Ruthless Salvation

35

Present

I OVERREACTED ABOUT ORAN MEETING WITH STORM. I’D KNOWN IT AS THE words left my mouth, but that was how it was with her. I couldn’t think straight when she was around. Or when we were apart. She stole all capacity for rational thought, leaving me constantly on edge.

I needed to play this carefully, but that was foreign territory for me. I’d never had to finesse anyone before. To gain someone’s trust. I hadn’t given two shits what anyone thought of me since I was a high school kid, which felt like another lifetime.

Stormy’s opinion mattered. If she didn’t think I was worthy of her, it would be my own damn fault.

“You were an angry bastard before, but you’re damn near unbearable lately. What the hell’s gotten into you?” Jolly hoisted himself into the bar chair beside me. The club was empty. We still had another hour until open, so no one else had clocked in yet.

“You know what—or who, rather.” If there was anyone I let in at all, it was Jolly. I owed him so much more than my life. He was the only reason I wasn’t completely unhinged.

“I’ve seen the way you two interact. She ain’t exactly chasing you away with a stick, so what’s the problem?”

I huffed out a sardonic laugh. Leave it to Jolly to make things painfully simple. “Let’s see … I’m foul-tempered, possessive, and downright irrational where she’s concerned. I’m amazed she hasn’t already run for the hills.”

“Well. Don’t be.”

“I can’t, Jolly,” I bit back at him. “How the hell am I supposed to quit being who I am?”

He shrugged. “I s’pose that’s a matter of motivation. Anyone can change, if they want to badly enough.” f*****g goddammit.

I hated when he was right.

“You want a drink?” I grumbled as I made my way around the bar.

“Never said no to a drink before. No point in startin’ now.” He watched me get down the bottle of Jameson whiskey and pour us each a tumbler full before continuing. “You know, I was talkin’ with Storm a while back.”

“Yeah?” I peered at him before taking a drink, curious where he was headed.

“She had trouble hearing me—said she had hearing loss in her left ear.”

Huh. How had I never noticed that? “Interesting, but not sure of your point.”

“You know anyone else with that sort of issue?” He spoke slowly as though the subject had a deeper meaning.

I shrugged. “One or two guys at the gym, but that’s from taking hits without gear on.” Every f*****g muscle in my body marbleized into solid stone. “You don’t think…?” I couldn’t even say it. The idea seemed preposterous. How could anyone lay a hand on a woman so radiant as Stormy? Yet there’d been the odd way she’d reacted to me calling her angel. Had someone else used the term before—someone who’d hurt her?

Jolly raised his hands in surrender. “I could be totally off base. Just an observation.” Jolly wasn’t one for idle gossip. He wouldn’t have voiced the thought if he didn’t think it had merit.

My glass hit the bar with enough force to slosh out half my drink.

“Well, she’s not living with anyone now. No signs of a man past or present in her place.”

“I want to know how you know that?”

“Not even a little.”

Jolly brought the glass to his mouth and savored a sip, licking his thin lips after. “Love you like a son, but that girl is special. Don’t f**k around there.” His words were laced in warning, low and guttural. I wasn’t sure he’d ever spoken to me with such chilling finality.

“You saved my ass, so I’ll refrain from knocking loose your teeth, but watch your tone, old man.”

Jolly grinned, a rare ear-to-ear affair. “Glad we understand one another.

Now clean up that mess you made. We got work to do.”

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Present

TORIN HAD OFFERED ME A RIDE HOME THE PAST THREE NIGHTS AFTER WORK, which I accepted. He didn’t ask to come upstairs, and I didn’t offer. It was strange … but nice. He was trying to be normal for my benefit. To help me feel safe around him.

Normal fit him like a suit sourced at Goodwill, but I appreciated his effort.

I’d spent more time than I liked to admit mulling over what Rowan had told me. I considered what I’d learned about Torin and how hard he was trying. Oddly enough, I realized that I wasn’t sure I liked him changing for me. I’d been preaching honesty and transparency. Who was I to examine his true self and ask him to modify who he was? Especially when I had to admit that his surly, overprotective side was a little endearing so long as he didn’t take things too far.

The more I thought about it, the more decided I became. I was going to give him a chance. A real chance. Tell him about my past and let him decide how we moved forward. Together.

How was it I was more nervous about the possibility of him rejecting me than I’d been about learning he was stalking me? I didn’t know how to be logical where Torin was concerned, which was why I decided to give myself through Thanksgiving before doing anything irreversible. That meant one more day to change my mind. Then there’d be no going back.

If I’d been told two years earlier that I would consider baring my soul to a man who broke into my apartment and beat people to a pulp for fun, I’d have laughed at the absurdity. But it was true. I felt the pendulum of my life nearing a shift in direction. I prayed it was a shift for the better.

I closed my door on my way to work just as Luke returned home.

“Hey, Storm. You working tonight?”

“Yeah, but we’re closed tomorrow, thank goodness.”

“What are your Thanksgiving plans? You don’t have family nearby, right?” he asked, brows knitted together.

“No family,” I said with a twinge of sadness. “I’ll be holding down the fort here, watching the Macy’s Parade on TV and giving Blue Bell all the cuddles.”

Luke pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like it. I’m going to a Friendsgiving tomorrow. You’re coming with me.”

“I’m not crashing your Thanksgiving.”

“It’s not Thanksgiving. It’s Friendsgiving. And there’s no such thing as crashing Friendsgiving. That’s the whole point. It’s for those of us who, for various reasons, aren’t spending the day with family. You check the box. Besides, I won’t take no for an answer.” He raised a brow in challenge. “We

aren’t eating until three, so I’ll grab you at noon.”

“Luke, are you sure? I don’t want it to be awkward.”