Page 42 of The Retaliation You Deliver

He might think I’m scared of the darkness within him, but the reality is, I’ve never wanted to dive in and lose myself more in my life.

The parts of him he considers broken speak to mine and drag out the girl I’ve spent all these years trying to hide.

My cell vibrates in my purse as Leon begins to march around the front of the car to get me.

Quickly, I flip my purse open and pull my cell out.

Letty: I know you probably hate me right now, but you need this. You both do. Fight like hell, girl. He deserves all your wrath and anger.

I can’t help but laugh at her words. Yeah, I want to hate her, but I also trust her. Now that I know a little background on her and Kane, and how well she knows Leon, I trust her even more.

I just hope that she’s right and that after tonight, things might go back to making more sense once more.

He rips my door open and stares down at me with my cell in my hand.

“You’re not calling for help,” he spits, yanking it from my fingers.

He stares down at the screen and laughs.

“She’s right,” he mutters. “I really do fucking need this. Get out.”

He wraps his hand around my upper arm and drags me from the car.

“Fix your dress. You look like a cheap whore. This place only welcomes exclusive ones.”

My chin drops in shock at his words.

“Then maybe you should go and find one of those.”

His fingers grasp my chin once more, his grip painful as he glares down into my eyes.

“Maybe that’s my plan. Maybe there’s already one waiting for me and you get to watch.”

All the air comes rushing from my lungs and tears burn the backs of my eyes. But it’s not his words that affect me, my reaction is purely from the thought of him being with someone else. I hate it, and I hate myself for my reaction because I shouldn’t care.

“We’d better hope you don’t have performance issues again then, won't we?” The words slip from my mouth without instruction from my brain.

His eyes darken as his nostrils flare.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Macie.”

“I’m not the weak little girl everyone thinks I am, Leon,” I hiss. “Our paths might not totally align, but we’ve both fought our way through one way or another. It’ll take more than a few harsh words from you to break me down.”

“Good. I’d be bored if it were that easy.”

He gives me ten seconds to right my dress seeing as I’m moments from flashing anyone who could be looking our way then he reaches out and takes my hand in his.

I fight my reaction to his simple touch, my arm burns with heat at his harsh grip.

“Don’t say a word,” he warns as we step into the fancy hotel.

I’m used to wealth, I’ve grown up having money thrown at me in the hope it’ll keep me at arms length but even still my eyes widen at the luxurious red and gold decoration along with the ornately carved pillars and furniture.

Leon walks me right up to the reception desk and hands over a black and gold card.

“Good evening, Mr. Dunn. I hope you’re well,” the receptionist says, holding his eyes and smiling. She’s probably well into her forties but still, she doesn’t seem to have any problem trying her luck with him.

“I’m great, thank you, Whitney.” The smile he flashes her sends a wave of jealousy through me. I haven’t seen him smile since we arrived at my uncle’s on Thursday and I hadn’t realized until this moment how much I missed it. “We’ll just need the room for the night.”