Chapter 29

KATE.
The car screeched to a halt in front of me, missing me by a few inches. I felt the heat of the car near my legs. Jesus. I was almost hit by a car! And I'd have gone back to the hospital. The place I'd only just gotten back from, not two weeks ago.
People gathered on the sides of the street and slowly, the embarrassment of my situation started to creep in. What was wrong with me? How could I have been standing in the middle of the road and not known? All because of Drew's ex!
He rushed towards me, wrapping a trembling arm around me. He glared at the driver of the car with fire in his eyes.
He slammed his fist on the hood of the car, creating a dent in the middle, then tugged me away, pulling me away silently.
The walk back to his house was silent and filled with unspoken words. I didn't want to push him. He kept a tight grip on my hand, but I noticed the arm was still shaking slightly. Seeing that car about to hit me must have really shaken him up.
I was still shaken up from the near accident.
He didn't let me go until we entered the elevator, going up to the penthouse.
I walked straight to the fridge in the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and almost drained the bottle. I placed it on the counter top, bracing my hands on the cold tiles as I tried to control my breathing.
I felt Drew's arms wrap around me, pulling me backwards so my head fell against his chest. I didn't complain. I wanted this right now. And I was going to get it. His ex was forgotten for now.
"You almost killed me, Kate. " his voice shook, "I don't know what I would have done. That car... " he trailed off, his voice breaking.
"It's okay, Drew. " I reassured him. I turned in his arms so I was facing him. I cradled his face in my palms, seeing how scared he truly was."I'm okay. Nothing happened –"
"But it could have. " he snapped, his touch leaving my body, my calmness with it. "Something could have happened to you, Kate. You can't be that fucking careless. "
"I didn't know I was standing there. " I tried to explain, shocked by his outburst.
"You didn't know you were standing in the middle of the fucking road? "
"Not at the time, no. " I dropped my eyes, feeling incredibly foolish.
How could I not have known I'd been standing on the road though? Was I going crazy?
"How could you not know? " he yelled, tugging on his hair, "You almost gave me a heart attack! I kept telling you to stop. Severally. But you didn't. "
And I snapped. I just fucking snapped.
"Don't try to play the victim, Drew. This was all your fault. "
I leaned back on the kitchen island, placing my hands on the granite behind me. He stared at me incredulously, like he couldn't believe what I was telling him.
"My fault? How was it my fault? "
"If your crazy ex hadn't shown up –"
"So, this was all her fault, not mine. "
"No, it was all your fault, don't try to deny it. " I snapped, stepping forward, "If you hadn't engaged her in a conversation, we would have been on our way, but no, you just had to talk about –"
"Engage her in a conversation? I didn't even want to speak to her. "
"Apparently, my idea of didn't and yours are too different things. "
"Stop acting like this, Kate. You're just overreacting. "
"Overreacting? " I yelled, taking a step closer to him. My blood was fully heated right now, and I was spoiling for a fight. He had the guts to say I was overreacting?
"Okay, I see that must have been the wrong word to use. " his eyes widened as he walked backwards. And it might have been funny if I wasn't so bloody pissed.
"I'm overreacting, Drew? Say's the guy who threw a fucking tantrum over the fact that I'd 'almost' gotten hit. "
"That's different and you know it. "
"Really? " I cocked a brow, "Is it that much different though? We ran into your ex, and she brought up a conversation about a night you had together. " he opened his mouth to talk but I shut him up with a raised finger, "I had to stand there and watch you guys hatch shit out, and all the while, you guys totally ignored my existence. "
"We didn't spend a night together. " he paused, "Well, we did, but, that's not the night she was referring to. She was referring to that night at the bar. " he paused, letting me digest what he was saying.
Did he mean? "You mean, that.... That night at bar? When I was with Trent and Bailey? "
No wonder she looked familiar. Apparently, I'd underestimated her relationship with Drew. Whatever ties they had, it ran deeper than just a one night stand. And that scared me.
"Yes. "
"Did you date her? " I blurted out.
He actually looked horrified, "No, of course not. I don't date, you know that. "
I glared at him pointedly.
"Until you, I mean. " he amended.
I stared at a blank spot on the counter, absorbing all he had just told me. He'd gone on a date with her. How could he not have expected her to expect more from him? Was he really that fucking oblivious? Well, that's the word Kate had used, wasn't it? Oblivious.
And why the hell was I asking myself all these questions when he was standing right in front of me?
"So, you took her on a date, and you didn't expect her to become interested in you? " I folded my arms, "What exactly did you think was going to happen? "
His eyes darted away, and he looked unsure for the first time. "Well, I.. " hie eyes returned to mine, "I thought we'd go back to how we were. "
Oh, wow.
