“Did you kill him?” she asked me quietly, her head bent low. I waited until she looked me in the eyes.
“No, I didn’t. But let me tell you this. You’ve fucked me and my wife over for the last time. You betrayed her, and there ain’t nothing worse than being betrayed by someone you love. You tore a hole in her heart that can’t ever be fixed. Now you need to leave her alone so I can try.” She nodded her head solemnly.
There was nothing more to say. Kieran walked through the front door, and I followed, closing it behind me. The rain hammered down harder than I’d ever seen it. In seconds, we were soaked, but I stood there taking a moment to let it cleanse me of Frank’s stench. As the rain washed away the shit of my past, I felt redemption.
“Not that I want to interrupt, because I can see you’re having a moment there, but can we go home, please? ’Cause I’m freezing my feckin’ arse off out here, and by my reckoning, you’ve got a fair amount of making up to do with your woman,” Kieran informed me.
“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “Don’t get your knickers in a knot. God forbid you’d have to ride home in wet underwear.” He rolled his eyes and jogged over to the truck.
“Kier, thanks for having my back,” I said to him, and he gave me his usual happy smile.
“Anytime, fuck nuts. Now come on. I really am freezing my bollocks off.”
We climbed into the truck and brought Liam and Tommy up to speed about what went down as we put Wales in the rearview mirror. I didn’t look back once. The past was behind me, and all I cared about now was the future.
Chapter 21
The block of flats was in darkness when Liam dropped me off. He idled by the curb with the engine running, and I looked at him funny wondering why he hadn’t driven away.
“There’s no way one of the boys isn’t sitting with her. After what happened tonight, Danny wouldn’t let her go home alone. Might as well give the poor bugger a lift rather than let him walk home in the rain for his trouble,” he explained.
“You’re a good man, Liam,” I said, and meaning it, as I reached into the window the window to shake his hand. With a nod of thanks to the other guys, I left them with Kieran, who was still bitching about his wet clothes and walked up to our place. Twisting my key gently in the lock so’s not to wake Em if she was sleeping, I walked in to find Earnshaw sitting in the chair reading one of Em’s books. She was curled up in the middle of the bed wearing one of my hoodies, her hair fanned out in a golden halo behind her.
“How’s she been?” I asked him.
“Not good,” he replied. “She stayed at the gym for a few hours but eventually Danny wanted to lock up and I offered to walk her home. She’s barely said two words all night,” he told me. I nodded my head, acknowledging that I’d fucked up much worse than I thought by leaving her.
“Liam’s downstairs. He’s gonna give you a lift home, and thanks for staying with her. I appreciate that,” I said.
“No problem,” he said as he put on his jacket.
“So do I still have a job or have you killed Frank?” he asked me.
“Unfortunately he’s alive and well, so it’s back to work tomorrow.”
“Not that I have anything but disgust for the fucker, but I’m glad to hear it.”
“See you tomorrow then,” I said.
“I’ll be there,” he replied. Looking briefly in Em’s direction, he added, “I hope she’s okay.”
My stomach turned over slightly at the thought she might not be. “Me too,” I replied, knowing I couldn’t promise anything else.
When he’d gone, I locked up, took a quick shower, and after grabbing some clean boxer shorts, walked over to the bed. She looked like a goddamn angel lying there, and I wanted to wrap my body around her, protecting her in the most basic of ways, so I did.
She stirred, her behind brushing against my cock, and immediately I was rock hard. I twisted slightly so she didn’t feel it, knowing that she didn’t need that shit from me after what she’d been through tonight. She turned over restlessly to face me, and I felt a pang of guilt at disturbing her. A part of me willed her to wake up because I was fucking needy enough to want to know whether I had her forgiveness. I held my breath as her eyes fluttered open.
“Are you all right?” It was the first thing to come out of her beautiful mouth. Frank had attacked her again, and it’s me that she was worried for. Lifting up one of her tiny hands, I ran her fingers through mine, playing with them. “I know I’ve made you some promises that I’ve done a piss poor job of keeping, but that don’t mean I ain’t gonna keep trying for the rest of my life. So don’t give up on me okay?”
“What happened?” she asked, her body tense as she waited for my confession.