Phoenix Rising(59)
Connor wrapped one arm around Jessa’s slight frame and tucked her into his big body. Having given up his tattered dress shirt to Parelli as evidence, he’d been left in one of the black cotton tank tops Jessa liked so well.
“I don’t want you to go back to jail, Connor,” Jessa whimpered, face pressed against his chest.
Hang on, had she just said “go back?”
“Why did you never tell me about the time you spent in prison, Connor?”
“It’s not a nice story.”
“I wouldn’t have cared.”
Her acceptance didn’t bring peace. Connor turned and pegged her with a lethal gaze. “I did five years for attempted murder, Jessa.”
“You’re not a cold-blooded killer. Nothing could make me believe you really meant to kill someone, Connor. I know you. You might toe the line. But you’ve got your limits.”
Her quiet faith in his innate humanity was Connor’s undoing. This woman had just watched him brutally incapacitate six men and yet she was convinced she knew him to be worthy of trust.
He didn’t deserve a woman like Jessa.
Connor didn’t care anymore. He wasn’t good enough for Jessa Kincaid. But living without her was unacceptable. Alex’s warning made so much more sense right then than before. Alex had suspected Jessa of knowing the truth. Now Connor was put into the position of having to tell her something ugly when they were already surrounded by reminders of past wrongs.
Damn his arrogant pride. It was time to do something to make himself worthy of Jessa. It was time to tell her the truth.
“Connor?”
“It was a long time ago, Jessa. I was only a kid.”
“But it happened to you. That makes it important. Everything that happens is what makes you who you are. Didn’t you say that about me and Will?”
So he had.
“I loved Melanie like a blind fool and she played me as if I were one.”
He couldn’t fathom the hurt that filled her eyes at this admission. It wasn’t as if he loved Melanie any more. The bitch could rot in hell for all he cared. Not that he wanted to shock Jessa with that blunt confession.
Her voice was whisper soft. “What happened?”
“She cheated on me. When I caught her in a lie, she claimed she’d been raped by the guy.” Understanding dawned in her eyes and Connor felt real hope for the first time that night.
“You were punishing him for what he did to her and didn’t stop until you realized she’d been lying.”
Connor nodded. “She started screaming when I knocked him out cold and kept going. When she realized I was going to keep on until he was dead, she admitted what she’d done. By that time it was too late and I was on my way to jail.”
“A jury convicted you for that?”
“It was a pretty brutal assault, Jessa. I had no right to do what I did.”
It pleased him to hear her defense of his actions regardless of how inexcusable they’d been at the time. She pressed her face into his chest and wept dry, racking sobs. Connor held her and let her vent. He couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling after a night full of shocking revelations. The rest would be up to Jessa.
“I’m sorry, Jessa. I don’t talk about the past much. And I never would’ve picked this moment to confess my sins.”
“It doesn’t matter, Connor. I don’t care what happened before. I’ve never cared.”
“You say that now, but what I did is something that can’t be erased.”
A voice raised in anger at the counter outside their little interview room caught Connor’s attention. Still cradling Jessa, he lifted his head for a better view.
The noise came from a slender man with short brown hair sticking out at all angles. He was screaming in the face of the desk sergeant and waving his manicured hands about in frantic circles. A terrible suspicion began to grow in Connor’s mind. When the sergeant left the desk and headed for their door with the little man in tow, it was confirmed.
“Uh, excuse me, Ms. Kincaid.” The sergeant smiled apologetically. “There’s a man out here who claims to be your husband.”
Jessa lifted her head away from Connor just as the door went flying open. Her mouth formed a round O of surprise.
“Will! What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” he snapped angrily. “What the hell are you doing here? I said I was done giving you space, Jessa. This is ridiculous! I will not let you make a laughingstock out of me with this,” he looked at Connor, “low life!”
Connor quirked an eyebrow. “Watch yourself, little man.”
Will’s face turned a brilliant shade of purple and he lunged at Jessa, grabbing her arm. She had no choice but to follow her limb as Will dragged it away from Connor.