Frayed Silk(33)

A knot forms in my throat. I start to panic. “We can’t … this has to stay the way it is.”

He raises his head to look down at me, his thick brows tugging into a severe frown. “Why?”

The door to the room bursts open and Jared instantly grabs the sheet to cover me. Bile fills my mouth when I see who it is. When I see Leo grab Jared and shove him off the other side of the bed before leaning down to wrap the sheet around me. Then I’m in the air and over his shoulder.

“What the fuck, Leo?” I screech. He ignores me, his grip around me tightening as he grabs my purse and stalks outside into the rain. I slam my fists into his hard back, mortified, ashamed, and so damn angry. “Leo, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Put me down!”

He yanks open the passenger side door to his car and all but throws me in while growling, “Dahlia, this is your only warning. Do not say another fucking word or I’ll make you watch as I kill him with my fucking bare hands.”

He slams the door closed, and I sit frozen, staring out of the side mirror into the sheets of rain as he hunches over the back of the car. His hands hold him up as his head hangs down between them, toward the ground. After a minute, he finally climbs into the driver’s side and speeds out of the parking lot. I barely catch a glimpse of Jared in the mirror, but I’m certain I saw him standing in his jeans under the awning outside the room. I don’t dare ask about my car or my clothes. I just put my seat belt on and adjust the sheet over me, my mouth dry and my heart pounding so fast I fear it might stop dead at any second.

This can’t be happening.

It can’t. But it can.

It is.

My eyes, brave with a mind of their own, look over at Leo, who’s thunderous expression stays fixed on the road ahead. His jaw is clenched so hard I swear I can hear his teeth grinding together. His hands white-knuckle the steering wheel so tightly I fear it’s going to crumble beneath them.

Shit. I tug my eyes away to glance back out my window, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. I’ve never seen him this angry before. It’s actually frightening, so much so that I don’t make a sound the whole way home. We finally pull into the garage, but I don’t feel any sort of relief as he orders, “Get inside.”

I take a deep breath, turning to him. “How’d you find me?”

He growls. “Lia, fuck.” His nostrils flare as he looks at me with so much anger in his eyes that I almost miss the hurt carefully veiled behind it. “Just get out.”

So I do and run upstairs to put some clothes on, but I don’t hear him come in. I don’t hear him leave either, so I walk back downstairs, tossing the hotel’s sheet into the trash in the kitchen just as I hear him roar and something break in the garage.

Shit. I twist my hands into my hair, not knowing what to do. Then I hear thudding as if he’s punching the wall.





His car rumbles out of the driveway half an hour later to go get the kids. At least, that’s what I’m hoping. But I call Lola, just to make sure.

“Hey,” she answers. “Jesus, it’s pouring down.”

“I know.” I stare out the kitchen window to the rain blanketing the backyard. “Are you on your way to the school?”

“I’ve just parked. What’s up?”

“Can you check that Leo’s there?” I bite my thumbnail.

“Hmmm, oh, he’s just pulling in now actually. What’s he doing home?”

“Long story,” I mumble.

“Lia, what’s going on?” I look at the time, wondering if I can give her a quick rundown before the kids get out in two minutes. I decide to give it my best shot.

“He found me. He …” I squeeze my eyes shut. “He found me with Jared at The Green in Rayleigh.”

Silence. I hear the rain tapping on the roof of her car as I wait, opening my eyes as a tear escapes.

“You and Jared, you had sex?” she finally asks.

I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “No, but we were about to.”

“Holy hell, Lia,” she whispers. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t.” My fingers tug at my hair as anxiety tears its way through my body.

“What happened?”

“He just came in, threw him off me, and then grabbed me and left. I was wearing a sheet, for Christ’s sake. Then he put me in his car … Mine’s still there.”

She exhales loudly into my ear. “How did he find you?”

“He probably hired someone. I didn’t think he cared …”

She laughs. “Well, apparently he does.”

I hear the bell ring in the background. “I’ll let you go. I just wanted to make sure he was picking them up.”

“Okay, call me if you need me, but Lia”—she sighs—“this is what you wanted, you know? I think it’s obvious now that he does still care.”

“But why show it in this way? Why wait until I potentially fuck everything up even worse to show me?” I groan. “Ugh, he’s fucked with my head too much. I have no idea where I even stand anymore.”

“Just … try to talk to him. One step at a time, ‘kay? Call me.”

“Okay, bye.” I hit end call and toss my phone onto the counter. Then stare at it for a minute before picking it back up and quickly sending a message to Jared.