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I stomped back to Duke’s door. No more Miss Nice Gal. That didn’t sound right, but so what? I inserted the key and unlocked the door.
“What the hell?” Duke almost fell off the couch when I found him in the living room.
“We’re talking, adult to adult, whether you like it or not.”
He pointed to the door. “I said no. Now leave before Ursula gets here.”
Hand on my hips, I laughed at him. “Don’t try that on me. She’s in Stockholm.”
He didn’t have an answer to that.
“I heard you when you said you didn’t want me to get hurt—and I appreciate the sentiment—but I’m a grown-ass woman who can make her own decisions.”
“We are not doing this. You’re safe. It was fun. It’s over.”
Nothing new in his arguments there. Time for truth telling. “I know about Marilyn. I know you found her.”
His face fell like I’d knifed him. “You don’t understand.”
“Lucas told me everything.”
His teeth gritted in anger. “He had no right?—”
“Don’t blame him. I made him tell me.” A mild lie because I doubted anybody could make Lucas Hawk do something he didn’t want to do. “You told me you’d always be truthful with me, and you lied.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“It sure wasn’t the whole truth.”
He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “I almost died in Thousand Oaks, and the next time, I might not be so lucky. I’m not putting you through that and risking…” He didn’t finish, but his fear was clear.
“I am not Marilyn.” I raised a hand when it looked like he might argue. “I’ve got more grit than that. You have no idea the hell I went through when I was kidnapped by the Fox brothers.”
His brows creased. “You said it wasn’t much.”
“I was afraid to tell you the whole truth.”
He held out his hand, and I had my first victory. “I’m sorry.”
I took it and sat, angled toward him. “They had me for ten days. Ten days in total darkness.”
“That’s why the night lights?” he asked.
I nodded. “Darkness brings back the nightmares.”
“Then why’d you tell me it was only one day?”
I swallowed hard. “Shame. It was ten days of enduring their torture. Ten days of knowing that in the end, they planned to kill me.”
“But you survived.”
“For ten days and nights, I listened to them on the other side of the door.” I sniffled. “Every night, they fucking flipped a coin to see who got me first, and who went second. They tied me to the bed and took me every night, no matter how much I fought. I lied because I didn’t want you to think?—”
He took me into a hug, and I had my second victory. “Baby, the only thing I think about you is how incredibly strong you are.” He rubbed my back through my sobs. “You’re strong like a tiger, not backing down from any fight.”
I snuggled against him. “I didn’t want you to know I was damaged goods.”
“I think Tiger fits you better than Snuggles.”