"How you were? " was there more to them?
"Yeah, well, she calls me whenever. And she always wants me to attend an event with her or something. "
"So, she uses you. "
He looked offended. "No, she doesn't. She accompanies me on my events too. "
"Oh my God. " I muttered, shocked to the core.
And Drew said he'd never been in a relationship? Jesus. He was basically in a relationship with her and he didn't even know. What was I to do with this.
"So, let me get this straight. You call her whenever there's an event you need to attend and there's no-one else to go with you, -"
"Exactly. " he cut in.
"You've probably slept with her, I assume, -"
"Well, that's not really how I would say it. "
"You took her on that date to, -"
"It wasn't a date. " he interrupted again.
"Stop fucking cutting me off. " I snapped, "Why on earth would you think she wouldn't want more? You guys were technically in a relationship? "
"No, that's not how it is with us, Kate. "
"With us? " I narrowed my eyes at him, "You even refer to you and her as 'us'. "
"Jesus fucking Christ. Stop contradicting everything I say. She's just someone I used to go to events with. Nothing more. "
"And a date. Don't forget that. Oh, and you slept with her. Why would you even forget that one? " I mocked, too bitter to even care I was being unbearable.
"It was one time. And I was wasted. "
I pushed away from the island, walking around it, and heading for the bedroom. I just wanted a nap. A long nap. Maybe by the time I woke up, all the headache I was feeling, would have gone away. I didn't want to be close to him right now.
He followed behind me, and if he thought he was going to be on that bed with me, he thought wrong. He took a stutter step when I walked past his room, entering the one next to his.
"What are you doing? " he closed the distance between us in long-legged strides and before I knew it, he was standing in front of me.
"Going to have a nap. " I answered, shouldering past him into the room. I didn't even bother to take my clothes off. I just toed off my flats, which I'd forgotten to take off when I came in.
"Here? You never sleep here. " he argued and I could detect a faint trace of emotion from his voice now. Fear. He felt fear.
I tried not to look at him, because I knew if I did, I'd break. I climbed up on the bed, lying down and turning to face the wall.
He moved closer to the bed, sitting on the edge of it, "Kate, don't be like this. I already told you, there's nothing -"
I sat up in an instant, snapping. "Don't say that! There's a whole lot more between you two than nothing. You just can't see that. "
"No, you're just seeing what isn't there. "
I shook my head. All the fight draining from me instantly. God, what kind of a relationship was I in? "I was standing there, Drew. For about ten minutes before I left, and not once did you acknowledge me. Instead, you ignored me. "
"That's how you feel? " he ran his hand through his hair, scattering it. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way. I swear. I just want to keep you away from every bad thing in my life. "
"You don't have to! " I stressed, "You're supposed to let me see every aspect of your life, Drew. Not hide me from them. You make me feel like a dirty secret. "
Why couldn't he get this, no matter how I tried? Why was he so thick headed?
He dragged his hand down his face wretchedly, "Kate, I -" but he was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. He removed it from his pocket, glanced at the screen and his face closed off immediately.
He got up, glancing at me briefly, before dropping his eyes to his phone, "I have to take this. " then he walked out.
I guess this conversation was paused for now. But, it didn't matter whether or not we have the conversation though. Was he going to change?
It scared me that I didn't know the answer to that question.
DREW.
"Any news? " I asked as I answered the call.
I'd had to cut my conversation with Kate short when I saw it was Cillian. I knew, it had to be important. Cillian was the man that I sent whenever I didn't want to get my hands dirty -or didn't have the time.
"I got them. " came his reply.
My body immediately strung tight. And I could literally smell their blood already. Finally. Fucking, finally. I was going to have a little fun.
"Text me your address. " I hung up, staring at the screen, waiting for his message. It came in not a minute later. Yes, he was that fast.
I shoved my phone into my pocket and headed back into my guest room -the room Kate was currently in. She lay on the big bed, with the sheets pulled up to her neck.
I noticed she wasn't lying in the middle -she lay on the left side. Whenever we slept together, she was always on the left side. And it touched me somewhere deep down that despite how mad she was at me, she still unconsciously thought about me. She might say she didn't want me near her right now, but her body wanted me.
I moved closer to the edge of the bed and sat on it carefully, because I didn't want to wake her up in case she was already sleeping. Although, I knew that was unlikely. I have been gone that long.
"Done with your call? " she asked, surprising me.
"Yeah. "
She didn't say anything after that. She looked so small lying in the big bed all by herself, and no matter how much I wanted to join her, I had somewhere important to be. And she wouldn't let me anyway. Yes, I could coax her to let me eventually, but I didn't want to force her.
"I'm leaving. "
"What? "
"The call. I have to be somewhere right now, and I wouldn't leave if it wasn't important. " I found myself explaining. Why? I had no idea.
