41. Promise Me

FORTY-ONE

PROMISE ME

Little Bit Better, Caleb Hearn her smart mouth, the one I love so much, is going to get her in serious trouble this time. The first thing I did as soon as he turned his back to me was call 911 and put the phone in my pocket so they can hear this bullshit and hopefully come quickly. I’m not waiting for them, though. I’ve already waited long enough since walking into her house and finding him manhandling my girl.

“Marco,” I say, lowering my voice and walking calmly and steadily to him. The garage is bright, letting the morning light shine through, so I can’t see anything he can use to hurt me or her. I approach him carefully, trying to keep this situation under control. “Take your hands off of her and back away.” It’s a command. Not a suggestion. Because this is not up for discussion.

It’s taking everything in me not to let all my inner anger out on him. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt because we’ve been friends forever but the second he put his hands on her, he lost that chance.

He must hear my steps approaching him because he puts a hand up before saying, “Stay back, Santiago, or I will hurt her. Don’t try me.”

Roe snaps, “I’m nobody’s-” and he must squeeze her tighter because the sudden gasp that she lets out makes my heart pound in my chest. There’s no more trying to calm him down. There’s no more holding back. He’s hurting her, and I’m going to kill him .

“Get your hands off of her!” I charge forward, kicking him in the ribs. He immediately drops the hand from Roe’s neck, and holds his side, coughing.

I block his body with mine, putting space between Roe and him. I look to the side and see Roe breathing hard and shaking her head. “Are you okay, princesa?” She doesn’t reply, but her eyes go wide and I see Marco trying to charge at me. I bring my foot up and push him back with it, keeping the distance between us before following it with a punch straight to his jaw. I grab him by the waist and take him to the ground.

He tries to bring his hand up to my face so I grab his jaw and push it to the side. “Not so tough now that it’s not a girl you’re fighting, huh?” I ask. There’s clear tension in the air and he’s trying to get out from my hold, but it’s futile. I’m bigger, stronger, and trained. He’s just a mommy’s boy who thought he could scare a girl away with his nonsense, not knowing that Roe was the wrong girl to mess with.

“Roe, princesa. Talk to me. Are you okay?” I ask, needing to make sure that she’s alright. I don’t want to take my hands off of him but every fiber of me screams to go to her.

“I’m fine,” she answers with a cough, grabbing her neck and stepping back away from him.

The minute he hears her talk, he spits and screams at me to let him go. Despite me pinning him down with his face in my hands, Marco’s not backing down. He’s still moving and squirming, trying to fight me. This makes me even more upset, but it’s when he says, “You’ve ruined my career over a girl who could be everyone’s flavor of the week,” that I lose my shit and punch him hard, a splatter of blood coming out of his mouth.

“Shut the fuck up, Marco. Watch how you talk about my Roe and actually, now that I think about it? Don’t,” I shout, stopping to tilt his face my way. “Don’t talk about her. Don’t think about her. If I ever see you or hear that you’re talking about her, I will fuck you up. Do you understand?” Nobody should talk about women like that but nobody is going to talk about my woman like that.

“Nod if you understand, asshole,” I command and he does. The sirens wail in the background and Marco tries to say something but I tell him to hush. I wait for the police to walk in and after the all-clear, I walk to Roe.

She’s standing with her back to the wall, a police officer talking to her while she squeezes her hands and shakes her head no.

“Excuse me, officer,” I say and pull Roe to me. With her head on my chest, and her sweet floral scent engulfing me, I breathe for the first time.

“Took you long enough,” she sasses and I don’t have a choice but to laugh.

“I love you, princesa.” What else is there to say? We stay there until the cops give us more instructions and then we follow them outside.

The police take Marco to the station, and they ask us to meet them there so they can take our statements. Hours later, we’re finally free to go while they figure out what the hell is wrong with Marco. There’s not much for them to tell us, but they did inform Roe that he was the one breaking into her house. It was clear after he told them how much he wanted her to drop out of the race, but apparently, he said where the trophies were too, so they’re closing that case. I’m tired from dealing with the day and I bet Roe is feeling it too.

I rest my hand on her lower back, guiding her out of the building and toward my truck. Unsurprisingly, she tenses at the touch. I don’t blame her; the girl has had more going on today than most people do in all their lives. I could stop right here and ask her about it but knowing Roe, she needs privacy and probably silence.

I open the door for her and help her up. “I’m going to buckle you up, princesa. I won’t touch you.” A promise. I want nothing but to touch every inch of her skin and her soul but she needs her boundaries respected right now, not crossed. She nods and I reach over and buckle her. The loud click settles her and her eyes instantly close.

I walk around to the other side, climb up, and shift the truck into drive, leaving the police station and hopefully part of this nightmare behind.

“Yours or mine?” I ask. She doesn’t answer. At least not with words but with the slow shake of her head I get my answer. Neither.

