Hard Bastard(204)

But I was pissed that he had dragged Alexa into the whole thing. Alexa and her family had been nothing but kind to me since everything had started. Alexa was mine, my fucking wife, my fucking woman, and Trent had dared messed with that.

He had gone too far. He had stepped across a line, and I would make him pay. I was going to find him and I was going to kill him. Fuck the fight. Fuck everything else. I was going to murder him.

“Cole,” Alexa said loudly. “Please, calm down.”

“I’m going to murder him,” I said. “Right now.”

I stormed upstairs. I could hear her following me, yelling my name, but I couldn’t understand a word she said. The only thing on my mind was finding Trent and ripping him to pieces. I would end it, end the blackmail, end the stress, end it all.

I grabbed the keys to my bike and my helmet and headed outside. I knew where I could find him, or at least someone who could help me. I’d dial up Ronnie soon, and together we’d smash Trent’s face in with steel pipes.

“Cole, please listen to me,” Alexa said.

I found where I had parked my bike and climbed on. Alexa grabbed my arms, looking into my eyes wildly.

“Cole, you’re scaring me,” she said.

That pulled me up short. I looked back at her seriously and saw the real fear in her eyes, the real terror. And I realized that despite everything that had happened, she had never once looked like that.

“Please, stop.” She was begging me.

“I have to kill him,” I said simply.

“Not like this. Don’t throw your life away on that asshole.”

I gripped my bike’s handlebars and ground my teeth. “He hurt you.”

“And you’re hurting me right now if you do this.”

That hit me like a blow to the chest, and my eyes widened. “I’m trying to fix this.”

“No,” she said harshly, “you’re being immature. You’re throwing a fucking tantrum.”

I bit my tongue and stared at her for a second. “What do you want me to do?” I asked finally.

“Come inside and talk to me. Don’t throw everything away on this guy.”

I felt the rage still inside me, but there was something else as well. It was the only thing that could stop me, that could pull me back from the brink. It was the only thing strong enough to save me when all I wanted was to be damned.

I couldn’t say the word, not yet. But it was there and it was her.

I slowly climbed off the bike. Alexa wrapped her arm through mine and held on to my bicep, and we walked back inside together.

I never wanted to see that look on her face again, not because of me at least. I couldn’t describe the anger I had felt, but I also couldn’t describe how badly it hurt me to know that she was afraid of me.

We walked up the stairs. I let her lead me into her bedroom, and we slowly climbed into bed together. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her tight against me, feeling her breath against my chest.

We didn’t say a word. I didn’t think we needed to. We just lay there, breathing together, feeling each other’s bodies. I wanted to reach down between her legs and feel the heat of her pussy, but something held me back. It wasn’t like I was shy or some shit; the moment just didn’t feel right.

Instead, we just stayed there together. It was the most intimate I had ever felt with a woman.



We must have fallen asleep, because I woke up later with a start. Alexa was still tangled up in my arms and breathing deeply. I slowly tried to pull myself away, but that only made her stir.

“Hey,” she said, groggy. “What time is it?”

I checked her clock. “Almost six.”

“Seriously? Wow. We slept for a while.”

I smiled as I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Yeah, we did.”

She propped herself up on one elbow, looking at me through her hair. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good.”

I stood up and stretched.

“You’re not going to rush off and murder anyone?” she asked.

“Not right now, no.”

She nodded. “Good.”

I looked at her seriously. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” she said simply.

“I don’t know what happened.”

“I don’t blame you, really.”

“I just lost it.”

“Cole, it’s fine. Really.”

“Listen to me. You don’t have to ever be afraid of me.”

She looked surprised and nodded slowly. “I know that.”

“Good.”

We were quiet for a second. “So, what now?” she asked.

“I have to make a phone call.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but I was already out the door. I headed downstairs and into the basement. I cringed when I saw the mess I had made, and I promised that I’d clean it up as soon as I was finished.