The Truth Has Teeth
2017 Words
Chapter 13: The Truth Has Teeth
The office feels smaller than it ever has.
Maya stands with her back against the door — not because she's trapped, but because she needs something solid behind her. Knox is leaning against the desk, arms crossed, waiting. He doesn't rush her. Doesn't prompt. Just watches with those dark eyes that see everything.
She could lie. Could give him pieces instead of the whole thing. He wouldn't know. He'd accept whatever she offered and fill in the gaps himself.
But she's done lying.
"Derek," she says, "is not just my ex-fiancé. He's the reason I have panic attacks in crowded rooms. He's the reason I check my rearview mirror every thirty seconds. He's the reason I stopped answering my phone for six months before I finally left."
Knox doesn't move. "What did he do?"
"Nothing I could prove." The words taste like failure. "That's the thing about Derek. He's smart. He never hit me. Never left a mark. He just... made sure I knew that I belonged to him. That leaving wasn't an option. That if I tried, he'd find me. And he'd make me regret it."
"He threatened you."
"Every day. In little ways. A look. A comment. A hand on my arm that was just a little too tight." She wraps her arms around herself. "I told myself it was normal. That all couples fought. That I was being dramatic."
"You weren't."
"I know that now." Her voice c***ks. "But knowing it and believing it are two different things."
Knox pushes off the desk. Takes a step toward her. Stops. Gives her space. "The text. 'I know where you are.' That's him."
"Yes."
"He found you."
"I don't know how. But yes. He found me."
"And you think he's working with Cole."
Maya shakes her head. "I don't know that either. But Cole showing up the same day I get that text? The timing is too perfect. Derek has money. He'd pay someone to track me down. And Cole..." She looks at Knox. "Cole is someone who clearly doesn't mind doing dirty work."
Knox's jaw tightens. "Cole would sell his own mother for the right price."
"Then it fits."
He's quiet for a long moment. Processing. Planning. She can see the gears turning behind his eyes — threat assessment, resource allocation, all the things a president has to do when his club is in danger.
But there's something else there too. Something softer. Something that looks a lot like guilt.
"This is my fault," he says.
"What? No."
"If I hadn't let Cole walk out all those years ago — if I'd handled him differently — he wouldn't be here now. He wouldn't be a threat to you."
Maya pushes off the door. Walks toward him. Stops when she's close enough to touch. "You didn't send that text. You didn't hire anyone. You didn't abuse me for three years and then stalk me across state lines. This is not your fault."
"It is my job to protect you."
"It's not your job to save me from things you didn't cause."
He looks at her. Really looks. The way he did that first night — like she's a puzzle he can't stop trying to solve. "Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?"
"Defend me. I'm not the good guy here, Maya. I run a biker gang. I've done things I'm not proud of. I've hurt people. I've made enemies. You should be scared of me."
"Are you going to hurt me?"
"No."
"Are you going to let anyone else hurt me?"
"Also no."
"Then why should I be scared?"
He doesn't have an answer for that. His mouth opens. Closes. Opens again. Nothing comes out.
Maya reaches out. Touches his arm. His skin is warm under her fingers. The tattoo of the dagger shifts as his muscle tenses. "You're not a monster, Knox. You're just a man who's been hurt and is trying not to hurt anyone else. I recognize it because I'm the same."
Something breaks behind his eyes. A dam. A wall. Something he's been holding up for a long time.
"Maya," he says. Just her name. But the way he says it — low, rough, like it costs him something — makes her chest ache.
"Yeah?"
"I can't promise I won't mess this up."
"Mess what up?"
"Whatever this is. You and me. I'm not good at... soft. I'm good at protecting. I'm good at fighting. I'm not good at letting people in."
She moves her hand from his arm to his chest. Feels his heartbeat under her palm. Fast. Hard. Not as steady as he pretends.
"Then don't let me in," she says. "Just let me stand next to you. That's enough."
He covers her hand with his. His fingers are rough. Calloused. Shaking, just a little. "You deserve more than 'enough.'"
"Maybe. But right now, 'enough' is all I can handle." She looks up at him. His face is so close. She can see the tiny scar above his eyebrow. The flecks of gold in his dark eyes. The way his breath catches when she meets his gaze. "Knox. I'm not asking for forever. I'm just asking for today. Can you give me today?"
He doesn't answer with words.
He answers with his hands — one on her waist, one cupping her jaw — and he kisses her.
It's not soft. It's not tentative. It's the kind of kiss that happens when two people have been circling each other for days, weeks, lifetimes, and finally run out of reasons not to. His mouth is warm and demanding and terrifyingly gentle all at once. He tastes like coffee and something darker.
Maya's hands fist in his shirt. Pulls him closer. He makes a sound — a low groan — and his arm tightens around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground. She wraps her arms around his neck. Holds on.
When they finally break apart, both breathing hard, his forehead rests against hers.
"Today," he says. "I can give you today."
"That's all I need."
He kisses her again. Slower this time. Like he's memorizing her. Like he's trying to learn her by heart.
Outside the office door, someone wolf-whistles. Jesse. Of course.
"You two are very loud," Jesse calls through the wood. "And by very loud, I mean I can hear your feelings from here. It's gross. Stop it."
Knox pulls back. His lips are red. His eyes are dark. He looks at Maya like she's the only thing in the world that matters.
"Ignore him," he says.
"Gladly."
She kisses him this time. And the office walls hold. And the world outside — Derek, Cole, all of it — fades to nothing.
Just for today.
That's enough.
End of Chapter 13
- Writer
