She’s angry. I know it. We may not be able to feel one another as intensely as we could in Vakeeli, but despite the lack of our Tether, I feel her frustrations radiating through me like a searing heat.
When I finally find the lot of her apartment, I spot her sitting on a bench in front of the building with her arms folded and eyes locked on her vehicle.
I push the button for the engine, and the engine dies. Then I step out, shutting the door behind me and meeting up to her.
She stands immediately, focusing on the collar of my shirt smeared in blood (that I’d tried covering with the new jacket she bought), then at my hands, which I washed before coming here.
“You are out of your fucking mind, Caspian Harlow!” she snaps through gritted teeth. “I told you to let him go! I told you to just behave—that’s it. Behave so we can figure out this damn Tether and Mournwrath and get you back home in peace!”
“I’m sorry,” I say.
But she ignores my apology and continues her tangent. “You can’t just run off and attack people, Caz! You just can’t! That’s not how this world works. I know Garrett’s a fucked-up person and he had no right putting his hands on me or calling you names, but you can’t behave that way here. God, I feel like I’m talking to a child or something! If you get caught, I can’t help you. I can’t pull strings here like you can in Vakeeli. Do you understand that? This is not your world! You can’t just go around like a damn vigilante trying to set the record straight!”
I reach forward, grabbing one of her hands, and she breathes raggedly, trying to snatch it away, but I don’t let her. I hold on to it with desperation, then slowly bring her palm to my chest so she can feel my heart beating. To my surprise, that calms her down just enough to stop resisting me.
“Willow, I’m sorry,” I say again, and she stares up at me, brown eyes glistening beneath the streetlamps. She’s on the verge of tears, and there’s a dull ache in my chest that I’m sure is coming from her. I feel awful for it all.
Her bottom lip quivers as her head sways side to side. “If I lose you too…I just…I can’t, okay? I need you to stick this out with me. I need us to be okay. For once in my life, I want to hold on to someone, not have them disappear on me.”
Her words slice through me, like a hot knife through butter, and I realize what I did, though warranted in my opinion, was wrong. This isn’t about what I’ve done to Garrett. I’ve scared her.
“I won’t ever do it again,” I whisper. I cup the back of her head and bring her forehead to my chest. “Well…not here, at least.”
She huffs a laugh.
“Oi, look at that.” I can’t help my smile. “A laugh.”
“Shut up,” she mutters, then she pulls away to look me in the eye again. “I’m really mad at you right now. You left me standing in the parking lot of my own apartment complex looking like an idiot. Give me my keys.” I hand them to her, and she marches to the car, taking out the bags from the shop we went to and then trudging past me to get up the stairs.
I follow along, watching her hike up the stairs angrily. She should stop. Her walk is making her ass look incredible right now. I fight the urge to tell her so. She’s pissed. I can’t get under her skin any more than I already have.
When the door is unlocked, she steps back to let me walk in first. Locking and closing the door, she releases an exasperated breath as she makes her way across the apartment and dumps all the bags on the floor.
“Look, for what it’s worth, Willow, I did it for your—”
She crashes into me, her lips colliding with mine. She moans into my mouth, stripping me out of the jacket and forcing me backwards until the backs of my legs hit the edge of the bed.
“You’re a lunatic,” she breathes, clutching my face in her hands.
“For you, I am,” I say.
“You’re going to get yourself killed, Caz.”
“If it means you get to live in peace, I don’t care.”
She studies my eyes. “What about your peace?”
“My peace is with you. If you’re not happy, neither am I.” Her head shakes and a pained expression takes over her face, like she wants to resist those words but can’t.
The pads of my fingers trace her jaw. “Come here,” I murmur, clasping her chin and bringing her lips to mine again. I flip her onto her back, and she yelps from the unexpected action.
Her breath is hot on my lips as she asks, “What did you do to him?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. Tell me what you did.”
I skim my lips over her cheek. “I asked him how many times he’d hurt you physically.”
“Okay?”
“He said no more than four times.”
“Hmm.” Her eyes move past me, as if she’s rehashing the number of times.
“And for each time that he did,” I rasp, my lips hovering over hers again, “a wound was inflicted.”
“Wow.” She places her head on the bed and her locs spread around her head.
“I didn’t kill him,” I remind her. “But it’ll take some time for him to heal and recover. He’ll think twice before ever hurting a woman again.”
“Where is he now?” she asks.
“Dumped him in front of a nearby hospital.”
She looks at me, eyes wide with surprise.
“What?” I plant a kiss on the corner of her mouth. “I’m not a complete monster.”
To that, she laughs and laces her arms around the back of my neck. When her mouth connects with mine, I melt on top of her. See, this right here—this is why I’ve vowed to protect her. She’s a beautiful sight when she feels safe, when she’s happy, and if some fucker like Garrett ever tries to strip her down again, I will kill him.
I don’t prefer loose ends, but there’s an advantage here. He won’t blame me, or even Willow. He’ll wallow in his misery, because I’ve warned him if he opens his fucking mouth about what happened, I’ll come back to snatch all his teeth out with the rusty pliers I found in his bathroom.
“I’ll protect you here, in Vakeeli, and any other universe we find ourselves in. You hear me?” I tip her chin, putting her eyes on mine.
“Yeah,” she breathes. “I hear you.”
With those words lingering in the air, we strip each other out of our clothes.
