FOR THE REST of the week, Kyle rode with me to work, constantly staying on alert. We were both on edge, studying people as they came in and out of the gym. I don’t think I’d seen him smile since the incident. He was on a mission and it was controlling his every move. The police couldn’t find the vehicle, and to be honest, I didn’t think they cared. When Kyle had walked into the station, there were people in there who knew him and clearly loathed him from the glowers they threw in our direction.
“Thank goodness we leave tomorrow,” I said cheerfully, hoping to get a reaction.
He scoffed and lifted a pair of weights making the vein in his forehead bulge. “Yep, to a place where even more people hate me.”
I stood in front of him, but he wouldn’t look at me. “Kyle, don’t be like that. If we have to, I’ll call Mason to see if there’s anything he can do. You can’t let your vengeance control your life.” Sweat broke out over his brow, his jaw tense. And again, he wouldn’t look at me. Anger coursed through my veins and I was ready to snap. “Dammit, Kyle. That’s enough!” I shouted. He froze and finally met my eyes. “I need you with me in this. Don’t push me away.”
Throwing the weights on the floor, Kyle grabbed my face, his gaze wild. “Why can’t you see that I’m not pushing you away?”
I stepped back and away from his touch. “Then what are you doing? You haven’t made love to me since that night. If you’re afraid of me getting hurt, you obviously don’t know me very well. I can take care of myself.” Turning on my heel, I stormed to the back room but didn’t get very far before he grabbed my arms and hauled me around.
“Goddammit, Megan, I love you,” he shouted, squeezing my arms. Gasping, I stared at him wide-eyed. “The other night scared the fuck out of me. I could’ve lost you and all because of some cocksucker who wants to pay me back.” He stepped back and let me go, his hands shaking. “The anger I feel inside is consuming me. It’s all I can think about. I’m not going to be able to rest until it’s over.” His gaze met something over my shoulder and then he stalked off toward the back while I stood there frozen.
He loves me.
“What’s going on?” a voice called out. I jumped and turned around, hurrying to dry my tears. It was too late, Tyler had already seen them. Coming back from his honeymoon to me crying was not the way I wanted him to return to the gym. His jaw clenched as he moved forward, his angered gaze glaring toward the back hallway. “I’m going to ask again, what’s going on?”
I ran into his arms and he let me cry, his body tense, ready to attack Kyle. If only he knew Kyle was the one trying to protect me. “I think someone’s trying to kill him, Tyler. And we don’t know who.”
Kyle didn’t want me alone so he stayed at my house while I packed for our California getaway. Greg was going to stay with Nic while we were away. I was glad she had him. I wanted to tell Kyle I loved him back, but there was never a good time to do it. It was as if we didn’t even have that conversation. Sometimes I wondered if I just imagined him saying it because it was what I wanted to hear. Maybe I had.
We got to Gabby and Pax’s house right on time and they were outside waiting on us. Gabby’s eyes went wide when she saw the damage to the side of Kyle’s truck and rushed around to open my door. “Holy hell, you were right. That is bad.”
I slid out of my seat and chuckled. “I told you.” I had warned her beforehand not to mention the incident.
“Well, come on in. I have a pint of Ben and Jerry’s waiting on you. I figured we could change into our skimpy bikinis and eat it out on the beach.”
Rolling my eyes, I knew what she was doing. By the disgruntled look on Kyle’s face, maybe it would spark some kind of emotion. “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.”
“And you, my friend,” Paxton put his arm around Kyle’s shoulder, “are going to help me fix this piece of shit.”
I glanced at Kyle one last time before grabbing my bag out of the back of his truck. He looked pained, but I had to hope that Paxton could talk some sense into him. Side by side, Gabby and I strolled down the pathway to their front door. “Do you think Paxton will be able to help?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
We made it inside and she shut the door. “I hope so. Kyle doesn’t look so good. But if there’s one thing you need to understand about these fighter boys, it’s that they don’t take kindly to people messing with their women. They all deal with it differently. Kyle’s just letting his anger cloud what’s really important.”
“I sure hope he figures it out soon. I miss the way things used to be.”
She led me outside to the guest house and opened the door. It was supposed to be a pool house, but they had converted it to a mini suite. “Have you still not had sex since the incident?”
I walked inside and tossed my bag on the bed. “Nope. We went from being all hot and heavy to nothing.”
“I guess, since I won’t be hearing you guys have sex, you can stay in the main house. But if things get too weird being with him you can always stay in one of the guest bedrooms.”
Opening up my bag, I pulled out my bikini and tried my hardest to smile. “Thanks Gabby. I appreciate it. We’ve been sleeping together in the same bed, but I think he spends more of the night lying awake.”
Sadly, she nodded. “I know it sucks, but he’ll come around. Now get changed and I’ll meet you by the pool in ten. I’ll get our ice cream and we can head down to the beach.”
She shut the door behind her, leaving me to my thoughts. I didn’t like what went through my mind.