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go without asking her why she was here, and why the hell she’d gone so far to destroy me, when I would have handed her the money without a second thought.

Chapter Six
     
    Lola
    "You look like you've seen a ghost." Mike leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Are you okay?"
    In some ways, seeing Leo again was a lot like seeing a ghost. Six years hadn't erased him from my memory, but seeing him up close now flooded me with details of what had been. He was older, more chiseled, and sharper than I remembered. He’d added to his ink, the artwork now stretching down past his elbows and over the backs of his hands. But it was his face, the deep etched darkness under his eyes, and the coldness with which he regarded me all evening that hollowed me out.
    "I'm fine. I just need to leave. Can I borrow your truck?"
    Mike rifled through his pocket for his keys and handed them to me. "Where are you going to go?"
    "Back to Mellie's. I'll relieve the babysitter."
    Grasping my arm, he gazed into my eyes. "Do you want me to go with you?"
    "No." I slipped out of his grip. Mike knew more than most about what had happened with Brady, but only what I had volunteered. He’d chosen not to ask about Tia’s father, perhaps because he thought it might be Brady, and I was grateful he didn’t pry. Until I told Leo, it wasn't a secret I was willing to share. "I need some time alone. You enjoy the party and call me if you need me to come back and get you."
    "I'll be fine. I'll drive Mellie's car back after I drop her home."
    Slipping away, I stole around the side of the house and up the drive. I glanced at the moon, not quite full, as I caught my breath. The first free breath since I’d seen Leo. So many times, I'd imagined that first meeting between us. I’d fantasized about him taking me into his arms, and the understanding in his eyes as I told him why I hadn’t followed him to Carlton. Had even gone so far as to believe he would grab onto me and never let me go again. I hadn’t been prepared for him to turn his back on me without a word. I hadn’t expected the coldness. A chill stole over me, and I rubbed my hands over my arms in an effort to shake it off as I strode toward the truck.
    The heavy tread behind me alerted me to his presence, but I didn’t glance back as he stalked me past the other cars. I was sure it was him, but I kept going, not knowing what he wanted to say to me but certain it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. My eyes burned, and I blinked to keep them from welling up, refusing to let him see me fall apart.
    He snagged my elbow as we reached the truck, his fingers biting into the sensitive inner flesh. I winced and the burning increased, but he didn’t ease up, his grip tightening more. There would be bruises come morning. His beard scratched at my skin as he pressed my belly against the hood of the truck and growled into my ear. "You need to leave, Lola."
    Straightening as much as I could, his body covering mine made it hard to appear nonchalant. My heart slammed, the heat of him seeping into my back, his sweet spicy scent mixed with cigarette smoke, familiar but new. My lungs gasped for him, my lips tingled with want. I clamped them together and then pushed out the words.  "I am leaving."
    "No." His lips caressed the shell of my ear, but his words cut into me. "Leave this town. Leave this state. Go back to wherever the hell you came from."
    Wrenching my arm free, I spun around. He glared at me. A nerve in his temple jumped. It stung that he didn’t want me, but I wasn’t going to let him scare me away. I crossed my arms and scowled. "No."
    "Have you got your claws into that guy? Is that why you're here? Always trying to find some poor loser to screw over." His gaze was brutal and the curve of his lip vicious.  
    "I don't have to listen to this," I snapped, and tried to sidestep him, but whatever room he’d given me he snatched back, crowding me up against the hood. Glaring down at me, his face barely inches from mine,