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“What, no!” I sit up taller.
“What? Do you think I won’t come back?” he says.
I shake my head, but that’s exactly what I think. If I were him, I’d leave and never look back. I nailed his nut sack to the floor, for fuck’s sake, and now he can’t go home. I’m stuck with him and Sam’s ghost because of my rabid need for vengeance.
Knox swivels his head, looking around the room for something. His eyes land on the rabbit, and he scoops Petey into his arms. He walks over and plops the massive rabbit onto my lap. I stroke his fur and rub his cheek.
Knox cocks his head and studies us. “Weird. He usually bites everyone but me.”
My hands move away from the rabbit’s face. “You put a giant-ass rabbit on my lap who routinely fucking bites?”
“He seems to like you. Or maybe he knows you’ll bite back,” he says with a smirk. “Anyway, I won’t go anywhere without him, so can I please borrow your car?”
He makes a really good point. He adores this rabbit, and as long as I hold on to him, he’s guaranteed to return.
“Fine.” I lean over, straining beneath the weight of this dog-sized rabbit, and grab my key off the nightstand.
Knox leaves, and I drop my hand to Petey’s back. I’ve never seen such a rugged man with a rabbit as a pet. I could see a man like him eating one of these, not cuddling it. Killing it instead of killing for it.
For himand?—
Well, me.
It’s comforting to run my hand through his thick, soft coat. I’ve never wanted kids, nor did I want to bring one into the fucked-up little relationship I shared with Sam. Even so, I felt an urge to take care of something, so I brought a kitten home once. Sam told me I couldn’t have a pet, and then he took the kitten and left with it. I never saw it again. Not wanting that fate to befall another animal, I didn’t bring anything home after that.
I idly pet Petey, thinking about how lost I suddenly feel. The drive for revenge has fueled my entire adult life, though I’ll likely never know who killed my father. Or have any way to avenge his death. It feels like my efforts have all been for nothing.
The worst part is that the only silver lining in this is that Sam is dead and I’m free from his control and abuse. My freedom is now in my hands, and I’m choosing to use it very unwisely by shacking up with someone from the infamous group that murdered my dad. Letting Knox live means letting my father’s vengeance die.
I considered telling him to take my car and the rabbit and get the hell out of here. Part of me worries he’ll kill me and dump my body somewhere after everything I did to him, but something about the way he gingerly placed this rabbit into my lap made me certain he was coming back. For both of us.
I lift Petey and look into his eyes. “I’d have to compete with you if I dated your dad, huh?”
His nose twitches.
Yeah, I would.
“You probably should bite me. I did terrible things to your father.”
I’m not sure how much time passes as I sit with Petey, but the rumble of tires eventually grates over the gravel driveway. Considering I kidnapped a man who buried my dead boyfriend in the backyard, I can’t be certain if it’s the police or the man I kidnapped. I peek through the blinds and heave a sigh of relief when I see my red sedan parked in the driveway.
I can’t see the front of the vehicle. After straining for a moment, I back away and sit on the couch. I think of Sam in this room, pulling me onto his lap and squeezing a bruise he left on my thigh. His shouts echo between my ears—a reminder of all the ways I was never good enough.
The sound of the front door silences the intrusive memories. I take a breath, trying to slow my racing heart. I don’t want to look weak. I don’t want tobeweak anymore.
I stand up and walk toward him as he enters the doorway to the living room, but he pushes his palm toward me, telling me to stop. He’s covered in sweat, his entire form taking up the doorway, and he’s straining to hold something off to the side, just behind the wall where I can’t see it.
“Knox, what is this?” I ask.
Before I can step closer, he pushes a man toward me. The man’s arms are bound behind his back with tape, but when Knox spins him around, I gasp. He’s wearing a gold mask.
A goldgiraffemask.
I’m frozen in place when I see it staring back at me, the subject of my vengeance finally in front of me. He’s not an adjacent person like Knox. He’s the epicenter of my childhood nightmares. The man who is single-handedly responsible for ruining my life and dictating every shitty thing I’ve done since that fateful night.
Including dating Sam and kidnapping Knox.
“You—” I stare at the man before turning my attention back to Knox. “How?”
