Cocky Perfect Storm Novel – We are done, divorced, and I’ve been living in my own place for over a year, yet he’s right here, demanding that I take him back. “You will never, not ever, be free of me.” My ex-husband George grinds out. I should have stayed with exboyfriend Rusk, cheating or not, because I know he wouldn’t have ever hurt me. Rusk wouldn’t hit me, he wouldn’t force himself on me, he wouldn’t have tried to use me over and over until there was nothing left. Not in a million years. George, though.
This man who I thought was safe. This man who I thought would never hurt me. He is the exact opposite of that. He is dangerous. He beat me into the hospital. When his fist slams into my face, I am brought out of my own thoughts as I cry out. “Shut up, or this is going to be much worse for you, Kiplyn.” I know what he means. Fighting back, crying out, anything other than acceptance earns much more of his anger than compliance does. But I am no longer his wife. So, this time, I fight.
KIPLYN “Please, George. I just want to be free. Please leave me alone,” I whimper. It seems like I’m constantly begging him to leave me alone. That I’ve been pleading with him for almost a decade for that exact thing, and yet, time after time, he does the exact opposite. In the past, I have been too scared to make him leave me alone—to at least try to make him. But this time it’s the end. This time, I am done. One year ago, I did the unthinkable. I filed for divorce and left. That divorce is now final. Court dates have come and gone. What little money there was has been demanded and divided. I was even able to buy a very small house on a really bad side of town, but I am free of him. Or at least I thought I was, but apparently, I’m not, as he’s standing right in front of me.
We are over, though. We are done, divorced, and I’ve been living in my own place for over a year, yet he’s right here, demanding that I take him back. That I listen to him. That I accept his apologies. Whatever it is he’s demanding, I’m not quite sure. I can’t really hear over him screaming in my face and the blood rushing through my ears. “You will never, not ever, be free of me, wanker,” he grinds out. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I let him seduce me. When I believed his nonsense. I was young, naïve, scared, and so stupid. I was so angry with Rusk. I still am, but this situation is all my fault. Being angry with him did not mean that I had to run to George. George was able to get into my head, and it was because I’d just caught Rusk cheating on me. I knew George.
He would make little comments here and there about Rusk always being a bad kid, always getting into trouble, and told me he was going to break my heart. And he did. With said broken heart, I ran to this man. This man, who swore he would take care of me. That he’d always loved me, that he would always love me, and because he seemed to be nothing like his cousin, I thought it would work. I thought we could have a decent life. I didn’t love him, but that didn’t matter. I needed safety and security. I needed devotion and support. I needed someone who would be caring and faithful. What I got was the exact opposite. I should have stayed with Rusk, cheating or not, because I know he wouldn’t have ever hurt me. He wouldn’t hit me, he wouldn’t force himself on me, he wouldn’t have tried to use me over and over until there was nothing left. Not in a million years.
George, though. This man who I thought was safe. This man who I thought would never hurt me. He is the exact opposite of that. He is dangerous. He is terrifying. He is a monster. When his fist slams into my face, I am brought out of my own thoughts as I cry out. “Shut up, or this is going to be much worse for you, Kiplyn.” I know what he means. Fighting back, crying out, anything other than acceptance earns much more of his anger than compliance does. But I am no longer his wife. So, this time, I fight. It’s probably the biggest mistake of my entire life, but I’m over thirty, and I am done being his punching bag. I am done being his plaything. I am done being his wife. I am just done. I fight for my life.
ROADKILL “Kiplyn is in the hospital.” My entire body jerks at his words. I don’t know what to say, what to do. I am frozen. So, instead of doing or saying a word, I stand where I am, planted there, staring at the wall. What is going on? Eventually, I shake myself out of my daze and hang the phone back up on the wall. Turning around, I lift my gaze, flick it around the room, and notice that Thunder is watching me. I think her real name is Tara or something, but we call her Thunder because she’s got luscious thunder thighs. And that is all I can focus on right now because I cannot wrap my head around what he’s just said to me. “Are you okay?” she finally asks when we make eye contact. Shaking my head, I lift my hand and run my fingers through my hair. One of my fingers touches the scar on my face, and I close my eyes. Kiplyn caused that scar. I hated her for so long.
