Page 95 of Where the Wind Whispers

She found the bathroom door locked when she tried to turn the knob. Behind the door, she heard cursing, then the exhaust fan turning on before the sound of rushing water followed. The shower had been turned on.

Violet took a breath, willing her emotions to calm.

It would do neither her nor him no good to fight right now.

It was not the time for that.

They couldn’t afford to be in a situation where they were angry with one another.

“Kaz,” Violet said outside of the door, “please let me in.”

“Go to bed.”

That was it. That was all he offered.

Violet’s irritation spilled over as she knocked harder on the door than was necessary. “Open up, now.”

Kaz didn’t bother to respond at all that time. In fact, she heard the water begin to pour down a bit heavier than before, telling her that he had likely changed the settings in the large stand-up shower to drown her out.

Fucking ass—

Violet stopped that thought from going any further, knowing if she did, then her father would win. She had no doubt in her mind that this was all a part of his stupid games. Alberto probably wanted Kaz and Violet in situations where they had no one to turn to but each other, and that would also force them against each other should the desire arise.

He was a fucking bastard like that.

And why wouldn’t he want it to happen?

Why wouldn’t he want Violet to be distanced from her husband, or vice-versa?

“Last time I’m going to ask, Kaz,” Violet said softly, knowing he probably couldn’t even hear her now. “Let me in.”

Again, she got nothing.

Although she wasn’t surprised at his non-response.

She wasn’t sure if Kaz honestly believed the locked door would stop her, but Violet was far from stupid. She made her way down to their master bedroom, grabbed one of the many items from her vanity, and headed back to the bathroom.

Sticking the long, extra-strong bobby pin into the small hole on the doorknob, Violet twisted it in just the right spot, turning the knob, and felt the door unlock under her handling.

Her husband wasn’t the only one who could pick a lock.

To be fair, he had a great deal more talent than her simple trick.

Violet tossed the bobby pin aside as soon as she had the bathroom door open and stepped inside. Already, the heat from the shower had started to fog the space.

Jesus.

How hot did he have the water turned on?

Violet didn’t focus on that for long …

Not when she could clearly see the pain her husband was in behind the sliding shower glass doors.

With his back to the brown tiles, Kaz had his head tilted back, his hands covering his face, and the hot stream of water pouring down on him. It looked like every single muscle in his body was a live wire—taut as hell and ready to snap. He trembled all over, from his legs to his strong arms, the ink covering his body coming off sharper in color because it was wet.

Whether he was shaking from his anger, or something else, Violet didn’t know.

Without her permission, her body moved forward, closer to Kaz.