“What’s to tell?” She shrugged. “He’s been dead for a bit more than two years.”
“Yes. Of course. That’s what you meant earlier when you said I’d have to kill you. Now, I understand why you said that bit about putting you out of your misery.”
Her face didn’t betray even one of her thoughts. Had she still loved her husband, or had she grown to hate him by the time he’d died?
“We argued the night he died. I told him to get out and not to come back.” Her lovely eyes filled with tears. “I hated him by then. He-he...” She shook her head, pushed her plate to the center of the table, and stood. She hugged herself and faced the wall.
“He what, takana?” Geno prodded gently. “What did he do?” She needed to voice it, to tell her story. Talking about it was the first step to healing the emotional wounds that obviously still cut her so deep.
“I can’t.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to tell you.” She hunched her shoulders as though trying to crawl inside herself and disappear. Wasn’t that what every abuse or torture victim did when urged to voice their trauma? They kept it hidden inside themselves because their abusers had drilled into their minds that the cruelty they suffered was somehow their fault.
“You can.” Standing, he moved closer and rested his hands on her shoulders. “You can tell me, takana. I will not laugh at you, and I will not strike or abuse you in any way. You have my word.”
“Ben said that, too.” She shrugged his hands off and shook her head with a depreciative chuckle. “The first year had been almost perfect. It was as though we were soulmates or something. Then one day, not long after my father died, I came home from work and found out he’d quit his job. He didn’t bother looking for another. He’d been drinking all day instead.” Her shoulders shook as the floodgates opened, and then the words seemed to flow easily for her.
“He went into a rage when I asked him why he quit, telling me it was none of my business.”
“Did he hit you?” Geno clenched his teeth when what he really wanted was to ball his hands into fists, dig up her husband, and beat his remains into a pile of dust.
“Not that day.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “He did little things at first, like pinching me just a little too hard, or bumping into me while I was bent over and knocking me down. It was all quite by accident, of course—at least that’s what he always said.”
With a sob, Wynter stepped away from him as though she couldn’t endure being so close to any man. He wanted to hold her but knew she most likely wouldn’t welcome it. She had to come to him, or he could frighten her or worsen the wounds that had already grown too deep.
“I don’t know why I’m even telling you this, but I can’t seem to stop talking.” She gave a little hysterical laugh.
“You need to get it out. The healing starts when you begin talking about it. I know this from experience with others who have suffered similar fates as you.” How many men, women, and children had he rescued from slavers? And how many had come to him or Rowninda when they were finally ready to discuss it?
“I shouldn’t be reliving this.” She shook her head. “Not now.” She continued to hug herself, her shoulders hunched. “I need to think about the children and the others we left behind.”
“Yes, you should talk about it.” Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Geno led Wynter to the table and sat her down before taking the seat beside her. “Talking about it is what you need to do more than anything else. Keeping it bottled inside isn’t healthy. Facing your horrors and telling someone about it is the first step to taking over your life again. Otherwise, he’s still controlling you from the grave. Do you really want that?”
“No. I don’t want that.” She closed her eyes for a moment before she reopened them and met his gaze with a determined expression. “Okay, then.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “The night he... the night Ben died, he’d called me fat and ugly and said it had taken every ounce of willpower he had to make love to me because just looking at me made him sick.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked inward. “He...he never loved me. He married me because I made a good living, and he wanted to get alimony or a divorce settlement.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I was so stupid. I should have known someone as handsome as Ben could never fall in love with someone like me.”
“Don’t say that.” Geno wished he could have met her husband and taught him a thing or two about how to treat a woman before he throttled him. “Never say that. Any man would be lucky to have you for a wife.”
“Yeah, right. That’s why no one was pounding on my door before I met Ben.” Wynter pushed her cold breakfast to the middle of the table and then crossed her arms. “I’m done talking about this. I want to talk about how you plan to rescue those still kept captive by the scientists.”
“I plan to have one of my sons hack into the whatever system can locate that car you talked about and find those whom you left behind when you escaped.”
“I want to go with you.”
“Absolutely not.” Geno sat forward in his seat and pushed his plate away. “I will not put you into danger.”
“You won’t be putting me into danger. I will. Besides, it’s not your call, and you’ll need me there to show the others that they can trust you.” She picked up her napkin and dabbed at her eyes. “They’ve been through a lot, and those lunatics holding them captive didn’t stop at physical torture. They’ve also messed with their minds.”
Geno sighed when he realized she was right. With the way the people at the lab had experimented on them, they might not even trust other shifters. They would, however, trust Wynter because she had been one of them.
“I suppose we could leave your boys with my daughters-in-law once my sons find the car you stole during your escape.” Geno didn’t like the idea of putting his takana in harm’s way, but he had no choice. He had no right to tell her she couldn’t participate in her friends’ rescue. “But if you’re going to insist on coming with us, you’ll have to agree to do as you’re told and always stay behind me because I will not put you in danger.”
