Page 20 of Clash

“Because I know she’s lying. How can I be her biggest blessing, if I make her mad sometimes?”

The smile that warmed my face felt infectious. This kid was absolutely adorable. “I make her mad sometimes, too.”

Alex nodded his head. “Like last night when you made her cry.”

The playfulness of our conversation stopped existing in that moment, guilt taking over me.

“Alex, do you know what I said or did to make your mommy cry?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He sat there and pondered a moment, and then covered his mouth, a cute little giggle trickling out from behind his hand. “I did wake up and see you kissing her, which is silly because you’re not my daddy and only Daddy should be kissing her.”

Shit! I kissed her last night? Fuck, what the hell else did I do?I couldn’t remember anything, and the fact I couldn’t recall our first kiss was maddening.

Before I could prod Alex for more information, Gina stirred on the bed, making him scamper over to her.

“Mommy! Mr. Clash is awake. He wasn’t dead like I thought.”

Gina’s beautiful slate-colored eyes met mine, and my heart sped up just a tad.

“Glad to see you alive,” she said cautiously.

“Are you?”

She shrugged. “Well, you dying doesn’t help me or Alex get out of here any quicker. So yeah, I’m glad to see you’re not dead.”

Without thinking, I blurted out, “Did your husband hit you with a belt?”

A look of confusion skipped through her eyes, but then she looked down at her son, realizing why I was asking it out of the blue.

“Alex!”

Alex glanced her way, the innocence in his eyes shimmered and danced around his iris. “What?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong? See, Mr. Clash? She gets mad at me a lot.”

Gina shot me a look, one that was cautious and a little timid. “I’m not mad at you, Alex. I just don’t like you telling strangers things about our old home.”

“So, your ex did hit you with a belt?”

Her shoulders lifted with indifference. “It’s in the past.”

“Gina.” My tone was clipped and full of persecution. “You can talk to me. I know we don’t know each other well, but you can open up to me about your past.”

She shifted nervously on the bed, but remained silent for a few minutes before speaking again. “Thanks, but we’re okay now, Clash. I appreciate your concern.”

I was more than concerned. I was ready to spill his blood and not even think twice about it.

“Alex, why don’t you go upstairs and go to the bathroom?”

“Okay, Mommy.” He gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek before skipping up the stairs.

“I left him for a reason,” she quietly said, gasping when she realized I had crossed the room and was standing right beside her, my heart stammering inside my chest, the rage building.

“Stand up,” I ordered her.

“What?”

“Stand up…” It was a forceful request, one that I immediately fixed. “Please,” I asked, softening my tone.

She reluctantly got to her feet, staring up at me with the biggest look of dread.