Bury the Hatchet

Chapter Twenty - Bury the Hatchet

HUNTER

Tallie was gone when I woke from my pregame nap. Probably off visiting my brother. Some idiotic part of me had hoped that taking her to lunch with the guys and exposing her to that part of my life would convince her there were other things she could do with her time rather than spend it with Kade, but I'd known better. There had been something in her eyes yesterday when she'd informed me of her decision to go back to see him—a fierce sense of determination or something. No point in me getting my hopes up that she would come to her senses just because I took her to hang out with a bunch of crass guys she didn't know.

I fixed myself a toasted bagel with peanut butter while I waited for her to come home. I was still sitting at the bar, eating, when she came in through the garage door, head down. And fucking sniffling.

"What happened?" I demanded. My right hand clenched into a fist, almost of its own volition. The next time I saw Kade...

Tallie shook her head.

That wasn't good enough for me. Not by a mile. I tossed what was left of my bagel back on the saucer, got up, and went to her, tipping her chin up so she had to look at me. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she'd been crying the whole way home from the rehab center. Every protective bone in my body was on high alert. I wanted to bash my brother's face in for whatever he'd done to my wife.

But first, I needed to know what that was. "Tell me," I coaxed.

"It's not important." Even as she said it, a fat tear welled in her eye and dripped down her cheek.

Anything that made her cry was important to me. That was another worrying thought. I seemed to be having those more and more frequently. Was I getting that close to her, or was it just because I knew that—whatever the specifics behind her tears might be—Kade was involved? This was exactly why I'd wanted to keep her away from him, exactly why I'd wanted to prevent him from being able to hurt her the way he'd hurt everyone else in his sorry life.

I brushed her tear away with the pad of my thumb, debating what to do. "Did he tell you more lies about me and Carrie?" I asked. That had to be it, didn't it? I knew he'd fill her head with all sorts of things that I'd have to clear up later.

"No, it wasn't Kade at all. I barely even made it in to see him."

That threw me so much that my muscles went tense from the surprise. "Then what?"

Tallie shook her head and tried to shove past me. Her purse slipped down from her shoulder, hooking on her elbow and jerking her arm down, and she flinched. I couldn't handle her walking away from me right now without knowing what was behind her tears. I reached out to stop her, putting a hand on her upper arm.

"Oh!" she cried out. It was a sharp, pained sound, and she ripped her arm away from me in a move of self-preservation if ever I'd seen one.

I hadn't put very much force at all in my grip—only enough to slow her down—but she'd acted like I'd bruised her.

And I knew someone who had bruised her arms before. Lance Motherfucking Benton.

"Tell me this isn't what I think it is," I said, my voice low and far more controlled than I felt on the inside. Inside, I was a ticking time bomb, ready to blow.

She went into the kitchen and put her bag on the counter, silent other than her sniffles.

"Can I see your arm?" I asked, following her.

"Do you need to?"

Yes, I damned well needed to. So I could catalog every fucking fingerprint he'd left on her body. So I could memorize every detail of how he'd grabbed her. So I could be sure my rage ratcheted up to an appropriate level the next time I saw his scrawny ass.