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His Doll Face.

She was never supposed to be there.

She was never supposed to see what he did to protect people.

Her face was filled with fear as she dropped a basket of sweet breads. Turning, she ran from him.

He chased her without thinking, leaving his men behind.

Men he’d never see again.

His woman, in her frantic attempt at escape, ran off the path and onto the grass. Nearing the gate, she stepped on a landmine.

The blast blew Z back and knocked him unconscious. The detonation triggered another set of explosives wired to bring down the warehouse.

Z’s instincts were correct; the man had a lot to hide.

Z never told anyone what had really happened. He was hailed a hero when backup found him unconscious.

His actions, lies, and mistakes all weighed heavily on him.

When he began seeing me at events, his obsession started. My tanned skin, long, dark hair and sweet nature reminded him of her.

But it was my scent that broke him.

His Doll Face loved to bake for her large family. Z would climb into her bed after a bad day, and the scent of vanilla would fill his nose, calming him.

*******

I knew no one else felt any pity for Z. He’d hurt people and committed murder. On top of the emotional pain he’d caused, he’d almost killed me as he tried to hurt me in one of the worst ways you could.

In spite of all that, I mourned the loss of his Doll Face, his men, and the Z I thought I’d known.

The Z he could’ve been.

*******

When the nightmares started, Jake put his foot down about me seeing a professional counselor. Since I knew I needed it, I didn’t fight him.

It was hard to keep reliving what had happened, but my mind was doing it whether I wanted it to or not. At least when I went over it during therapy, I received the tools I needed to cope and move on.

Jake, just like Kase, felt incredible guilt for not protecting me. He knew I’d never have gone home alone had he not said such awful things.

While that may have been true, I explained that Z had intentionally goaded him into pushing me too far. He promised he’d try to tamp down his possessiveness, and I promised to keep being patient.

Keeping his word, I did the cake for Static in the Sun’s album drop party without a peep from Jake. It probably helped that Blake Green was freaked way the fuck out and wanted nothing to do with me.

Having a crazy dude use you in his plot to kidnap a chick would calm anyone’s shit down.

Jake understood why I’d been so harsh when I’d been forced to break up with him. However, I also knew the stuff that Z had made me say was real. They were insecurities Jake had and they ran deep. My vulnerable badass worried that I’d leave him and I knew that fear wouldn’t disappear overnight.

Lucky for him, I was ready to spend every day of my life proving to him how much I loved him. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Jake had wanted to get married right after we left the hospital. I wanted to wait until all the swelling and bruising was gone. It wasn’t a vanity thing.

Okay, it wasn’tjustthat.

I didn’t want to look back at pictures and see the reminder of what had happened. I wanted my wedding day to be brightness with no dark cloud looming over it.