Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(47)

Garrett came up behind me, and I jumped when he tapped me on my arm. “You might want to get out of here. I’ve never seen him like this and I don’t know what he’s going to do.”

“No, you don’t understand,” I hissed, holding up the crumpled pictures. “I didn’t cheat on him with Kyle. That’s not what this is.”

“I’m sorry, Shelby, but that’s not what it looks like to me,” he said dryly, still tugging on my arm. “You need to leave … now.”

My gut clenched because Matt still hadn’t said anything or turned around to stop Garrett from pushing me out of the room. Was he really going to let Kyle push us apart like this?

“No,” Matt growled low. “She stays.” Finally, he turned around and glared at Garrett and Carter, especially Garrett since he still had my arm in his grasp. “Get your hand off of her and leave. I want you both out.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Carter cut in. “You obviously need to calm down.”

The energy in the air crackled, and when he stepped forward, both Garrett and Carter stepped back. “And I don’t think you need to question what I just said,” he snapped. “Get out.”

Reluctantly, they both nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind them. I didn’t know what to say, so I stood there, waiting on him. When he finally spoke, his voice was laced with rage and despair, “I thought you said it wasn’t serious between you and him. From these pictures I’d say things were looking very serious.”

Taking a deep breath, I lifted my gaze to his and never wavered. I refused to let Kyle get the best of us. “It wasn’t, Matt, I promise. I never slept with him or anything like that. The pictures make it look like more than what it really was. We kissed a few times … that’s it.”

“What about this one?” he asked through clenched teeth, holding up a picture of us at Hayley’s party. “This is the night you were supposed to tell him it was over! That’s the same dress you were wearing when I came to your house. What were you two doing in a f*cking bedroom?”

The picture was of Kyle the moment he got me on the bed after I tried to push away from him. His lips were on the swells of my breast and my legs were parted on either side of him, showing the very tops of my bare thighs. It made me sick to my stomach just looking at it.

“What did he do to you?” Matt shouted, his gaze burning through me. He glared down at the picture one more time, his eyes full of fire and breathing hard. “Your arms in the picture are tense, like you’re trying to fight him off, Shelby,” he said, his voice low. “I know how your body looks when you’re enjoying yourself and this isn’t it. If he forced himself on you I’m going to f*cking kill him.”

The door opened behind us, and when I glanced over my shoulder it was Garrett pointing at his watch. “You have thirty minutes to get dressed before you need to head out, Matt,” he said nervously.

Clenching his teeth, Matt slowly lifted his angry gaze to him. “I’ll be ready,” he snapped. “Now close the goddamned door.”

Nodding, Garrett disappeared and as soon as he was out of sight, Matt grabbed my face with his strong hands and held me in place. I was never a good liar, especially when I had to look straight into someone’s eyes, and he knew that.

“Look at me and answer the question,” he demanded.

Taking a deep breath, I released it slowly and made sure to keep my gaze solely focused on his. “No,” I claimed in all honesty. “He didn’t hurt me. However, I’m not going to lie, he did scare me at first because I had no clue what he was going to do. When I tried to push him away he wouldn’t move, but as soon as I told him no, he backed off.”

Letting me go, Matt turned his back on me and fisted his hands in his hair. “So that’s what Jace meant when he said it was a good thing I wasn’t there. Kyle would probably be dead if I was.”

“Exactly, which is why I didn’t ask you, I called him to come and get me. Kyle wanted to see if I’d have sex with him so he could rub it in your face that he slept with me. When I refused, that’s when he told me who he was. Jace got there shortly after.”

I had never seen him so worked up, and I had no idea if he’d repel from my touch. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and waited on him to respond by touching me back, but he didn’t. Slowly, my heart sank and I backed away, letting my arms slide free.

“Is it always like this, Matt? Has Kyle always tried to find ways to get you down?” I asked nervously. “Because dealing with this shit on a regular basis isn’t healthy.”

Shaking his head, he glanced over his shoulder at me and huffed, “I agree, but no, it’s never been like this before. I’ve had my issues with him but nothing compares to this. The only thing about these pictures is that it isn’t just me involved. I can’t help but get the feeling that someone wants to get back at you as well. Kyle’s a worthless piece of shit, but he’s smart. He wouldn’t just start messing with you if there wasn’t something in it for him.”

“But who?” I asked, circling around to face him. “I don’t have enemies, Matt. I can’t think of anyone who would have a reason to come after me. It has to be someone you’ve pissed off. What about the girls you’ve been with? Surely, there’s a scorned lover in there somewhere?” I added sarcastically.