however, I also needed a back-up plan, just in case you thought about doing anything silly.”
“So you planted Robbie into his life, for what? To find me? To bribe me? To fucking hurt me?”
He shrugged, the smug grin on his face making more vomit bid for freedom. “A little of each.”
Sadness engulfed me and I sagged against the wall and shook my head. “I’ve tried so hard to find the good man that lives inside you, Anderson. But I’m not sure there even is one anymore.”
“I’m glad everything is suddenly becoming clear for you,” he seethed, a flash of what looked like hurt reflected in his eyes.
“I don’t think it’s ever been clearer. And to think I was starting to consider bringing my baby into this.”
His face paled and he narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“You honestly think I could subject a child to this? To you? You are beyond evil, Anderson. You don’t deserve to be a father; you don’t deserve to have a child love you!”
The pain that left him in a breath of ice mystified me. There was nothing but hatred and greed in him. He didn’t care who he hurt to get what he wanted. Empathy had left this man a long time ago and in its place was nothing but calculated spite and narcissistic cruelty.
Dropping his hand from my throat, he swallowed. “Robbie is awake.”
I blinked, relief settling in even after all the hurt and anger I now felt for both Anderson and Robbie.
Taking a step back, he stared at me, the usual bright twinkle in his green eyes overtaken with sadness. “Go home, Kloe.”
I hadn’t expected that, and my eyes widened. “What?”
“Go home.” His chest heaved. “Robbie will be fine. You, on the other hand.” Gently shaking his head, he gulped at some air, then turned and slowly walked away.
And, just as slowly, I turned and walked away too.
“SO.” ROBBIE FROWNED AT ME. The exhaustion in his eyes heightened the anger inside me that had been bubbling away since my cunt of a father had plunged a knife into my best friend’s stomach. “You just let her walk away?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it, Rob.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He winced when anger shot pain through his gut. Shifting to make himself more comfortable, he glared at me. “This is what you’ve been living for, for so fucking long. And now you finally have it, you just let it go?”