She did pull away then, and he let her. She shifted so they were now facing each other, and although she didn’t speak right away, he didn’t press her. Clearly she had gone through a traumatic situation. He didn’t know much about her, but seeing her beaten face pissed him the fuck off and made him want to hunt down the motherfucker that had thought it was okay to raise his hand to a woman.
“I’ve been with Phillip for the past several months. The first month was great. He was charming, was everything that I had never experienced in life, and so I latched on because at the time it felt like the only good thing that had ever happened to me.”
Malice knew these types of guys, the bastards that preyed on women because they wanted to control them in the worst of ways. He forced himself to not rush her in telling him where he could find this asshole.
“I never thought of myself as a stupid girl. I mean, I have done things that were questionable. Being with Phillip was the biggest one, but the things he gave me, the affection and comfort when I had never gotten that before, had me wearing these blinders.” She sighed and moved back on the bed so she would rest against the wall.
Malice forced himself to keep his gaze on her face, even though he could see out of the corner of his eyes that her shorts were obscenely pushed up her thighs. Was he that much of a sick bastard that he was even remotely thinking of anything sexual given the situation? He scrubbed his hand over his face and exhaled. When he looked back at her it was to see her now watching him intently.
“Long story short, he wasn’t who I thought he was. He was this master manipulator. He had me fooled and latched on before I could even realize what was happening.” She rested her head on the wall and stared at the ceiling. “He sells and uses drugs. I guess he saw how weak I really was, and knew he could twist me into this pathetic person he wanted.” She closed her eyes and gave a humorless laugh.
Malice was barely holding onto his anger. He wanted to find this Phillip bastard and crack his fucking skull open. “The man you are describing is the kind of asshole I have seen countless times over the years. They look for women like you, ones that didn’t get to experience the happiness of a good childhood, or ones that were so battered by previous relationships that they took whatever they could get.” She could have been the latter, but looking into her eyes Malice didn’t think that was the case. She had this strength in her eyes, one that rivaled any man he had ever known, but she didn’t recognize her worth. Yeah, she had cried, had gotten the shit kicked out of her, but she was a fighter.
“You know, this is really stereotypical of me, and wrong on every level, but looking at you I would never have guessed you were one of those insightful guys, or one that would help a woman they found.” Her cheeks turned pink, and she glanced away as if embarrassed.
“Bikers get a bad rap. A lot of people just think we are these idiots that like kicking ass, working on bikes, drinking beer, and sleeping around. But we aren’t just muscle in leather.”
She glanced at him again, but didn’t say anything.
“Of course we do a lot of stuff that some may deem questionable, but we always have a damn good reason for doing it. And we know our ass from our head.” He tried to tease, and although Malice wasn’t the joking type, he did want to see her smile. And when she gave him that smile this strange tightening in his gut took residence. “Listen, we don’t need to get into all that painful shit.” He didn’t miss how her shoulders sagged a little. “I just want to know this fucker’s full name, and where I can find him.”
Adrianna sat up straighter, and he could tell that she had suddenly gotten nervous. She shook her head and glanced at the door, and he thought it was more of an instinctual gesture that she didn’t even realize she was doing. “I don’t want any trouble. I just want to get what little money I have in the bank when it opens in the morning, and get as far away from Fairview as that money will take me.” Her hands started to shake, and she placed them in her lap to try to steady them, but Malice saw the tremor regardless.
He reached out, placed a hand over both of hers that were clasped together, and leaned in so there were only a few inches between them. “Adrianna...” Christ, her name sounded so damn good coming from him, and it felt right saying it, too. “I know it’s hard, and I know it is easy for me to say this, but you are safe. No one will hurt you again.”
“How can you make a guarantee like that?” Her voice was low and breathy, and her fear was laced within the words.
“I can, and I just did. I am not the kind of man that will say something unless I can fucking make sure it is followed through.” He stared hard into her eyes, willing her to see that what he said was the truth. “No woman should ever have to feel what you’re feeling, and to be honest it makes me want to go out there, find the motherfucker that made you feel this way, and crush his windpipe.” He heard her swallow, and although he could have been a bit less crass about the way he said it, this was who he was, and he couldn’t change that. “You understand what I am saying, Adrianna?”