Free The One That Got Away by Kerrianne Coombes Page A

it was
impossible not to allow the old fright to climb.
    He
didn’t react to her words, he just moved closer and barked,
“Why are you here?”
    Cammy
swallowed and tried to square her shoulders. How dare he stand and
yell at her, when she had all but dragged his sorry ass to bed last
night? She had cleared up the mess and destruction he had wrought in
his drunken stupor. Foolishly she had been worried he might cut his
feet if he forgot it was there.
    She
wanted to laugh, and if the fear hadn’t closed around her
throat in an iron fist, she would have. She shook her head and tried
to walk past him. He stopped her by taking hold of her arm and
dragged her back a step.
    “ Get
off me,” she growled through her teeth—hating that, no
matter how angry she was, her skin still heated under his firm touch.
    “ Not
until you tell me why you’re here.” Venom sat in his tone
and stung at her ears. She winced inside and felt her heart shrivel.
    “ No!”
she growled in reply. There was no way she would tell him now why she
had come. No way in hell she would admit to loving him now. How could
she love a man who had turned into his vile father? Realization
hammered into her organs with a painful thud. How could she claim to
love a man when his father had tried to kill her? How could she love
anything that was related to that scum?
    How
could she love a man who had left her—twice?
    She
couldn’t.
    Something
gave way in her chest, and Cammy ignored her mind as it railed
against her decision. She had done it for ten years, ignored her
heart’s demands to find him. And she just supposed this was a
fight she would have to win every day for the rest of her life.
    She
couldn’t be with him if he was an aggressive drunk like his
father.
    She
yanked her arm free from his iron grip. She lifted her chin and
glared with all the hate she felt. “Get. Out. My. Way.”
Her voice sounded manic, crazy. And as if he was worried about what
she would do next, he took a step back.
    Wide-eyed
and watching her, he allowed her to step past him. She felt his hand
circle her wrist, she stopped walking but did not turn.
    “ Just
tell me why you came.” He sounded so reasonable, so calm. Cammy
swallowed and dropped her head. She fought the need to fall into his
arms and tell him she had loved him for years.
    He
wasn’t the man she had thought him to be. He was weak like his
father, violent and a drunk. Disappointment crashed inside her.
    “ I
came to say goodbye,” she lied.
    His
hand tightened on her wrist. He pulled her around and wrapped his
arms around her body and held her close. Emotion rose in her throat
and threatened to choke her. Will’s arms held her in a fierce
grip and Cammy fell against him in defeat.
    So
easily she fell for him all those years ago. So easily she fell
again—tumbled in that bed-and-breakfast bed. And she wasn’t
sure she could ever get up again. She wasn’t sure she even
wanted to.
    “ Don’t
say goodbye,” he whispered into her hair. His breath tickled
all the way to her scalp, and Cammy held her breath against the surge
of heat.
    “ I
have to,” she replied honestly. Tears burned her eyes and
threatened to fall. She shoved away from his chest and took a step
back. She kept her gaze down, because she never wanted to see hate in
his eyes again.
    “ No,
you don’t.” His voice had taken on that demanding—oh
so domineering tone—and Cammy turned away from him. “Why
did you come?” he demanded again.
    Cammy
took one step, then another and headed for the apartment door. Her
hand fell on the handle but suddenly he took her shoulder in a heavy
grip and held her back.
    Fire
crackled under her skin. Why wouldn’t he just let her go?
Disappointment still stung and the concoction of hurt, rage and fear
slammed into her mood. She spun on him and glared.
    “ Yes,
I do! You’re not the man I remembered. You’re a drunk, a
violent drunk—just like him. And I will not fall victim to that again! I will never