Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,173

understand.”

I reached out and took his hand, intertwining my fingers with his. He flinched and tried to move away, but I kept my hand on his, not letting him. I knew all about pushing people away and I knew that sometimes those were the times you wanted and needed to connect the most.

Colt took a deep breath and I felt his fingers tighten around mine. When he began to talk, his voice was deep and controlled. “My dad, he bought Loose Cannons before I was even born, with money he borrowed. He had to go down to the bank and beg for a loan. It was his dream, though, to own a restaurant. And it was a restaurant, back in the day.” He paused and I could see the pain on his face, more intense than it had been even just a few minutes ago. “But then my parents died. Half of the restaurant was left to me, when I turned twenty-three, and half was left to my uncle.”

“And what? Your uncle turned it into a strip club?”

“No, Olivia, he turned it into a fucking prostitution ring and a drug den.” I could hear the anger in his voice as he spoke, and I sucked in a breath. “I knew it was wrong, even when I was growing up, you know? Even when I was a teenager, I knew it was… not right, what they were doing. But if I brought it up or tried to push back, they beat me.”

“Your uncle?”

“My uncle. His friends. Whoever.”

I closed my eyes and let his words wash over me. I wasn’t going to say I was sorry that happened to him, because words like that were hollow and shallow and meant nothing. I hated when people told me they were sorry about what had happened to me, like they had something to do with it. All they really meant was that they were glad it hadn’t happened to them.

“So now you know,” he said. “Now you know that those things the FBI agent said were true, that there are drugs and prostitution and probably all kinds of other shit going. And that, Olivia, is why you should stay the hell away from me.”

“Why?” I swallowed and then I said the thing people always said to me, the thing that was the hardest to believe. “You were a kid, Colt, it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it.”

“I could have tried harder.”

“And got beat more?” I shook my head. “No. You were a child, a teenager, what happened to your dad’s club…it’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault but your uncle’s.”

“Anyway,” Colt said, and his eyes were glassy now as he stared at the floor. “Call that FBI agent, Olivia. Tell him you’ll work with him.”

“Colt,” I said, and my voice cracked.

He turned to look at me. “What?” The pain in his eyes was so raw, so dark, so aching. I’d never seen anything like it, and I’d seen more than my share of pain in my life.

“You can make it right.”

His shoulders sagged and his eyes were still welling with emotion, and it was the first time I’d seen him like this, the first time I’d seen him looking like he was anything but completely in control. His normal cockiness and easy arrogance were gone, replaced with a tremulous vulnerability.

He reached for me, pulled me toward him and back down onto the bed, his mouth on mine, kissing me, slower this time, but with that same hungry intensity.

He wrapped me back up in the blanket, our legs intertwining under the covers.

We were silent for a long time, and I thought he’d fallen asleep.

But then he spoke. “You’re right,” he said softly.

“What?”

“About making it right. I’m going to put a stop to it.”

My head was against his chest, and I could feel his heartbeat, steady and strong, and I knew he was telling the truth.

I wanted to tell him I would be right there with him, that I would stand by him, that I would help him and support him in whatever way I could.

It made no sense to make a promise like that. And yet I had never meant anything more in my life.

But I was afraid he would tell me no, that he would refuse, that he would tell me I needed to stay away from him again.

So I stayed quiet.

A moment later, he was asleep, and after a while, so was I.

Colt held me tight through the night.

I stirred