Then again, Phoenix and the truth don’t exactly go hand in hand.
An ugly sound rumbles deep in his chest…and then he walks over to the bar.
“How is you getting drunk going to help Quinn?” I snap when he grabs the bottle of whiskey.
He twists the top off and takes a big swig. “It’s gonna help me.”
Phoenix might not be an alcoholic in the sense that he drinks every day, but the fact that every time he has a problem he uses it to cope proves he has a serious issue.
“Don’t take the easy way out of this like your mother does. Don’t accept defeat. You have a chance to help her.”
My words only anger him more because his expression darkens.
“Help her?” I jump and yelp when the bottle whizzes past my head before crashing against the wall. “I can’t fucking find her.”
My heart beats a mile a minute. All I want to do is calm him down. “We will.”
Quinn’s a smart girl. Maybe she’ll realize protecting her mom isn’t what’s best for her and she’ll come back.
“She hasn’t even been gone twelve hours yet. Give her some time—”
He cuts me off with a sharp sound. “And then what? What happens? She goes back to her dad’s house, where he continues beating the shit out of her.” He opens his arms wide. “But hey, at least our mom didn’t abandon her.”
Expelling a breath that hurts, I press a hand to my aching chest.
I try not to judge people, although I’m human and sometimes I can’t help it.
But no matter how much I try to tell myself that this woman deserves my sympathy, I just can’t seem to wrap my head or heart around the fact that she left her son in a trailer with the man who abused them…and chased her daughter down so she could drag her back into a violent environment.
Parents aren’t infallible, but they’re supposed to want what’s best for their children.
Sadly, that’s not the hand Quinn and Phoenix were dealt.
Closing the distance between us, I palm Phoenix’s cheek. I know he’s hurt and scared and feeling hopeless, but he can still save his sister.
“Even if Quinn goes back, you can still get her out of there. You have a shitload of money and you have access to exceptional lawyers.”
But even if he didn’t, I know he’d find a way to protect her.
Like I told Quinn, he’s the most stubborn and determined person I’ve ever met. And whatever he wants, he gets.
Rising on my tiptoes, I drag his face down and bring our foreheads together. “You’ve got this. And Quinn’s lucky she’s got you now.”
Heat pounds through me, settling between my legs when his mouth claims mine.
A groan tears out of him as he deepens the kiss. One hand clamps firmly around the back of my neck and the other squeezes my ass as he walks me backward until we tumble onto the bed.
Hovering above me, he grinds his pelvis, brushing up against the spot where I’m warm and aching.
His kiss is desperate, and frantic and he tastes like cinnamon gum…
And whiskey.
I tense because up until tonight there’s one emotion Phoenix has never made me feel before.
Fear.
And not the kind that’s a product of emotions…the kind that comes when you feel like you’re in danger of being physically harmed.
It was so close. So fucking close.
Phoenix lifts his head. Confusion whirls in those blue orbs as he stares down at me. “What’s wrong?”
My heart beats a chaotic path up my throat. “If your aim was off by a centimeter, the whiskey bottle would have hit me.”
He opens his mouth, but doesn’t utter a sound. Shock steals over his features…and then shame.
“I didn’t mean…” He grazes my cheek with his thumb. His touch is impossibly gentle, like I’m made out of glass. “I would never hurt you, Lennon.”
That’s not true because he already has. However, I know in my gut that Phoenix would never lay a hand on me in anger.
But warnings are warnings for a reason. They alert you that if you keep doing what you’re doing…something bad will happen.
Maybe this is his.
I just hope he pays attention this time.
“I don’t want to be around you if you’re going to drink or throw bottles.”
Granted, it’s my job, so I’ll have no choice…but the sexual part of our relationship will end quicker than either of us wants it to.
His expression changes from one of guilt to resolve. “No more drinking, and no more throwing bottles.” His lips brush my forehead. “Promise.”