Geno refused to lose his takana, not before he had the chance to prove to her how much she was worth to him, and the children who had already adopted them both.
Chapter Thirteen
“WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T agree to those terms?” Wynter pressed her lips together, unable to believe what she’d just heard. How could he possibly think he had the right to tell her what to do? The only man who’d ever had that right was her father. Ben hadn’t even been able to control her when it was something she thought was important—at least not until he’d started to persuade her with violence and pain.
“I would never harm you if that’s what you’re thinking.” Geno rested his hand on her leg. “I would be disappointed to think you thought so little of your worth. Just so you know, if I think it necessary, I will put myself between you and danger.” Eyes the color of rich, aged whiskey stared deep into hers as though he could see into her soul. “Keep that in mind when you think to risk your life because it will be my life, you’re risking, not your own.”
“I-I should clean this up.” Wynter gestured to the dishes. “Maybe you should ask your sons if they can even figure out which GPS is on the car and hack into it before we get ahead of ourselves talking about mounting any kind of rescue.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Geno stood, picked up their plates, and scraped the cold food into the trash before setting them in the sink. “I’ll go hunt them up and get them to work on it now.” He turned to her. “Will you be okay here alone now that it’s daylight, or would you like to come with me?”
At her hesitation, he pulled a sheet of paper from the notepad on the refrigerator, scribbled something on it, and then handed it to her. “Maybe you should stay inside with the boys. No one knows you’re here, and if you all stay inside, we can keep it that way. Here’s my phone number. Call me if you need anything at all.” He started to walk away, then turned back
around.
“On second thought,” Geno said as he held out his hand. “Hand me your phone. I’ll program it in. If it should be an emergency, you might not have time to dig my number out of your pocket.”
“Good idea.” She would have programed the number in herself, but she hadn’t been able to figure out how to do it on the new disposable phone. Wynter had never been great at figuring out technology. She did okay once someone taught her, but she sucked at figuring things out for herself. She fished her phone from her pocket and handed it to him. Maybe he would have better luck with it.
Geno did have better luck. It took him less than a minute to program his number into the device. Wynter scowled at him.
“How did you do that so easily? I’ve been trying to figure out this phone on and off for the last couple of days.” It was most likely because she’d been driving and shouldn’t have been playing with the phone in the first place. She was probably lucky she hadn’t crashed Ella’s car.
“Easy.” He grinned. “I have an affinity for technology. Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He stopped at the doorway and looked back. “You’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” She smiled, though her lips wobbled a bit. Wynter didn’t want to admit it, but she was still a little afraid to be alone. She brought up her hands to shoo him away, not surprised to find that they were shaking.
“Never mind. I don’t need to go.” His eyes narrowed as she hurriedly shoved her hands behind her back. “I keep forgetting I can text them with this thing.” He showed her his phone. “Not to mention the fact that I can just as easily call them without leaving you vulnerable.”
Wynter hoped her relief didn’t show when he returned to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat. “It’s okay. You can—“
“No, I can’t.” His lips curled up a bit at the corners. “You’ve started trembling just at the thought of my leaving you and the boys here alone.” He tapped the screen of his phone while he talked.
It was strange how she feared him, yet she was also scared to be away from him. What was it about the big man that made it easier to trust him more than others?
“How can you do that?” She tilted her head and watched as he continued to type out a message to one of his sons. She’d never be able to keep up if she had to try to carry on two conversations at once.
“Do what?” He finished sending the message and then set his phone on the counter.
“Type a message and talk at the same time. I would have misspelled at least half of that if I was also carrying on a conversation with someone.”
“You’ll get used to it once you start using the feature. Besides, I have learned to abbreviate like everyone else.”
“I couldn’t do that.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know why, but using one or two letters or numbers to replace a word just goes against the grain for me. Maybe it’s the wannabe English professor in me.”
“Wannabe?” He raised a brow again, and Wynter’s heart started beating a little faster. She wondered if it was just a quirk he had or if he knew she thought it was sexy as all get-out because he seemed to do it a lot.
“I never finished my masters. After my father fell ill, I didn’t have the money to complete college. I went to work, started at the bottom with everyone else, and worked my way up to one of the executive positions in my company. It helped that I was a part of the start-up.” She shoved her phone back into her pocket and ran some hot water into the sink.
“My position in the company was most likely what drew Ben to me in the first place.”
“I don’t follow.” His brows drew down over his amazing eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I made a lot of money.” She shrugged. “At least I did before Ben talked me into selling my shares to retire so we could travel. He never told me he’d turn into a world-class asshole once I did.”
She shoved her hands deep into the sink, feeling at home while doing the dishes. It was the one thing that gave her a little peace while Ben was still alive. He’d never once complained while she was busy cleaning up one of his messes.
“I wish...” Geno sighed behind her. She could practically feel the tension rolling off him. The air seemed thicker. Over the last six months of her marriage, she’d become an expert at feeling the tense energy of a man’s anger.
