“Shaken up.” He leaned back against the seat’s cushion and sighed. Raking a hand through his hair, he growled, “Bruised and scratched all to hell.”
Knowing her perfect skin had been damaged because of those assholes filled him with a rage unlike any he’d ever known.
“I saw that when you guys first came back” Colt blew out a breath. “I’m afraid to ask, but…what happened to her?”
Garrett shared what he knew, which wasn’t much. Mainly the incredible story of how she and Jess jumped from the truck in order to escape. Every time he thought about it,picturedit, his gut filled with so much acid he thought he’d puke.
“Damn.” Colt shook his head.
“Yeah.” It was all Garrett could think to say.
After a stretch of silence, his brother asked, “You two okay?”
“I don’t know.” And that knowledge fucking gutted him. “She’s bound to be pissed at me for not telling her the truth about my job.”
“Yeah, well…I can relate.”
Garrett’s lips curved with a small smile. “I need to go see her. Explain why I couldn’t tell her everything before. Make her see that everything else was the truth. How I feel about her, and all that.”
“Yes.” Colt rose to his feet. “You do.”
“I just hope she understands, so we can…”
“What?”
“Be together.”
“So this thing with her…it’s not just a vacation fling?”
“Not for me.” Garrett’s answer was instant. “And before today, I really felt like it was more for her, too. Now, I don’t know what we are.”
I don’t know if we’reanything, anymore.
“Well, brother. There’s only one way to find out.”
“Yep.” Garrett pushed himself up off the loveseat. “Guess I’d better get to it.”
“Guess so.” Colt smirked as he walked him to the door. “I hear groveling helps with situations such as this.”
Garrett snorted. “You know a lot of people who’ve been in this type of situation?”
“You’d be surprised.” Colt opened the door with a smile.
“All right, man. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
The walk to Avery’s room seemed to take forever. With every step, Garrett went over what he wanted to say to her, searching for the perfect words to make her understand.
But when she opened her door and those red-rimmed eyes found his, he forgot every damn thing he’d planned to say.
So he settled for, “Hey.”
“Hey.”
The smell of coconuts and vanilla filled his nostrils like a soothing balm. Dressed in a pair of loose, khaki shorts and a white t-shirt, she’d obviously showered the day away. But now that her skin was clean of dirt and grime, that damn bruise on her chin looked even worse.