Beautiful Surrender (The Surrender Series Book Three) (3 page)

His
body tensed. His arm raised up to strike. I closed my eyes and prepared myself
for the worst. Then suddenly I felt his body relax. Vincent’s arm slowly came
down to his side.

“You
come anywhere near Kristen again and I’ll fucking kill you.”

“You
want us to take him away, boss?” Kurt asked.

Boss?
Why did Kurt just call him boss? How did he know Vincent?

“Wait.”
Vincent gently gripped my waist and moved me to the side. He stepped toward
Marty and grabbed him by the hair lifting his head to stare into his eyes.
“Tell me you understand.”

Marty
gurgled something incomprehensible, his eyes half-dazed.

“Nod
your head if you understand.”

Vincent
released his grip on Marty’s head and Marty nodded faintly.

“Take
care of him,” Vincent said to Kurt.

Kurt
nodded and stooped to pick up Marty’s glasses. He and Bernie dragged Marty off
by the arms toward the stairwell. Marty put up no resistance this time, his
feet dragging along ground.

I
couldn’t believe what Vincent just said. Were they going to murder Marty in
cold blood? Frantically, I asked, “You’re not going to kill him are you?”

Vincent
looked at me intensely; his brows narrowed into sharp lines frightened me. “Of
course not. That was never going to happen. They’ll patch him up and send him
away, and then I’ll have them keep an eye on him to make sure he never comes
back. Kurt and Bernie are pros. You’re safe now.”

“You
almost killed him! What the fuck is wrong with you?” I began to pound on his
chest with my hands, tears forming in my eyes.

He
gripped my arms firmly and stared deep into my eyes. The blazing inferno from
earlier was gone, replaced by an equally fierce tenderness. “I needed to make
sure he wasn’t going to hurt you again.”

“But—”

“Look,
let’s go inside before the neighbors call the police. I’ll explain everything.”

I was
still shaking when Vincent put his arm around my shoulders. He ushered me
inside, stepping on blue petals in the process.

I
entered my apartment with Vincent’s warm arm around my shoulder. My eyes stung
with tears. Thoughts raced through my mind in a swirl. I was flooded with
questions.

He gestured
to the couch to have a seat but I turned to him as soon as he closed the door
behind us. “What the fuck was that Vincent?” I spat. “Why were my neighbors
going badass commando on Marty?”

His
calm facade had returned and he reached out to wipe the tears from my cheek.
“They were the security team I hired to keep an eye on you.”

My
world spun. I could feel the blood draining from my face. I no longer knew what
was real and what wasn’t. “You hired a security team?”

“Yes,
to watch over you. To keep you safe.”

The
neutral tone of his response infuriated me. “What the hell? I thought you were
half-joking about that.”

His
expression became unexpectedly dark. “I’d never joke about something like
that.”

“We
talked about this. I told you I didn’t want one and you agreed to that. That’s
why we went to Grandpa Rambo’s store on the outskirts of town for mace. You
didn’t listen to me. You lied to me.”

He
grimaced. “I did it because I care about you Kristen. It was for your own
protection.”

“My
protection? God. What’s wrong with you? This isn’t the wild west, Vincent.
 Seriously, you almost killed a man today.”

His
mouth was a thin line. “Maybe he deserved it.”

“Jesus,
I feel like I don’t even know you. One minute you’re nice and charming, the
next you’re a violent psychopath. You and your security team beat up a single
man like some kind of goon squad. I was expecting the couple across the hall to
maybe ask for a cup of sugar every now and then, not turn out to be fucking
mercenaries.”

His
features twisted in pain. “Please, Kristen. I’m sorry. I did lie to you but
please understand I had to ensure your safety.”

“Keeping
me safe is one thing. wailing on Marty like some kind of mobster is another.
That crossed a ton of lines. Why didn’t you break his legs with a baseball bat
while you were at it? Or better yet, cut off one of his fingers. How do I know
that’s not what’s happening right now?”

“I know
it seems extreme but believe me, it was necessary. I’ve seen guys like him
before. I know they don’t give up easily. I wouldn’t have gone that far if I
didn’t think it was necessary.”

I put
my hands on my hips. “You’ve seen guys like him before? Where? Some TV show?”

Vincent
sighed deeply. “My sister Giselle had an abusive boyfriend. That’s how I know.”

I
grunted in frustration. He was dropping bomb after bomb on me, destroying
pieces of reality I thought I had a hold on. “Okay. Why didn’t you tell me
about this?”

“I
didn’t feel comfortable talking about it. And I didn’t know if I could trust
you before.”

“Trust
me?” I threw my hands up. “I told you secrets about myself I hadn’t told anyone
and you were holding back on me. What better time were you going to get to tell
me than that night in your apartment when I spilled to you about Marty? But no,
you didn’t trust me, even after I took such a risk by trusting you, Vincent.
How is that supposed to make me feel?”

“I was
focused on your problem, Kristen. I wanted to keep it about you.”

“Showing
me you understood would have been about me, Vincent. Holding out on me while
you made plans about my privacy is about you.”

“You’re
right, Kristen. It was selfish. I’m sorry I didn’t see it that way before. I
was trying to do what I thought was best. Hopefully you see that, even if you
disagree with my actions.” He gently rested his hand on my shoulder.

Despite
enjoying the sensation, I shrugged it off. “I don’t trust you now though. You
lied to me. You fucked Ariel Diamond. You cheated on me. At least Marty never
did that.” I tried shoving him away but he was like a wall. Instead it was me
that fell backward. He grabbed me before I could fall on my ass.

“Hang
on, Kristen. Listen to me,” he growled, raising the hairs on the back of my
neck. “That is all a mistake. The text you saw from Ariel wasn’t what it looked
like.”

