Page 110 of Dallas Rivals

Then he turns and storms up the stairs, every step echoing like thunder through the house.

Sitting at the foot of the lounge chair, I drop my head into my hands, my eyes fixed on the ground, lost.

Flashes of that bastard touching me while I begged him not to run through my mind. Visions of my nephews being attacked by him invade my thoughts, anger and rage surge through my veins, causing me to boil over and lose control of my temper.

I’d spent my whole life running from him.

And now he’s back—wrecking everything all over again.

Not just my life. That kid’s too.

Help us so my son can sleep at night, the father said.

And hell, if I don’t know that feeling.

That helplessness.

That rage that eats at you from the inside.

But I can’t. I can’t call them. I can’t show my face.

Footsteps echo in the room. She’s probably worried about me—and she has every right to be. I wasn’t fair to her. She didn’t deserve my temper. So, when her arms slip around me from behind, I let myself fall into her scent, her warmth pressed against my back.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, her hands stroking my arms—and God, she doesn’t know how much I need that right now.

“I can’t go to the police,” I say. “I’m a public figure. The media would have a field day.”

“And since when do you give a damn what the media thinks?”

She’s right.

“It could hurt the company,” I counter weakly.

She steps in front of me, her gaze steady. “Then let me ask you something—do you really care about the company? Or are you terrified your brothers will find out what happened to you?”

Her words hit like a hammer to the chest. My stomach knots just picturing their faces if they ever found out what Eder did to me.

“You already know the answer,” I growl. She knows me too damn well.

“Do you really think it’s worth letting more kids suffer just because you’re too afraid to tell your brothers what was done to you?”

“Cala, you don’t know what⁠—”

“I know,” she cuts in softly. “I’ll never truly be in your shoes. But just… think about it. Think about Julian and his friends. Think about how much you needed someone to step in back then, when you couldn’t.”

She presses a kiss to my shoulder and stands. “I left a blanket in case you decide to sleep here.”

Like I said—she knows me too well.

The door clicks shut, and I’m alone again. Alone with the noise in my head, chasing solutions I can’t stick to. Every time I think I’ve found the answer, my mind backs out, dragging me right back to the start.

By the time I crawl into bed, it’s past three a.m. Cala’s facing away, and I wrap my body around hers. I need her close—the calm she brings when the storm inside me threatens to drown me.

She stirs, her hand sliding over my arm, pulling me closer.

“I need you,” I whisper against her ear, trailing kisses along her jaw, down her neck. “I’m sorry for waking you, but I need you.”