Unconditional
Page 20

He nods, desperate and cornered. “Yes, yes, I promise,”
I release him. For a moment, I think he might try to fight me like a man, but instead, he stumbles back, then turns and flees. He falls into the driver’s seat of his fancy car, and starts the engine, racing out of the parking lot with his tires squealing.
I catch my breath, shaking. I was close, so close, to doing him permanent damage. When I opened the door and saw his hands on her, the fear on her face, I swear, I lost my mind. There was nothing but red: fury and violence, and the primal instinct to protect her whatever the cost.
Carina.
I think of her late-night arrival in Beachwood, the shadows in her eyes, the ugly bruise blooming on her cheekbone.
What has she been hiding?
I thought she was just here for some fun, a stuck-up princess looking for a break. How wrong could I be? Shame spirals through me, self-loathing and disgust. There I was, teasing her, taunting her, and all the while…
Dammit. This is my fault, too.
I pace down the street, searching for her, breaking into a desperate run. “Carina!” I yell, looking wildly around. It’s dark out, I can’t see much, but she can’t have gone far. “Carina, where are you?”
There’s no reply. Hell, I can’t blame her. I’m the last person she must want to see, after the hard time I’ve given her.
And nearly beating the shit out of her father won’t have helped either.
I reach the end of the street where the road meets the harbor and stop. There’s a distant shadow on the end of the jetty. It’s just a smudge against the dark of the ocean, but I feel it in my bones.
It’s her.
I slow to a walk, heading down to meet her, wondering what the hell I can say. Questions whirl in my mind, demanding answers, but when I finally reach the end of the jetty and see her, every thought wipes blank from my mind.
She’s sitting, huddled up tight with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her shoulders are shaking, and I can hear her crying—the sound of every sob striking right to the heart of me.
I’m down on my knees beside her before I can even think. “Hey,” I murmur, reaching for her.
She flinches back instinctively. Dammit. That one small movement cuts right through me, conveying a dark truth I can hardly stand. How many people have hurt her? How many people need to pay?
“It’s OK,” I whisper gently, “it’s just me.”
Carina looks up at me with tear-soaked eyes and the expression on her face breaks my heart in two: her blue eyes filled with fathomless misery, her lips trembling with emotion. She looks wrung out, broken, and it sends a bolt of pain through my chest to see her this way. I can’t understand how a man could hurt her, put his hands on her—dare to wipe the laughter from her eyes and bring such pain into her life.
“He’s gone,” I reassure her. “He won’t be coming back, I promise.”
Carina’s eyes fill with tears again, and it’s more than I can stand. Anger flares through me again.
I should’ve killed that sonofabitch when I had the chance.
I force the fury back. The last thing she needs now is more anger and violence.
Don’t you dare let her down.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur, shifting so I’m sitting on the dock beside her, then I slide an arm around her shoulder and gently pull her close. “You’re safe now.”
She resists for a moment, then collapses, weeping into my arms.
“I can’t…” Her voice is muffled against my chest, hoarse with pain. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“Shhh.” I rock her gently, holding tight, feeling every shake and sob of her slim body. “It’ll be alright,” I promise, biting back my anger, trying to be calm for her. “I swear, you’re safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt you, not ever again.”
The vow sits, heavy in the still night. I decide, right here, I’ll do everything in my power to make it true. I don’t know how yet, or even why, but God, I’m going to see it through if it’s the last thing I do.
I hold her, gently stroking her hair as Carina clutches me. Slowly, her sobs fade away. “I must look like a mess,” she says, turning her head away and wiping at her face.
“No, you look beautiful, you always do,” I tell her. It’s true. Her eyes are red-rimmed, and her lips are cracked and dry, but it makes no difference. She takes my breath away.
Carina gives me a look.
“It’s true,” I protest. “I remember when you walked into the wedding in that little black dress and those stiletto shoes,” I tell her with a grin. “Nearly gave me a damn heart attack.”
“You said those shoes were ridiculous,” Carina reminds me.
“Sure, but they were damn sexy, too,” I grin.
“You’re just trying to be nice to me,” Carina says quietly.
“Learn to take a compliment, sweetheart,” I tell her, still teasing, and finally, she cracks a smile.
It’s like a ray of sunshine cutting through the blackest night, telling me that there’s hope for her, she can make it through this. She’s stronger than anyone’s ever given her credit for—than even I believed.
The knot in my chest eases, just a little.
“I expect you’re wondering what all that was about.” Carina looks down, toying with the hem of her shirt.
“It’s OK, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want.” I pause. “But I’m here. To talk, or, whatever you need.”