"Ashley," he answered, referring to Ashley Moretti, who was Heidi's best friend, and his wannabe girlfriend. "Since you got your ass kicked by a chick and then let her steal my General Tso's"—he shot me a quick glare—"I'm taking my sweetness out." Finished texting, he met my eyes. "You staying here?"
I nodded, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe. "Yeah, but I'll be going out later. Heidi gets off at eleven, and it's my last chance to see her before I go on shift tomorrow."
A look I couldn't read spread across his face.
Silence fell between us.
Then, "I like Heidi," he mumbled. "She's feisty but sweet, and the way she takes care of Ashley…" He shook his head, his voice trailing off. "Nevermind. I just think she'd be good for you." He smirked. "If you can convince her to give you a chance."
"She'll give me a chance," I stated. "I'm not giving her any other choice."
"Good." He turned and headed toward the living room.
I wasn't finished with him yet though. "Chase, hold up." He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. "Be careful tonight, and stay out of trouble…"
For once, I mentally added.
The smile that spread across his face was huge. "Not making any promises."
I smirked. "Course not."
My shoulders stiffened when his smile disappeared.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing." He was lying. Something sure as hell was wrong. Just what that something was, I didn't have a clue. "It's just…" He turned, facing me before continuing. "You realize you're not that person anymore, right?"
I cleared my throat. "I'll always be that person. It doesn't matter how much I've changed, that special breed of darkness still lives inside me, and it ain't never leaving."
Brows furrowed, he shook his head. "You're wrong."
"Chase—"
"You're not our old man, Ty. You never have been, and you never will be."
I nodded. "I sure as hell hope you're right."
"I am," he fired back confidently. "Trust me." His smile returned. "Love you, dickhead. I'll call and check in later."
Without saying another word, he turned and walked out the door, taking a chunk of my fucked-up heart with him.
Three
Heidi
It was a quarter after eleven.
Phone in hand, I stood in the back hallway of the shelter, my eyes fixated on the message that flashed across the screen.
Be down in twenty minutes to walk you out, Chris, one of the shelter's security guards, had texted me seconds earlier. Have to handle something first.
I huffed in annoyance.
Over twenty minutes had passed since I'd sent him a message, requesting an escort to my car. Until that moment, he hadn't bothered to respond and now he wanted me to keep waiting?
That wasn't happening.
Dead on my feet after working a double, I was going home, the consequences for leaving alone be damned.
Not waiting, I texted back. Leaving now.
Tossing my phone into my purse, I pulled out my keys and headed for the exit. There was no doubt in my mind that Chris would chase me down and chew me out if he caught up to me.
I also knew he'd report my breaking protocol to my boss, Charlotte, along with my overprotective older sister, Carissa, who also worked at the shelter.
Both would rip me a new one, I knew that, but the exhaustion fogging my brain overrode any common sense I had.
Reaching the exit, I peeked over my shoulder, checking that none of my co-workers had seen me ready to walk out all by my lonesome.
Thankfully, they hadn't.
In the clear, I pushed the door open and slipped out.
The moment I stepped into the darkness that hugged the west side of the building, the humid Georgia night air greeted me, bathing my skin in drops of sticky moisture. Already sweating, I clutched my keys tight and started to move.
My legs were heavy, and my steps clumsy as I made my way down the concrete ramp that led to the gravel parking lot where my car sat.
Mentally exhausted, the trepidation that normally possessed me was absent.
I always dreaded being outside of the shelter alone.
Especially at night.
Thanks to the recent meth boom, the sleepy southern town where I'd grown up had morphed into a hellhole I no longer recognized.
Dealers, pimps, you name it, the streets of Toluca had it. Over the past five years, the crime rate had skyrocketed. The local police department was doing their best to combat it, but they were losing ground. Fast.
It broke my heart to witness.
I was less than twenty feet from my car when an eerie awareness climbed the length of my spine and embedded itself in the base of my skull. My skin prickled with goosebumps as a modicum of fear churned in the pit of my belly.
Swallowing around the lump that had formed in my throat, I popped the cap off the travel-sized can of pepper spray hanging from my key ring and pressed my index finger over the small trigger, ready to aim and spray if the need arose.
I held the can tight as I sped up my steps, breaking out into a jog. Reaching my car, I released the pepper spray and slipped my key into the lock. I'd just turned my wrist when strong hands landed on each side of my hips.
I screamed as I was spun around, losing my pepper spray in the process.
Terrified, I looked up.
Shrouded in darkness, I couldn't see the face of the person before me. All I could make out was the outline of their body as they stood stock-still, their large frame less than two feet from my much smaller one.
Without a weapon to defend myself, I let my instincts take over as my fight-or-flight response kicked in. Without thinking, I lifted my right arm, curled my fingers toward my palm, and thrust my hand upward.
Right before it made contact with my attacker, I breathed in the scent of their cologne. Familiarity, along with instant regret swamped me, and my mind screamed at me to drop my arm.
But it was too late.
Momentum carried my hand forward, and the heel of my palm slammed into his nose, cracking bone and drawing blood.
