Free Sweetest Taboo by J. Kenner Page B

attacker was the Woman. If he’s telling the truth, well, that’s something we’ll have to factor in.”
    “Do it as soon as you can,” Dallas said, as they watched Jane turn back to the door, pull it open, and step outside to join the men.
    Dallas was at her side even before the door clicked closed behind her.
    She looked up at him, her expression hard. Visibly, she was keeping it together. But he could see the cracks. Her red-rimmed eyes. The tension in her jaw and shoulders. With the notable exception of his ruined shoes, she’d handled everything that had been thrown at her with remarkable aplomb.
    But even a woman as incredible as Jane couldn’t keep absorbing the blows. And he was afraid that if she kept taking hits, she was going to shatter.
    “He says it wasn’t his idea,” she said. “He says the Woman is dead.”
    The words seemed to stab him through the heart. “I know. I heard. Do you believe him?”
    Her throat moved as she swallowed and tears spilled from her eyes, cutting tracks through her makeup. “Not a goddamn word.” She gasped a little, and then, as if the words broke through a dam, her tears came in earnest. He pulled her close, holding her against him as sobs racked her body. His arms were tight around her, and all he wanted in that moment was to take the pain from her. To make her forget. To help her cope. To erase the horrible truth that was cutting through her. Destroying her.
    But no, that wasn’t really all he wanted to do. What he wanted more was to burst through that door, put his hands around Colin’s neck, and squeeze until he’d snuffed out every bit of life remaining in the man. A man who claimed to love him, to love Jane. A man who hurt them. Who lied to them. Who’d run roughshod over their lives, destroyed their childhoods, and left both him and Jane broken.
    Broken
.
    No matter how much he wished it wasn’t, he knew damn well it was true. They coped—and god knew they coped better together than apart—but that didn’t change the simple fact that Colin’s fucked-up kidnapping scheme and what happened inside that cell had broken both of them.
    There was no going back; they could only move forward. And Dallas knew that killing Colin now couldn’t change the past.
    But it would feel so damn good.
    He closed his eyes and pulled the woman he loved closer. If it weren’t for Jane, he doubted he’d even try to rein himself in. But because he knew it would wound her even more, he battled back the urge. Nothing was more important than Jane. Protecting her. Loving her.
    Even if that meant letting a worm like Colin live.
    After a moment, she pushed gently away from him, her head down. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. “I’m so sorry.”
    Her thin smile just about broke his heart. “I’ve known the truth for days now. But it’s different hearing it—or
not
hearing it.” She hugged herself, her shoulders rising and falling as she sighed so heavily he felt her breath on his face. “I guess I thought he’d be honest with me.”
    “Would that matter?”
    “Maybe. No. I don’t know.” She sighed. “I didn’t even cross-examine him.” Her shoulder lifted in a shrug, as if she wasn’t sure where she was or what she was doing. “I know everything you told me. Where he’s been. When he traveled. I could have demanded explanations. But I just couldn’t stand to hear his bullshit.”
    “Oh, baby. It’s okay. What do you need now? Mom?” If she said yes, he’d find a way, no matter how much it pissed off their father. “Brody?” he asked, thinking that as much as it might sting, maybe she needed her best friend. Someone not in their fucked-up family. He twisted slightly, searching for Liam who had quietly slipped away the moment Dallas had taken her in his arms. Maybe she’d want him, their friend who’d stood like a rock with the two of them throughout childhood, but wasn’t a man she was in love with.
    But then she said, “Just