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“Ari, I live here. This is my room.”
“What?” She shook her head and pointed to Coach’s office. “Why aren’t you in a house or even the dorm?”
I sat on the edge of my new bed and pulled her into my lap. “When I started my freshman year, I was working full-time to pay for my housing. I had a football scholarship for a full ride, so at least that helped. My grades and performance on the field were suffering though. When Coach found out, he set me up here so I wouldn’t have to worry about a roof over my head. In exchange, he has my full dedication.”
“But Theo and Samantha would have taken care of it.” Her words trailed off. “You really do think they had something to do with the fire, don’t you?”
“I believe they’re involved somehow. I don’t think it’s Mom as much as Theo.” Guilt weighed down my shoulders. “I’ve not had much to do with them since . . . I started college. Before that actually.”
“My dad?” Her voice hitched with her question. She stared at the wall and chewed on her lower lip. “When I was at the academy, Dad never allowed me to come home even over summer break. During the holidays, he would visit and bring Samantha sometimes. Other times, it was just him. I tried to ask him why I couldn’t come back at least a million times, but he said it wasn’t up for discussion. Do you think he was hiding something? I mean, that was a stupid question. Of course he is, but what and why?”
Rubbing her back, I took a slow and steady breath. “From what I gather, Mom and Theo didn’t want us to know each other were alive. They needed us out of the way.”
“Or Dad was protecting me. If Crimson . . .” Ari scrunched her nose in distaste. “What kind of name is that?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s not her real name any more than Psycho is her boss’s real name.” I hoped like hell Ari wouldn’t ask if I had that information. “Anyway, you were saying?” I asked, directing the conversation.
“If Crimson wanted you, maybe Dad didn’t know that and he shipped me off to keep me safe.” She shifted on my lap, and my cock throbbed. It took everything inside me not to throw her on the bed and ravish her.
“It’s a likely possibility, but the fact that he didn’t want you in Washington or Oregon are still red flags.”
Ari leaned her head against my shoulder, and I pulled her close.
“I’m glad Coach believes in you. I do too, Jag.” She glanced up at me and pressed a kiss to my mouth. “What happened to you after the fire? Where did you go?”
Time froze with her question. I knew it would come up sooner rather than later, but I wasn’t sure what I could tell her.
I ran my hand up her back and massaged her neck. “Horrible things, baby.”
Ari stood then faced and straddled me. “You admitted that you killed someone to protect me. Hell, even tortured him. That probably should have messed with my head but it didn’t. It made me trust you more. I have no doubt that you will burn the world down for me.” She touched her forehead to mine. “You know what happened to me with Peter. Secrets between us won’t help us heal, Jag. You have my word that I won’t judge you. Shit, you could turn me in for arson if you wanted.”
“No way in hell would I do that. Besides, you were held hostage and forced to burn our house down.”
“And the horrible things that happened to you . . . were you forced to do things against your will or was it your choice?”
My pulse spiked as the room spun. Flashes of my past assaulted my mind, and I struggled to pull myself out of the horror.
“Jag. It’s okay. We’re together again. That’s all that matters.”
I glanced into her beautiful blue eyes. “If you learn the truth, you’ll walk out that door and never look back.”
“You don’t know that.”
Maybe she was right, but most likely not. One thing I knew for sure was that I had to tell her that night and give her the choice to leave before I couldn’t let her go.
“After the fire, I couldn’t handle losing you, Ari, so I took off.”
“You ran away?”
“Yeah. Packed some clothes and hopped on my motorcycle. I was going to visit Uncle Gunner, but I never made it.”
“Why?” Ari’s soft voice gave me the courage I needed.
“Because someone was tailing me. When they had the right opportunity, they grabbed me.”
Ari’s gasp filled the small room.
“I was in the bathroom of a gas station. It was one of those older ones, so the access was on the side of the building outside. The last thing I remembered was getting hit in the head and blacking out.”