He stumbled backward, adding to the space between us. A slew of garbled syllables flew from his mouth, and though I couldn't decipher a thing he said, I knew he was cussing up a storm.
Not that I blamed him.
If someone clocked me in the face, I'd cuss too. Though, to be fair, he should've known better than to sneak up on me from behind, much less touch me.
"I'm sorry!" I nearly yelled, my eyes misting with tears of regret. I wasn't a violent person, and I couldn't stand the thought of hurting someone else. Well, most people anyway. "I swear I didn't mean to hit you!"
That was sort of the truth.
I had meant to hit him.
I just hadn't known it was him I was striking.
"You scared me half to death! I didn't—" I stopped speaking when the pole light above us flickered, coming to life and bathing the dark lot in white light.
I blinked, the harshness of the large bulb momentarily blinding me.
My hands flew to my mouth in shock when I got my first good look at the person I'd assaulted. "Oh God," I mumbled, staring at the blood that trickled from his nose in a steady stream.
No longer trusting my voice to remain steady, I pulled my hands from my face. Knowing he'd understand what I was saying, I quickly signed, So sorry.
I waited with bated breath for him to either mouth or sign a reply.
To my disdain, he remained mute, his full lips and strong hands unmoving.
My chest tightened.
Tears threatened.
Shaking my head the slightest bit, I fished a small packet of tissues out of my purse. Pulling a few free of the plastic sleeve they came in, I stepped forward and pressed them to his nose, catching the blood that cascaded down his face.
The regret swirling inside me increased as he remained silent, his face and hands motionless. "Say something," I said, no longer caring i
f my words were shaky or if I was speaking too loudly. "I know you're dying to rip me a new one for cracking your nose."
Despite the anger I knew was brewing inside him, amusement danced in his eyes. I didn't understand it, but he liked it when I got sassy. He'd once told me he craved the attitude I often slung his way like a drug. If you ask me, the man was plumb damn crazy.
Though, judging by the way my heart sped up whenever he was near, I liked his brand of crazy.
A lot.
Still, that was a road I would never allow myself to travel.
Not with him, the man I feared had the power to break my heart into billions of jagged little pieces if I let him.
It didn't matter that my heart begged for me to pull him closer. Nor did it matter that my body screamed for his touch. The only thing that mattered was the warning the voice in my head shouted each time I felt myself slipping into his waiting hands.
Don't forget what he's capable of, it said.
Pushing the dark thoughts aside, I stared into the most enthralling eyes I'd ever seen. Eyes which belonged to Ty Jacobs, the man who'd been pursuing me for the past year even though I pushed him away at every turn.
Hot-tempered and foul-mouthed, he was one of the orneriest men to grace the state of Georgia. Though he'd never directed said temper at me, I'd witnessed it enough times to realize that beneath his sexy-as-sin exterior, he was someone I needed to stay away from.
Even if part of me didn't want to.
Besides, his temper wasn't the only reason I needed to keep my distance.
We were complete opposites.
We had zero in common.
As a kid, he'd been a bully who'd tortured others without mercy, whereas I'd been tormented to within an inch of my sanity. Thanks to the hearing aids I wore daily, I'd spent my entire childhood being a proverbial punching bag for people just like him.
Like fire and gasoline, we had no business mixing.
Did that stop him from coming after me?
Absolutely not.
It didn't matter though. No matter how hard he chased me, I'd never give in. He may have sworn that one day I'd be his, but I had news for him.
He. Was. Wrong.
His silence persisted as the air between us grew thicker with each second that ticked by. Before long, my chest was heaving from the force of my breaths as I fought to pull in enough oxygen to keep my head from spinning.
Like every other time I was in Ty's presence, my emotions dipped and swirled like a tropical storm about to make landfall, rapidly changing from one to the next in the space of a heartbeat.
Not only did it knock me off-kilter but the loose grip I had on my control each time he was near made me crazy. Hot, cold, up, down—I didn't know my well-rounded behind from a hole in the ground when his heated gaze was locked on me.
It was ridiculous.
Needing to anchor myself, I moved back a step and leaned against the side of my car. The cool bite of the polished metal bled through the cotton sundress I wore, bringing relief to my overheated skin.
Resting my free hand on my hip, I raked my appreciative gaze over him, drinking in every delicious inch of his frame. Ill-tempered or not, Ty was the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on.
Sporting short, cropped blond hair, his eyes were cobalt blue, his skin sun-kissed. Rippling abs adorned his torso, and his shoulders were broad. Thick thighs, bulging biceps, and strong forearms rounded out his muscle-stacked look.
It was a look which made me feel petite, something I wasn't.
Though I wasn't fat, I wasn't tiny either.
Like my older sister, my curves were plentiful.
So was the cellulite covering my thighs.
Did that bother me? Not one iota.
I may have jiggled more than the next woman, but after spending years of crying over my reflection, I'd made my peace with my body. Feeling insecure over how I looked wasn't something I would ever allow myself to experience again.
Pulling my eyes from his wide, shirt-covered chest, I looked up.
Our gazes locked.
Heart slamming against my chest, I sucked in a small breath.
Not missing my reaction, Ty smirked.
