me?”
Before she can utter any more excuses, I bend, grasping her legs, and lift, tossing her over my shoulder. Olivia lets out a scream.
“Roman! Put me down!”
“Nope.” I pop the p just to be a real son of a bitch. Grasping her keys off her table, I lock the door behind us and cross our lawns.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. We have neighbors, and it’s cold!”
“Should’ve done things my way then, sweetheart.”
“Ugh! Half of my ass is hanging out,” she hisses.
I glance up, and, sure enough, half of her ass cheek is exposed in those little sleep shorts she has on. I swat said cheek and grin when she yelps. Once we get inside the house, I set her down, and she shoots me a glare.
“You’re a Neanderthal, you know that?”
“And you’re stubborn.” I shrug, jutting my hands on my hips.
“You’re such an ass. I hate you.”
“I’ve heard it all before, baby. Now get your ass in the bedroom and start talking, or I really will start losing my shit.”
Olivia deflates. Turning on her heels, she heads into my bedroom, glancing at Ryder’s closed door, as she passes. I follow her, closing the bedroom door softly behind us, and then cross my arms over my chest, waiting for her to talk.
With a tired sigh, Olivia climbs onto my bed and leans against the headboard, avoiding my gaze. “I went to pick up the food for us when I was grabbed from behind. Travis cornered me. The mark is from him grabbing me. I told him he was hurting me, but he was so hung up on me. He was saying all this stuff about me being a tease, and I just…I don’t know. I freaked out.”
My hands curl into fists at my sides. I inhale deep breaths, trying to remain calm, but I can feel the red haze of rage, seeping into my vision. All I want to do is rip the motherfucker apart with my bare hands, for even thinking about touching my girl.
“Did he…?” I grit my teeth, forcing the words out. “Did he do anything else?”
She finally looks at me, a softness entering her eyes, and shakes her head. “No. He didn’t. He, uh, he did try to kiss me, but I kneed him in the groin, and I drove off.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me, Olivia? Jesus Christ.”
“I’m sorry. I freaked out. I didn’t want you to do something stupid. You have Ryder to think about now, and I didn’t want to be the reason anything happened.”
I scrub a rough hand down my face and close the distance between us. I drop down next to her on the bed. She shifts toward me, those hazel eyes searching mine.
“I know I have Ryder to think about now. There’s not a moment when he doesn’t cross my mind, but you mean something to me, Sunshine. You mean more to me than you’ll ever know. I need to know when something like this happens. You have to trust that I’ll be able to put my anger aside and do what’s best for everyone.”
“And what’s that?”
“Kick his fucking ass.”
She rolls her eyes. “Be serious, Roman. Please. There’s nothing we can do.”
Cupping her face in my hand, I graze my thumb along her jaw. “I’m not going to let him get away with putting his hands on you, Olivia. That’s just not going to happen. Be angry. Hate me. I don’t care. But that’s not flying, you understand me? And for future reference, don’t lock yourself away and avoid me, just to keep the truth from me. I can handle it. Whatever it may be.”
Her bottom lip trembles, and tears start slipping down her cheeks in quick succession. “Okay,” she whispers. Something in her eyes gives me pause. Like she wants to say more. I wait her out, but she just rubs her lips together, keeping whatever it is vaulted inside.
“Come here.” I pull her into my arms, and she falls into me.
“I told Samuel about what happened. I was expecting him to be angry with me and think I was lying, but when I showed him my arm, he understood. I haven’t seen Travis since then.”
“Think he’ll try anything else?” At her silence, I tense. “He hasn’t tried anything, has he?”
She sighs. “No, but…I don’t have any proof of it, and I may be far off, but something he said that day when he cornered me. I think he’s the one who broke into my house.”
I tense. Anger fires