“How
gullible do you think I am? What else could it mean? It was pretty clear: she
liked riding your cock,” I spat. The words tasted like battery acid coming off
my tongue. I regained my footing and pushed out of his arms. He stepped forward
and pulled my waist to him demonstrating his persistence. I knew I wouldn’t win
a battle of wills with him so I let it pass.

“She
meant my surfboard. The new product my company launched—which is why I went to
Brazil. It’s called the
Shuttlecock
.” He articulated his words carefully
but assertively.

What.
The. Fuck.

The
room spun. “You’re lying,” I said uncertainly.

“No.”
His voice softened and his eyes carried the tenderness they had earlier. “I’m
not lying. I’m sorry you saw that, but Ariel was just being flippant in that
text like she usually is. It’s her personality. You saw how she was when you
met her. I’m sure she had no idea you’d be seeing that message. Even she’s not
that much of a trouble-maker.”

A wave
of embarrassment washed over me. I’d run out of the restaurant upset over a
misunderstanding. Realization that my actions must’ve seemed absolutely
childish to him made me pissed off. At him.

“‘Shuttlecock?’
You have to be kidding me. That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.”

He
allowed himself a smile. “You thought ‘Pier Pleasure’ was pretty clever.”

“That
at least makes sense. Shuttlecock makes no sense.”

He took
a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right, it’s dumb. But it’s edgy and it’s
selling well. As you can see, people love making cock jokes.”

I took
a step back and folded my arms across my chest. I eyed him sternly. “So you
didn’t have sex with Ariel?”

“No.
God no. I haven’t even seen her since the time we ran into her on St. Lucia. I
told you we’re just friends and have been for years. I’d never cheat on you
Kristen. Now
that
would be stupid. Unbelievably stupid.”

My arms
tightened. “I don’t know if I can believe you.”

“It’s
true. There’s not much I can do to prove it so you’re just going to have to
trust me.”

“I’ve
trusted you all this time. But now with the whole security team thing, you
going psycho,  Giselle, and everything else, I don’t know what to think.
What else are you hiding from me?”

“Ask me
anything. I’ll tell you.”

I
clenched my jaw. “But I don’t even know what to ask, Vincent. You can’t do
that—put the blame on me for not asking the right questions.”

“No,
Kitten. That’s not how I meant it.”

After
lying to me, he was still calling me Kitten? Give me a break. “Don’t call me
that. You’ve lost that privilege.”

He
exhaled heavily and gestured to the living room. “Okay, let’s sit down on the
couch, cool off, and talk.”

Because
my feet were getting tired, I begrudgingly obeyed. Once we were seated, I ran
through in my mind what I had just learned, deciding what to ask. There were so
many pieces missing that needed filling in. I decided to start with the first
question on my mind. “So what happened with Giselle?”

He
shifted in his seat beside me. “She was in a relationship with someone she met
in college for two years. Jim. No one knew she was suffering. There were small
signs like arguing but it seemed normal—couples usually have fights every now
and then. It wasn’t until I saw her bruises that . . . that I decided I needed
to intervene. I made sure he got the message.” He sighed.

“I’m
sorry about what happened to your sister, but in this case you took it too far.
Way too far. You didn’t have to break Marty’s face. He wasn’t going to hurt
me.”

“What
did he want?”

“He
said he just wanted to talk.”

Vincent’s
eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth. “I wouldn’t believe him. That’s a classic
trick they use. He hurt you before. That’s enough to establish that he’s
dangerous.”

“He
said he was sorry and brought me flowers. He just wanted to apologize.”

“You
don’t know that Kristen. Kurt and Bernie were watching. If they made a move, it
meant they thought you were in danger.”

“You
don’t know either. He was just extending his hand to say sorry. Last time I
checked that wasn’t a felony.”

He
looked at me probingly. “Why are you defending him?”

“Jesus,
Vincent. Can you be any more insensitive? I’m not defending him.” My eyes began
tearing again. “Don’t treat me like I’m a helpless victim. I can’t stand it.”

“My
team will make sure you won’t be.”

“Why
aren’t you listening to me?” I screamed. “Get rid of them! I hate the idea of
being watched and monitored.”

He kept
his gaze firmly on me as I broke down. “Kristen, he might come back. You have
to take this seriously.”

“You
nearly killed him for bringing me flowers, Vincent! I doubt he’d be coming
back. I think he ‘got the message’.”

He
quietly handed me a tissue. I took it and wiped my eyes, pulling mascara off in
the process. I knew I looked like a mess but I didn’t care.

“I
don’t like it. I want you to feel safe. If he does come back, you’ll be
completely exposed.”

I
closed my eyes for a moment and forced out a shaky breath. “Right now, I’m more
afraid of you than I am of him.”

He
narrowed his brows. “You don’t mean that.”

I
looked at him directly. “I do. You don’t know what it’s like watching your
boyfriend nearly beat your ex to death. I’m scared of you and what you’re
capable of.”

Vincent
staggered back for a moment, no doubt reeling from my response. “All right,
fine. I’ll get rid of the security team. I’ll tell them to put a tracking
device on his car so we can monitor his whereabouts.” He stared into my eyes.
“But you should know that I’d never hurt you.”

“You
already have. Maybe not physically like Marty did, but you hurt me emotionally.
You betrayed my trust.”

“Okay.
How can I make this right?”

I shook
my head. “I don’t know if you can.”

“I really
care about you Kristen and if you need space, I can do that.” He got up from
the couch. “But if I had to choose between us breaking up and you being safe,
without a doubt I’d choose the latter. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself
if you got hurt and I had the ability to prevent it. I’d even lie to you if it
meant saving you from harm.”

“You
can’t do that. You can’t take away my choice from me. I’m a grown woman who can
make her own choices balancing her privacy and her safety. You made it your
choice.”