Page 27 of The Vigilante's Heart

“Hey, I was ju-,” she cuts herself off as she gets a good look at me, her eyes scanning every part of my body. “Why do you have blood on you again?”

“It’s not much, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.” I go to move past her and up the stairs.

“It’s not nothing, Bennett. This is the second time in a week that you’ve come home with blood on you that isn’t yours. What the hell is going on?”

“Peyton, I’m fine. I need you to trust me, okay?” I can’t tell her this. I can’t bring her into this part of my life. She’s too perfect, too good to ever risk tarnishing.

“Trust you? How can I trust you when you won’t tell me what’s going on? You go out in the middle of the night and come back soaked in blood. Now, you’ve been gone most of the evening, and you have blood on you again, but I’m just supposed to smile and nod and act like that’s normal?”

“Yes,” I grit as I make my way upstairs.

“We’re not finished with this conversation, Bennett,” she calls after me.

“Yes, we are.”

Chapter Seventeen

She let him touch her. Fuck her. I stood there and watched as she allowed another man’s hands on her, as she moaned his name. She doesn’t realize she’s mine; she will soon.

Chapter Eighteen

Peyton

Are you home?

I message Harry as I begin throwing a few items into an overnight bag. There is no way I’m staying here tonight. He might think he can get away with talking to me like that and not giving me any answers, but he can think again.

Yeah, girl.What’s up?

I’m staying with you tonight

Drive safe, use your key. Love you

I hear the shower turn off as I put the last item in, I don’t have long before he’ll be out, there’s no way he won’t make it difficult for me to leave if he sees. I need to be gone before he walks out of the bathroom. Grabbing my bag and D’Artagnan, I run down the stairs and grab my keys off the table in the foyer, hightailing it out of the house and slamming the door behind me in my rush. I see the front door open again as I start the engine.

“Peyton!” His voice is muffled through the car, but I still hear him and the anger behind his words. Hitting the gas, my car shoots down the driveway, leaving him in a wake of dust; a towel still around his waist and his hair dripping water.

I ignore the look of absolute devastation on his face.

***

“And he still won’t tell you what it’s from?” Harry frowns at me.

“He won’t tell me anything. He says it’s nothing to worry about and to trust him.” We’re both sitting on his couch, my feet resting in his lap and D’Artagnan stretched out on my legs.

“Yeah, that’s not going to fly with you.”

“I’m not sure it would fly with anyone. Harry, he’s come home with blood on him — not his blood — twice, and he won’t tell me why.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of a red flag.”

“Kind of? What planet are you living on? He could be out there killing people for all I know.”

“Let’s not be overly dramatic, darling.” My phone rings again for the seventh time since I left the house. “You’re going to have to answer him at some point. You can’t ignore him forever, especially not a man like him.”

“I’ll answer him when he decides to talk to me.”

Harry bursts out laughing. “You realize how stupid that sounded, right? He is literally calling you to try and talk to you.”