“If I wasn’t here to make you happy today, dollface, he’d be dead.” He yanked open the door to the apartment and threw Gerald out by his neck. He crumbled over onto the floor, wheezing. “Your name is this close to being on a hit list, Gerald. And my family doesn’t miss. Keep in mind, your company is about to go bankrupt. It will be by the end of the day. Go worry about that and forget my future wife exists. Forever.”
Gerald might have tried to say something but Cade slammed the door and roared at it in frustration. Then he whipped around and grabbed me by the hips, shoving me up against the island counter and stepping between my legs. “Izzy, I swear to God, he comes back here or texts you again, I’m killing him.”
Chewing my cheek, I tried my hardest not to give in and kiss him right then. “Did you do something to his father’s company?”
“Of course I did something to his company,” Cade bellowed. “I hacked their systems and exposed his infidelities to most of his clients. I’ve also had calls with his biggest investors questioning how well they can operate when I so easily am able to infiltrate their finances. He’s finished.”
“But why?” I whispered. “We didn’t get along then and—”
“He cheated on you. He hurt you. Do you not understand the consequences of when someone does that? No one is allowed to fuck with you but me, don’t you understand? You cried, Izzy. I had to see tears streaming down your face. For that, he’s lost his company, his savings, his whole career. And if he dares go near you again, he will lose his life.”
“Cade, you can’t do those types of things for me.” I murmured, but my heart was healing, being pieced back together by each of his confessions.
“I can do whatever I want. I will always do that for you. You deserve it and more.” He tried to steady himself by taking a breath. “Don’t ever text him again. Matter of fact, I’ll be blocking him from all your devices. An ex texting my future wife is ridiculous anyway.”
I almost forgave him right then, my insides warming to the word wife, but he had much more explaining to do. “People can come visit me, Cade. I’m single and not the future wife of anyone.”
His eyes narrowed as he placed his hands on either side of me on the island counter. “You’re fucking mine.”
I shook my head and lifted my chin higher, ready to fight him about it this time. “You left me. And I’ve moved on.”
“Bullshit.” He grabbed my wrist and clamped his gold bracelet back on quickly. He fought me to lock it and then winked when he overpowered me as it latched into place.
“Are you kidding me?” I yanked at it and shoved him, but he didn’t back up even an inch. “It’s not bullshit. You can’t leave and come back like I’m some mistress you call up every now and then. Maybe you were with other women, or maybe you got sick of me but want another taste now. It’s not happening.”
“Baby”—his forehead fell to mine—“you can’t believe that.”
“Why can’t I?” I said, tears suddenly in my eyes. “I was broken, and you left. You left me to handle it all on my own.”
“And you did,” he growled out. “You had it in you. You needed to be without me.”
“So you want me to be without you but not with anyone else either.”
“Look, I thought I would be okay with you being with someone else, just not Gerald, but then I knew that wouldn’t work. I know it’s selfish. I shouldn’t be here because I’ll always have a target on my back and you’ll always be in danger. But I flew around the world to try to make sure that, instead, I’ve made you as safe as possible.” he admitted, and it cut me deep. He was standing so close. I could feel the love radiating off him, and I knew he felt it too. “Honestly, you’re still better off without me.”
He had to feel my rage at his words. How could he think that? How would I be safe from myself, from heartbreak, from feeling so lost, I couldn’t see which way was up without him. He had to know his words would act as the last straw. “Don’t you dare say that again,” I whispered.
“Baby doll, you know it’s true. Your world would be easier—" he started, but I’d had enough.
My hand whipped out, and I swung at his face. The sound was so deafening I swear it echoed through the room, like we were in an empty cave that amplified our noise.
Cade didn’t flinch, nor did his face turn to the side. I wish I could say he didn’t lean into it, but I swear that man saw it coming from a mile away and wanted the pain of it.
“Again, Harley Quinn, and make it hurt this time.”
The noise I made as I reared back was animalistic. Tearing this man apart would be a job well done by me, I figured. No one should be subjected to the type of pain I felt when I wasn’t with him, to him coming back into my life and trying to lay claim to certain parts of me. “If you want the devil from me, you’re going to get it.”
He lifted an eyebrow, so damn cocky in his desire to ruin me. No part of me was right then. All the normal, calm parts of me disbursed and twisted. I was an algorithm ruined, I truly was glitching, falling apart, disassembling into nonsense, causing destruction as I did so. My hand didn’t just meet his face this time, but the muscle I put behind it did too.
One slap, two slaps, and probably ten more. Cade let me wail on him until I tired.
I shoved him back and screamed, “I hate you. You’ve ruined me. You’ve ruined everything.”
“Any more anger, dollface?” He smirked, nestling into my neck like this was normal, loving behavior between us.
“There’s something wrong with you. I really think you need help,” I warned him. He needed someone to tell him.
“Maybe. But there’s something wrong with everybody.” His hands went from the counter to my hips. “If you want me to, I can find the problem in anyone for you. Nobody’s perfect.”
“Don’t come here and call me those names, like we have something, like you think the last month didn’t happen.”
“Oh, it happened,” he ground out. “I had to live through it without the person I love in my life. The person who makes my heart beat.”
“How can you say that after you told me you would let me go and let me be with someone else?”
“I still counted the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds without you.” He admitted it as if that made everything better.
The tears that streamed down my face were ugly reminders that I couldn’t bottle up my feelings with him. “How could you leave me after that night? We . . . I thought you loved me, or at least liked me enough to stay. I fell in love with you, Cade. I fucking bled for you, showed you the inside of me and didn’t shine it up at all. I gave you every raw part of me, only for you to leave the very next day.”
“Izzy, I’m trying to protect you.” He shook his head, his own dark eyes glistening. “I thought it was right.”
“And now?”
“Well, now I’m sure.”
“Sure of what?” I asked even though it didn’t matter.
“Sure that I’ve changed the world enough. I’m sure that every family knows who you are.” He dragged a finger over the bracelet and I looked down to see UNTOUCHABLE etched on the gold now. “You’re safe, that you’re an Untouchable, and that you’re getting the best life you can.”