Feigning indifference, I rolled my eyes and signed, Are you going to talk? If not, I'm leaving. I'm exhausted.
His jaw ticked, though I didn't have a clue why.
My back snapped straight when he moved forward, bringing his body within inches of mine. Without saying a word, he pulled the soiled tissues from my hand and wiped the blood that remained off his face. When the flow had stopped, I wasn't sure. I'd been too busy drooling over his body to pay attention to his runway-worthy face.
It was a good thing I didn't have a clear view of his behind.
Every time I caught a glimpse of his butt, my ability to form cohesive thoughts vanished.
The man's tush was my brain's kryptonite.
After shoving the blood-soaked tissues into his pocket, he used both hands to push my shoulder-length black hair from my face. A shiver raced down my spine when his fingertips traced the shells of my ears.
First one.
Then the other.
Dipping his face closer to mine, he trailed a scarred knuckle down one of my cheeks while brushing his thumb across my bottom lip.
My belly flipped.
His gaze moved from my eyes to my ears, then back to my eyes once more. Pinching my chin the slightest bit, he pulled my face down. I recognized his unspoken request and dropped my stare to his lips, ready to read the words he was about to speak. "Where are your hearing aids?"
I lifted my hands to reply, but he grabbed my wrists, stopping me before I could sign a thing.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I want your voice, Angel." As hard as I tried to guard myself around him, his sweet words combined with the term of endearment did funny things to my heart. "Give it to me, sweetheart. Don’t make me beg."
A sly smile spread across his handsome face, and before I could stop them, the words tumbled from my lips. "In my purse. They irritate my ears if I keep them in too long. I worked a double today, so I've had them in since this morning."
His jaw ticked. "You always walk out without a security escort? Those assholes aren't supposed to let any of the women leave alone."
Ty knew all about the shelter's security protocol because he worked with me.
Well, sort of.
When he wasn't working at the fire station, he worked for First Defense Transport, a private security and transportation company that was owned by his grandfather.
First Defense provided free transportation for the shelter's residents, taking them to and from wherever they needed to go, including doctor's appointments, meetings at legal aid, or trips to the courthouse.
They were an amazing company who did even more amazing things.
For that, they had my eternal gratitude.
"I—"
"They're not supposed to leave you alone especially," he said. "You're not like everyone else. You're vulnerable, Heidi."
His words cut me deep.
Grasping hold of the hurt that flared to life inside me, I placed my palms on his granite-like chest and shoved him backward. Traitorous tears filled my eyes as every butterfly he'd brought to life only seconds before turned to ash.
I was well aware that I wasn't like everyone else.
I couldn't hear well, and I talked funny.
Both were truths that acted as fuel for the bullies who’d terrorized me for years, and though I knew Ty's words came from a place of concern rather than cruelty, they still hurt all the same.
It may seem stupid to most, but the fact that he saw me as vulnerable because of what he perceived to be a disability, instead of the strong woman I'd fought like hell to become crushed me.
Intentional or not, his words made me feel like I was less, and I was done feeling that way.
Sliding the shield I wore like a second skin into place, I blinked back my tears. My heart may h
ave been twisting in my chest, but I'd be damned if I let him know it.
Don't worry, I signed, refusing to speak. I've survived for twenty-three years without a problem. I'm sure I'll make it a few more just fine.
Done with him, as well as the conversation, I grabbed my keys off the ground, popped open the car door and dropped into the seat. A second later, I slid the key into the ignition and started the engine. I was about to slam the door closed when Ty wedged his big body in the way, blocking me from doing so.
Kneeling, he cupped my chin and turned my face to meet his.
Lips thinned, I glared at him, hiding every bit of hurt that welled up in my throat.
"You know”—he spoke slowly, allowing me to read his lips—"I didn't mean those words the way you took them."
My hands moved quickly. It doesn't matter.
His gaze moved to my face. "The hell it doesn't."
I pulled my chin free of his grasp. "I realize you didn't mean to be harsh," I said aloud, needing my tone to convey every ounce of the anger I felt. "But Ty, I'm about to let you in on a little secret." The smile I wore was fake as could be. "I am a whole lot more than deaf, and quite frankly, I am downright tired of people looking at me and only seeing a pair of hearing aids."
"Heidi—"
I pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.
"Being deaf does not make me vulnerable." Others may have thought so, but in my eyes, it didn't. "And it sure as hell doesn't make me less." I dipped my gaze to his swollen nose and the black circles already forming under his eyes. "The next time you think it does, remember that it was Hardly Hearin' Heidi who cracked your nose in one shot." The vicious childhood nickname tasted like acid as it rolled off my tongue, killing my willingness to speak any longer.
Ty's entire body stiffened. "That name… who called you that?"
More than ready to escape him and the feelings rapidly bombarding me, I ignored his question and shifted the car into drive. When he didn't move, I glared in his direction once more and lifted my hands. Are you going to move? Or would you prefer I run you over?
"I'll move as soon as you agree to let me take you out."
I plastered on a bored expression, ignoring the way my stupid belly flipped. Not happening, I signed. Ever.
Every Wrong You Right: A Redeeming Love Novel (Book 6) Page 3