I drive in silence until I find a hotel. Baker Inn is a small mom-and-pop place right by the highway. It has the same small town feel as the rest of Baker Oaks, but it’s far enough away from the center of town that it feels less close to home. More people passing through stay here than locals, making it the perfect place for this.

“I’m going to get a room, I’ll be right back,” I tell her and go to the hotel lobby.

After getting the key to our room, I get Roe and we walk toward it. Stepping into the quiet and quaint room, I help her slip out of her shoes and guide her to the bathroom. I turn the water on hot and help her remove her clothes. I usher her in, letting the water fall on her before stepping in with her.

“Saint, take your clothes off,” she whispers, her voice breaks.

“Sh, sh, sh, this is not about me. Come here,” I say, pulling her to my body.

She wraps her arms around my waist laying her head on my chest and sighing. Without moving she lets me later soap all over her body; lets me take care of her. In this moment, I realize she loves me, whether she’s ready to say it out loud or not. I know now that she has let me in, and she trusts me to the point of complete surrender, allowing me to show her how much I want to be here for her.

Turning the water off, I bundle her in a towel that swallows her whole. I twist another one on her head and carry her to the bed, laying her down gently and covering her with a blanket. After I remove my wet clothes, I wrap a towel around my waist and sit on the chair across from the bed.

Roe’s eyes are closed but when she senses me near, she opens them and looks at me. The short distance between us does nothing to dampen the way her gaze is burning right through my soul. She holds my heart in her hands and I pray to God and todos los angelitos that she will keep it.

“Saint, I won’t bite,” she jokes, patting the spot on the bed next to her.

“I want to give you space, princesa.”

“What if I don’t want space? What if I don’t need it?” she asks.

Her eyes are sincere. She looks tired and spent but she wants me there. She wants me next to her and I’ve never wanted anything more than that. “Then maybe I can fill it.”

“You already have,” she whispers and if it wasn’t as quiet as it is, I would’ve missed that. I would’ve missed the pretty little sigh she let out after she said that, and I would’ve missed her shoulders tensing as she waits for what I’m going to say next.

“I’ve already filled what space?” I ask, walking toward the bed and sitting down next to her.

She turns her body so she’s facing me and she lays a hand on my chest. “The space missing in my heart, pretty boy. I haven’t been afraid of being hurt or dying in a long time, Saint. But somehow, today I realized that I was scared,” she says.

I raise my eyebrows at her and she raises her hands in surrender.

“I wasn’t scared of what would happen to me. I was afraid of getting hurt when I feel like I’ve finally started living again. I was afraid I might never get the chance of going through the what-ifs with you,” she adds, letting out a sigh and bringing her hand up to my face.

“I think I might love you, Santiago Cruz, and I don’t really know what to do with that,” she admits, and all she can see is the giant smile on my face and nothing else. A smile that stretches all the way to my heart.

“You might love me?” I ask, pulling her flush to me, her legs locking around mine and both of us lost in this moment. I wish I could stop the clock right now and let time engulf us forever. Forever wrapped in her love is where I want to be.

“I think I do. I’m terrified, though,” she says.

“Of what?”

“Of loving you. I don’t want to lose you.” Her voice shakes. As her lashes flutter against her cheeks, I bring my hand to her face, tilting her chin toward me.

“You won’t,” I whisper, afraid to break the spell if I speak louder.

“You don’t know that for sure. You don’t know if you’re going to walk out of here and drop dead, leaving me in shambles.”

“Well, I hope I don’t,” I chuckle, bringing my finger to her cheek and touching it slightly. “I can’t promise you I won’t die, but I can promise you I’ll stay for as long as you’ll let me. You won’t lose me, amor. I’m here for the long run. I’m here until the finish line. I’m here to help you carry the load and I’m here to remind you that it wasn’t your fault.”

Two tears run down her cheeks and her nose turns a soft pink color. I know she’s fighting all these emotions at once. Feelings that have been bottled up for years. Feelings that have turned to anger for a lack of a safe place to land. And man, how fucking lucky I am that she’s letting herself fall on me.

“Thank you for leaning on me, Roe. Thank you for letting your guard down.”

She sucks in a breath at my words and when I smile at her, I know that she feels it. She feels my whole heart opening up to her, embracing every part of her, and never letting go.

“You tore all my walls down, with your pretty face and your beautiful heart. Promise me you won’t leave,” she whispers. “Promise me you won’t give up on me. Promise me you can love all my broken pieces.”

“There are no broken pieces, amor. Just a beautiful chaotic masterpiece. But I do promise, princesa. I promise I will always be here and I will always remind you how incredible you are. I promise to give you space when you need it but to be your blanket too.” I bring my lips to her forehead and kiss her gently, her body instantly melting into mine.

“I love you,” she says and if those are the last words I ever hear in my life, I would die a happy man.

“I love you too, amor and I always will. Never forget that.”

She closes her beautiful blue eyes and falls asleep, safe in my arms.