I took a step back and folded my arms across my chest. I eyed him sternly. “So you didn’t have sex with Ariel?”
“No. God no. I haven’t even seen her since the time we ran into her on St. Lucia. I told you we’re just friends and have been for years. I’d never cheat on you Kristen. Now that would be stupid. Unbelievably stupid.”
My arms tightened. “I don’t know if I can believe you.”
“It’s true. There’s not much I can do to prove it so you’re just going to have to trust me.”
“I’ve trusted you all this time. But now with the whole security team thing, you going psycho, Giselle, and everything else, I don’t know what to think. What else are you hiding from me?”
“Ask me anything. I’ll tell you.”
I clenched my jaw. “But I don’t even know what to ask, Vincent. You can’t do that—put the blame on me for not asking the right questions.”
“No, Kitten. That’s not how I meant it.”
After lying to me, he was still calling me Kitten? Give me a break. “Don’t call me that. You’ve lost that privilege.”
He exhaled heavily and gestured to the living room. “Okay, let’s sit down on the couch, cool off, and talk.”
Because my feet were getting tired, I begrudgingly obeyed. Once we were seated, I ran through in my mind what I had just learned, deciding what to ask. There were so many pieces missing that needed filling in. I decided to start with the first question on my mind. “So what happened with Giselle?”
He shifted in his seat beside me. “She was in a relationship with someone she met in college for two years. Jim. No one knew she was suffering. There were small signs like arguing but it seemed normal—couples usually have fights every now and then. It wasn’t until I saw her bruises that . . . that I decided I needed to intervene. I made sure he got the message.” He sighed.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your sister, but in this case you took it too far. Way too far. You didn’t have to break Marty’s face. He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
“What did he want?”
“He said he just wanted to talk.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth. “I wouldn’t believe him. That’s a classic trick they use. He hurt you before. That’s enough to establish that he’s dangerous.”
“He said he was sorry and brought me flowers. He just wanted to apologize.”
“You don’t know that Kristen. Kurt and Bernie were watching. If they made a move, it meant they thought you were in danger.”
“You don’t know either. He was just extending his hand to say sorry. Last time I checked that wasn’t a felony.”
He looked at me probingly. “Why are you defending him?”
“Jesus, Vincent. Can you be any more insensitive? I’m not defending him.” My eyes began tearing again. “Don’t treat me like I’m a helpless victim. I can’t stand it.”
“My team will make sure you won’t be.”
“Why aren’t you listening to me?” I screamed. “Get rid of them! I hate the idea of being watched and monitored.”
He kept his gaze firmly on me as I broke down. “Kristen, he might come back. You have to take this seriously.”
“You nearly killed him for bringing me flowers, Vincent! I doubt he’d be coming back. I think he ‘got the message’.”
He quietly handed me a tissue. I took it and wiped my eyes, pulling mascara off in the process. I knew I looked like a mess but I didn’t care.
“I don’t like it. I want you to feel safe. If he does come back, you’ll be completely exposed.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and forced out a shaky breath. “Right now, I’m more afraid of you than I am of him.”
He narrowed his brows. “You don’t mean that.”
I looked at him directly. “I do. You don’t know what it’s like watching your boyfriend nearly beat your ex to death. I’m scared of you and what you’re capable of.”
Vincent staggered back for a moment, no doubt reeling from my response. “All right, fine. I’ll get rid of the security team. I’ll tell them to put a tracking device on his car so we can monitor his whereabouts.” He stared into my eyes. “But you should know that I’d never hurt you.”
“You already have. Maybe not physically like Marty did, but you hurt me emotionally. You betrayed my trust.”
“Okay. How can I make this right?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know if you can.”
“I really care about you Kristen and if you need space, I can do that.” He got up from the couch. “But if I had to choose between us breaking up and you being safe, without a doubt I’d choose the latter. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt and I had the ability to prevent it. I’d even lie to you if it meant saving you from harm.”