"Okay. " she said, her voice, monotone.
"I'll be back. "
"Okay. " she said again.
I found my hand moving towards her, without my accord, and when I touched her, she jolted. I flinched, withdrawing my hand. She couldn't handle me touching her anymore?
I got up and walked around the bed so I could see her face. Her eyes rose up when I stood in front of her. And that's what really made me fear. Her eyes. They were tired. That light I had come to love seeing was no longer there. What the hell had I done?
I squat in front of her, touching her face with my fingertips, "We'll talk when I get back, Kate. I promise. "
She nodded slightly. I bent, placing a kiss on her head before rising to my full height. I wanted to say more but I couldn't. I tried to get the words past my throat, tried and failed. Because my mind couldn't grasp the words just yet. And I couldn't say something that I didn't understand.
I hesitated before waking away. I had to do this. It was one step closer to having her with me, without anything troubling us.
A smirk tugged at my lips when the creepy old building came into sight. Cillian always chose the most terrifying abandoned buildings to execute his victims. No doubt, to put the fear of God in them before they met their deaths.
I walked in, dailing his number as I did. "I'm here. "
"Second floor. Fourth room. "
I ended the call and followed his directions. When I stepped into the room, I knew it had to be the scariest room in the house. Rats and worms scurried around, and there were ivys and other plants crawling across the room. The ceilings were lined with cobwebs. It looked like something straight out a horror movie.
I saw the three men huddled on the ground, bound together tightly by a thick rope. They already had several gashes on their bodies. I guess, Cillian couldn't wait for me.
I tipped my chin at Cillian, noting his impeccable black and black, but kept my eyes on the soon-to-be-dead men sitting on their asses, the fear in their eyes palpable.
"So, we're going to have a nice talk, guys. "
I rolled the sleeves of my hoodie up, observing my hands closely. Did I want to get dirty tonight? I mean, it would be fun. I'd missed a good old talk. But something kept me from doing it. Kate. I was going back to her after this and I didn't want blood on my hands. I didn't want to taint the good thing we had.
I rolled the sleeves back down. I wasn't going to do anything dirty would my hands tonight.
I sat on a rickety stool in front of them, making sure to balance my weight on my legs. The stool could barely hold my weight.
"So, which one of you fired the gunshots at her? "
They kept their mouths shut, glaring at me defiantly. Three punches landed on their jaws, twisting their faces to the side. I chuckled. Cillian was remarkably fast.
"Want to try again? " I cocked a brow.
"They both did. " one of them, a bald man, pointed at the other two tied to him.
"Miles, you little shi-"
Another punch landed on his face, silencing him. He groaned, doubling over in pain.
I turned my gaze to the two men who had shot at Kate. My blood fired with adrenaline. That they had the audacity to go after someone that was mine. That they wanted to kill her. That they would have succeeded had I not been there on time. I physically fought back the urge to kill them with my bare fists. I wasn't going to do this. No, I could control myself.
I got up slowly, advancing towards them. "Tom Rutledge sent you. Did he not? "
They kept their eyes on the floor, refusing to meet mine. So, they were still trying to cover for the asshole. Even at this stage. It made me wonder just how much he must have promised them for them to want to go to this extent for him.
Cillian launched at them with punches to their faces and kicks to their kidneys.
"Shit, motherfucker. Okay, fine. Just fucking stop. " one wheezed. "Yes, he did. "
Cillian stepped back, not even out of breath from the exertion he'd just gone through.
I already knew my dad sent them after her, but hearing them confirm it, just made me hate the man even more. I loathed him. Fucking despised him. But I had a plan, he was going to get his fair share of life later, so I wasn't too bothered about him.
"Stretch your hands flat out on the ground in front of you. " I ordered.
They hesitated, flexing their hands at their sides. Cillian forced them, holding their hands out, palms down. I stared at my shoe, contemplating the amount of damage it would do to their legs. As I was currently wearing sneakers, it wouldn't do much. But the soles were hard so it was something.
I smashed my foot against their hands, one by one, savouring their yells of anguish. By the time I was done with the last one, I shook my foot out and watched my work. They were still writhing in pain on the ground. Good. I had promised myself I'd damage the hands that they shot Kate with and I had done just that. Even if I didn't have the pleasure of killing them myself, this would do.
"Nice talk. Finish them. " I told Cillian and walked out, not once looking back.
Their cries of pain echoed through out the night sky as I vacated the abandoned building.
Thoughts of Kate filled my mind. I just wanted to sleep with Kate in my arms. I needed her calm right now. To take away all the darkness from my soul. That was what she did to me, after all.
When I got to the penthouse, she had already left.