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Mark didn’t give up easily and he followed me until long after he had to realize where I was going. When I arrived at the clubhouse compound, I stepped from the car and offered Mark a saucy finger wave. I know it was childish and I probably shouldn’t aggravate him further, but his attitude riled me.
He flipped me off and then peeled away so quickly that the tires screeched on the road.
My heart raced as Mark sped off, in a hurry to get away from a place where there were plenty of men who could—and would—fight back. He was a bully just like his brother. I hugged myself tight and wondered if this chaos would ever end. Alex was gone and yet still, my life hadn’t calmed down. My life was still as crazy and as terrifying as it ever was.
The only difference? It wasn’t Alex that I was worried about.
“Hey.”
I turned at the sound of Slate’s voice and my body instantly relaxed at his proximity. “Hey yourself.”
He took two more steps forward and wrapped me in his big, strong arms. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
I buried my face in his chest and inhaled deeply before I let it out on a shaky breath. “I’m okay now. Better than before.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and it wasn’t just an absent kiss, it was one of those brain melting kisses that made smart women forget anything and everything other than the feel of his lips on her skin. “Emma.”
My brows dipped. “What was that for?”
Slate’s lips curved into an amused smile, but his arms held me in place, made it impossible to move even if I’d wanted to put some space between us. “I told you this morning I wasn’t angry, you just blindsided me last night. I spent most of the night lying awake thinking about all the things you said to me.”
“You did?” His words took me by surprise.
He nodded, raking a hand through his thick black hair. “I did.” He wrapped his arms around my body before his hands settled on my hips. “I understand why you did what you did, Ireally do. I can’t help it that I hate I missed out on so much of Ash’s life but I’m not mad about it.”
“You’re not?”
“No, Emma. I’m not. I spent a good chunk of the night upset about all that I had missed, about your reasons for withholding her from me—and yeah, maybe I was a bit pissed. But then my common sense kicked in and I thought about how hard it must’ve been for you and all you went through.”
“But you could have been there.”
“Yeah, I could have and I would have, but you didn’t know that about me after one night. How could you?”
I agreed but I couldn’t stop the guilt that weighed heavy on my shoulders. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you, not after we reconnected and I’m sorry for that.” It was something I was sure I would deal with for a long time. “I am so truly sorry, Slate.”
He sighed heavily and nodded. He cupped my face and gave me a gentle smile. “I’m going to tell you this one last time, Emma, that I forgive you. And once I say the words, we are done apologizing for this. Right?”
My heart thundered in my chest at his words. Could it really be so easy? A simple apology and it was all forgotten? “I’d like that,” I whispered.
“Good.” His voice was a low growl, and his thumbs pressed into the sides of my jaw. “I forgive you, Emma. All I want now is to get to know my daughter, to have a place in her life.”
Before I could tell him that’s all I wanted, that he’d more than proven himself a man worthy of her love and attention, his lips were on mine, slow and sweet and hot. It was the kind ofkiss that a woman dreamed about, commanding yet gentle, as if he was asking for my permission to own me. I moaned into his mouth and fisted my hands in his shirt. “Slate.”
“No more apologies,” he whispered roughly. “Trust me and let me protect you. I don’t want to stifle you Emma, I just want to keep you safe.”
I nodded and nipped at his bottom lip. “I believe you.” Despite my hesitation, I found that I didn’t just mean the words, I believed them. I felt them down to my bones. “I believe you, Slate.”
My heart pounded against his and something so right, so good, settled in my chest and encouraged me to lean into this, to accept it for the gift that it was.
Chapter 26
Slate
For more than a week I’ve followed Mark Edwards around without him realizing it. If he could follow Emma around and terrify her, make her a nervous wreck, it was only fair that I returned the favor. I watched him laze about at his office, pretending to work for his clients before he hit the street in his oversized four-door sedan. I watched him stuff himself with fast food and draft beer, none the wiser that he had a shadow.
I used my advantage over him to watch every move he made, to learn all about what he did on a regular day when he thought he was free to be, free to watch and intimidate whomever he pleased. Today however, I didn’t watch Mark, I tasked Gio with keeping an eye on my girls while I dug more into Mark’s life.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Maverick joined me as the lookout while I made an unsanctioned entry into the private investigative offices of Mark Edwards as if that meant fuck all to me.
