He pulled out a box, flipped it open, flipped it closed, and dropped it in the bag. He did this again and again until he found a pair of diamonds.
He gently flung the bag to the nightstand, carefully freed the earrings from the box and flung that aside too.
“Shy?”
“Got earrings in, honey?”
Her head jerked on the pillow, her eyes were curious, confused and cautious, maybe still a little scared but she shook her head.
“Pull your hair back,” he ordered.
She did as he asked as Shy settled on her body, careful to brace on an elbow even as his hands moved to her earlobe. He slid the post through her ear then slid the back on. He moved to the other side and did the same. Then he got up on a forearm on either side of her and looked down, his eyes moving side to side, the diamonds twinkling against her glossy, dark hair.
“Shy, darlin’, talk to me,” she pleaded.
He looked at her. “Those are my mother’s earrings.”
Her body tensed under him as her thighs pressed into his hips.
“Went to my aunt and uncle’s house tonight, got ’em,” he went on. “All of them. Dad gave a pair to Mom every Christmas since they were married. Fourteen pairs. Seven for you, seven for Landon. I picked those for you. Lan picks the next pair. We’ll go back and forth until we each got our piece of our parents.”
Her eyes were brimming with tears, her nostrils flaring with the effort to contain them as she asked, “You went to your aunt and uncle’s?”
“First time in years, last time for forever.” He watched as she lifted a hand to touch the gem at her ear. “Diamonds,” he finished.
A tear she couldn’t hold back slid out the side of her eye.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked so quietly he barely heard.
But he heard.
“Was,” he told her, saw her lips tremble then moved close, his hand going to cup the side of her head, his thumb sliding down her hairline and ending, pad to her earring. “Was also wrong,” he told her gently. “Feelin’ too much, knowin’ he was found. Lost it, took that shit out on you. Shouldn’t have done it but I had so much shit coursin’ through me, baby, I had to get it out. So I piled it on you.”
“Okay,” she said quietly.
“It wasn’t cool, Tabby,” he replied just as quietly.
“It’s okay,” she told him, her hands hitting his chest, pressing in.
“No, it isn’t. What it is is done. I hope to God I learn from makin’ that mistake, freakin’ you out, scaring you”—his thumb moved through the wetness at her temple and his voice dropped—“makin’ you cry. Can’t promise I won’t do it again but I can promise to try.”
“I’m glad you promised, honey, but you also need to know that I understand. That was a lot to handle. I didn’t expect you to be surprised by it. I expected I’d get to tell you about what I’d done going to Lee. But I do understand why you reacted the way you did, and I’ve gotta be there to help you deal when life lands a sucker punch, even if it’s me who unintentionally landed it.”
“That’s cool, baby, that’s sweet and you’re right. But when you do that, you do not have to take my shit. And you did what you did to give me something beautiful. I didn’t get it at the time. I didn’t get it until it was all done and I was sittin’ outside this apartment. You didn’t land a sucker punch, and I don’t want you thinkin’ that shit.”
She held his eyes a couple of beats before she nodded and took in a breath that broke in the middle.
“I get it, sugar. You wanted me to have it,” he said gently. “I have it. You gave it to me, but you gave me something else too.”
Her wet eyes stayed on him and she murmured, “Pardon?”
“Closure. Freedom.”
Her eyes closed, he felt her chest heave and tears slid out both sides. Shy shifted his other forearm up so he could put both thumbs to work.
She drew in another breath and opened her eyes.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked.
“Broke the circle,” he answered.
“What does that mean?” she went on cautiously.
“Means I beat the shit out of him, found out he had family, found out how he killed my parents, found I wanted his life in return and found I didn’t want to be in a circle of vengeance. Didn’t want to drag you in. Didn’t want to be in your bed, touchin’ you, blood on my hands.” He paused, his eyes looking into hers and he shared, “My brothers took my back and helped me find the way.”
She got him, he knew when her entire face wobbled as she tried to hold back tears, then she lifted her head and pressed it into the skin of his neck when she failed.
Shy dropped his weight on her, rolled, curving his arms around her and taking her with him so they were on their sides.
She yanked her face out of his neck, took two hitched breaths and asked brokenly, “Are you… are you all right?”
“Best I’ve been in a long time, baby.”
She took another uneven breath as her eyes moved over his face. Then she nodded.
“You gave me that, Tabby,” he reminded her, and she gave him another wobbly smile she couldn’t quite pull off.
“That’s what I was goin’ for,” she told him.
He grinned at her and pulled her closer.
His grin faded and he admitted, “I was a dick again.”
“I’ll forgive you sooner this time, like, say—” her hand slid up so her fingers could stroke his jaw “—now.”
His lips twitched. “It’d help for me to know I got your forgiveness, you quit cryin’.”
She nodded, breathed deep, and got it together.
“Are you…” she hesitated “… good with the Club?”
It was Shy’s turn to nod.
“Good,” she said softly, ducked her face, and shoved it in his throat.
He dipped his chin and against her hair, murmured, “Gotta clean you up then I gotta call Lan.”
“Okay.”
He kissed her hair, rolled her to her back, moved in to kiss her chest then the underside of her jaw, then he met her eyes, gave her a smile, and rolled out of bed.
He got a washcloth and took care of his girl. He took the washcloth back, grabbed his jeans, tagged his phone, and joined her in bed.
She snuggled closer.
He called his brother.
Shy told Lan the story, not leaving anything out, which meant Tabby heard the story. She pressed closer and closer as he talked but she didn’t make a sound.