Page 186 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two

“You will not wake the kids, Shae,” he grinds out, pulling me close to him with gentle yet firm hands. “You’re coming to my room, where you’ll sleep in my bed, and we’ll figure out the rest later.”

What!

“Figure out the rest! You’re out of your mi?—”

He suffocates my screams when he presses his lips to mine, holding my face to his firmly, but not painfully.

I count the seconds in my head, trying to grab hold ofsomethingso that I don’t fall into Storm’s vortex of power.

This is the man I love.

This is the man I love, and I can’t resist him, even when I should.

I let go, falling silent in his arms, and he pulls away from me, resting his forehead against mine. Then, we’re moving—cradled in his arms bridal-style, he takes steady steps until my back hits his mattress.

I go still, closing my eyes, and all I can think is: The man was innocent. And the man I love killed him in cold blood.

Tears fall into the shell of my ears, so I slide my eyes closed. My face burns.

Nothing feels real; everything feels off, as if I fell into the uncanny valley, where things look the same, but just one shift off center.

This is the man I love, and he has the blood of three people on his hands just from tonight.

Including one man who didn’t deserve it.

“Why, Storm?” I whisper, still finding comfort in the darkness behind my eyelids. “Why did you do that?”

“Why does it matter?” His voice comes from nearby, and I sense his body next to my thigh, as if he were sitting on the mattress.

“Why does it matter? It’s because he didn’t do anything!” I say, breaths catching in my chest. My eyes spring open when he shifts, and before I know it, he’s right there in my face, hovering over me.

“You destroyed a man—killed him—because he failed to meetyourstandards?—”

“My standards? Shae, you almostdied!” He shouts inches from my face, and I’m so stunned by the force of his words that I go mute.

Then, my anger gathers like a ball I’m about to lob into the net.

“Yes! IknowI almost died, Storm. Trust me, I was there and I have the wounds to prove it. But it’s not about that!”

“Shae—”

“It’s about the fact that you decided to kill someone because of your feelings, not your logic.”

“I was being very logical,” he cuts in.

“You decided he should die because he failed you. Not because he was guilty. Because he disappointed you.”

“Shae, I swear to g?—”

“You let the cold, heartless side of you take over and make decisions, just like you did eight years ago when you threw me away!”

I choke back a sob, startled by my words, by my connections, until they’re out of my mouth. I’m upset that he killed Bakari, and his death will haunt me for a long, long time.

But I’m more upset about the reasons why he did it—how he was able to do it.

The Storm Sandoval I know is loving, feels deeply, is protective, and possessive. He’s a man with strong morals, not a heartless murderer.

“What does it say about me if I stay, even knowing you’re capable of this type of cruelty? What does it say about me when Iknow, havelivedin the aftermath of your high-handed decisions? Who would I become if I lived in the constant fear that you’d discard me, destroy me, because you think it’s the right thing to do?”