“I didn’t mean to—” She shook her head, her body trembling as she wondered what she could do to diffuse the situation. Hell, she didn’t know what she’d done to rile him up in the first place. How in the world would she figure out how to calm him down again?
“Stop apologizing for everything.” Geno grasped her shoulders and turned her around.
Wynter brought her hands up, the instinct to protect herself too strong to keep her from flinching away.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Geno dropped his hands from her shoulders as though she’d burned him. “I will never raise my hand to you, or any woman in anger.” He pressed his lips together. “I wish your husband was still alive. If he were, I’d beat him to within an inch of his life.”
“Why do men always react with violence?” The words were out before she could stop them. Wynter clapped a hand over her mouth and stared up at Geno, her eyes wide. “I-I—“
“Stop this, Wynter.” He held his hand out, palm up, and rested the other over his heart. “I will never purposely harm you. I swear it.”
She stared at his outstretched hand and wondered if he truly meant what he said. Her stomach twisted at the thought that he could be just like Ben. What if his words meant nothing?
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said as she continued to stare at the large hand before her. “I’m sorry.”
If Wynter lived to be a hundred, she would never know what possessed her as she heard those two words. Three years before, they would have been innocuous, but not now.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you ever say, ”I’m sorry.” They’re meaningless words.” How many times had Ben said that after he’d beaten her up only to beat her up again the next time he got drunk?
When Geno grasped her shoulders and drew her to him, something inside her snapped. Wynter swung blindly, her fists punching his face, his chest, everywhere she could reach.
A part of her mind knew that what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn’t stop herself. Of all the times she’d wanted to strike out at Ben, she’d never had the courage.
For some reason now, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from working out the anger she’d held inside for so long.
Wynter wasn’t sure when she noticed it, but at some point, she finally realized what she was doing and that Geno wasn’t doing anything to defend himself. He merely held her at arm’s length and let her hit him repeatedly. There was no anger on his face, only acceptance and something else, sorrow perhaps.
Appalled at her actions, Wynter pulled away from him, put her hands to her face and sobbed. “Oh, my God. Please forgive me. I don’t know what came over me. I’m not a violent person. I swear, I’m not.”
It was those scientists’ fault. They had turned her into a monster!
“Shh... takana. I understand.”
He drew her close again, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned into his warmth, too tired to do much else. She sighed against his shoulder, her muscles trembling with exertion.
“It’s okay. I’m not angry or hurt.”
“No. It’s not okay.” She shook her head and tried to step away again. “That kind of behavior is never okay.” She pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. “I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never done anything like that before in my life. I’ve become some sort of monster.”
“With what you’ve been through lately, I don’t blame you for striking out at me. I’m convenient, and you needed to let it out.”
“That’s no excuse.” She pulled away and turned around. How could she look him in the eyes again after this? She’d never been so ashamed of herself. She was no better than Ben with her violent behavior.
Maybe there was something in the injection they gave her—the one that had changed her into a wolf.
“Could my being changed into a werewolf have caused me to do that?” God, Wynter never would have thought she’d ever say that phrase in her life. Goodness knew she was grasping at straws but weren’t wolves brutal in their own way—especially werewolves?
“I suppose it could have raised your aggression a bit.” Geno was quiet for a moment before heaving a deep sigh. “But even if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that the stress you’ve been under caused it. It’s obvious you’ve been through a lot, and you’re exhausted. People have been known to do a lot worse under stress.”
“Not me.” She laughed a little hysterically. What was she even saying? Had she actually turned into a wolf yesterday? “Usually not me, anyway. Not before...” Wynter pressed her hands to her head. “What am I going to do? I can’t live like this, and I certainly can’t take care of children.” She shook her head. “Not in my condition. I could harm them.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I MIGHT NOT KNOW YOU very well, but I can’t believe you would ever harm those children.” Geno gestured toward the bedrooms before he grasped her arm and led her back to the table. “Sit here, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. As I said before, you’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks. Try to clear your mind and relax for a minute.”
Geno’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket. It took him a moment to decipher his son’s text message.
“Ronin’s asking for the vehicle’s identification number. You said you had it, correct?”
“Yes.” She glanced at her phone, brought up the email program, opened a message, and then handed the phone to him.
“You sent this to yourself?” He grinned at her. “Good thinking.” He took a moment to type the information into his device and then pressed send.
“I would have texted it to myself, but I couldn’t figure out how to do that. Luckily, the internet wasn’t as difficult to manage. I used to send emails to myself at work all the time.” Elbow on the table, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “I hope those nuts can’t track me through my email.” She frowned. “They have all of my stuff. My purse, my phone. Hell, they could be in my house checking my computer for all we know.” Wide-eyed, she straightened in her seat and put her hand to her throat. “You don’t think they can track me that way, do you?”
Wooing Wynter Page 9