The sting of betrayal has been thick. The kick to my pride wasn’t that great either. But to hear that she’s possibly hurt? That makes my entire body ache. It seems fortuitous that this happened now, when I’ve been thinking about her for the past few weeks. Walking away from Thunder, ignoring her, which I know is a move, I decide I need at least one shot to calm my rattled nerves. I wasn’t planning on drinking. I don’t know what I was planning on doing, but it’s safe to say that any type of plans I did have are now out the window. They’re here to make sure I don’t completely lose myself, which means this is going to be horrific. I just know it. I can feel it deep in my bones, in my gut, down to my marrow. I hear the lock flip into place with a distinct click. Volt and Hellcat slide up behind me. They’re here to hold me back. They’re going to ensure I don’t take off and do something stupid, which I can’t guarantee that I won’t. “Kiplyn is in the hospital,” Legacy repeats from our phone conversation. “You wanna expand on that?” I grind out, mainly because he’s already said that to me, and I don’t really need to hear it again.
What I need is to know why, to understand it, and then also why it pertains to me. He dips his chin in a nod, then he clears his throat, and I know he’s trying to stall for some time because he doesn’t want to actually tell me what is going on. With each avoidance, with each passing moment, I become more and more upset. There is something more to this than her being in the hospital. In fact, I think that if he didn’t deem it necessary, he wouldn’t tell me at this point. There is a lot more, and my body genuinely trembles with anxious energy. “Her ex-husband beat her.” My heart stops beating in my chest. I actually have no words. I have no thoughts. I have nothing in this moment. I am staring blankly, but it’s that fog that fills my entire head. That fog that’s been in the corner of my eye for the past few months. “He did more than that, too,” he whispers. “Raped her…” My stomach twists. It knots. And then it flips, and I wonder if I’m actually going to puke right here in the middle of Legacy’s office.
I think I just might. “How do you know? How did you find out?” My heart starts beating again, but now it’s racing against my ribs, pounding in my chest. My head is spinning, and all I see is the color red. The color red. Redfills my vision. I know who her ex is, mainly because he’s my own flesh and blood. My cousin, George. A guy I hung around with as a kid, but it didn’t take me long to hate the prick. He was one of those kids who would do shady thing, then blame it on me. I was the bad kid, from the broken home, the bad teenager—everyone would believe him, so it was me who was always taking the fall for him. George was someone who always got what he wanted, the way he wanted it. He did not care about what was right or wrong. About who he screwed over in the process. There was never any stopping him. Once he set his sights, he was going to do whatever it took—lie, cheat, and steal to get it.
He saw Kiplyn. He wanted her. I didn’t blame him, really. She was what was good and pure in the world. I didn’t deserve her then, but I wanted to keep her. George thought he could take her from me—he did… and whatever he said to her, it worked. He got what he wanted, and I was left alone. Though, to be fair, at the time, I was not a man who deserved a woman like Kiplyn. I’m probably still not. She is definitely all that is good and right in the world. Smirking, I remember her in all the glory of her twenty-year-old self. The good things, at least, before I ended up hating her. She would volunteer at the library and read to kids. She would even visit sick people in the hospital. When I think of old lady material, Kiplyn is the absolute last woman who comes to mind.
So, I knew she would be done with me sooner or later, but she didn’t have to do what she did. She didn’t have to marry my cousin. She didn’t have to hide from me, refuse to talk to me, and tell me why she was leaving me, so that George came out acting like Billy. He didn’t have to use a broken bottle he’d been hiding behind his back and slash my face with. But if she hadn’t had him there, it wouldn’t have ever happened. Regardless, she’s still a good person, even if I hate that she did what she did. I don’t deserve her at all. The women I should surround myself with, who are more my style, are the ones at FoxTrot. Those are the women for me. I don’t deserve Kiplyn, but I’ll be mad if I let George touch her. Never again. “I was down at the hospital in Phoenix this morning with Henli.
Her dad was having surgery, and I saw her wheeled in. I was able to sweet-talk my way into finding out what was up with her.” “I’m going down there right now, and you’re taking me,” I demand. My hands are trembling, and I don’t think I can ride all the way there. The need to protect this woman, it flows through me like a living, breathing thing. Even though she isn’t my woman, she married another man, she isn’t my property—she will always be mine to protect. Hate or not, part of me will always be there for her. And right now, it’s clear that she needs me. He dips his chin, his lips twitching into a smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.” “I need to make a pit stop on the way.” Legacy’s lips curve up into an even bigger smile. “I was really hoping you’d say that. It’s been a long time coming.” “It has,” I grind out.