“Well, it was about this.”
“I don’t know what this is,” Ian reminded her, hurt and betrayal flooding through him.
Alex shook his head. “Jesus, Riley. Your old man surfaces, I didn’t expect you to keep the news locked up tight. He’s the guy you’re with.” He gestured toward Ian. “Hell, you practically threatened me that I’d lose you if I didn’t come around and find a way to get along with him. I figured he was the first one you’d confided in.”
“You thought wrong,” Ian informed him. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I plan to find out,” he said, his voice vibrating with anger. “Let’s go. We’re leaving,” he told Riley, his hand still holding her arm.
“The hell you are.” Alex stepped into his personal space. “You’re not leaving with her while you’re so pissed off.”
“Alex, it’s fine,” Riley said.
The other man scowled at Ian. “You don’t hurt her, you don’t lay a f**king hand on her in anger.”
“He wouldn’t! Alex, back off. This is my problem, not yours,” Riley said, defending him.
Ian clenched his free hand, the one he was itching to shove in his half brother’s face.
“Do not tell me how to deal with my woman,” Ian bit out, wanting Alex to know when it came to Riley, Ian had first dibs. “And if you think she’d be with me if I laid a hand on her, then you don’t know her as well as you think you do.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t know her.”
Point scored, Ian thought.
Alex stepped back. “Call me in the morning,” he said to Riley.
She nodded.
Ian immediately led her across the ballroom toward the exit. She struggled to keep up with him in her high heels, but getting her alone and quickly was his first priority.
“We need to say good-bye to your family,” she said.
“They’ll deal.”
“What about the speeches? I thought you wanted to stick around for those?” she asked.
“It’s fine. I’m well represented.”
“Okay,” she said quietly, giving in, which told him she knew he wasn’t just upset but that he had good reason to be.
He didn’t speak again until they were settled in the back seat of the limousine, the privacy partition raised. “You had a problem, and you went to Alex,” he said through a clenched jaw.
She blinked at him. “What? No. It wasn’t like that. He called me after…wait. I need to start at the beginning.” She pushed away from him, curling into herself close to the car door.
He gave her the space she needed. For now.
You already know it’s about my father,” she said, not wasting time.
“The father you never speak of.”
She inclined her head, looking down, as if ashamed.
He couldn’t have that. Didn’t want her unable to meet his gaze when she confided in him.
“Riley, look at me.”
She raised her head, tears in her beautiful blue eyes.
Shit. He slid closer and cupped her chin in his hand. “Tell me.”
She swallowed hard.
He waited until she nodded to release her but didn’t give her any space between them.
“What Alex said? About you not touching me in anger? It was…it is a sensitive subject for me. For us.” She hesitated, and Ian gave her the time she needed to gather her thoughts. “You see, my father was and still is an abusive son of a bitch.”
Ian froze, his entire body stilling. He hadn’t seen this coming.
Not at all. “He hit you?”
Her shoulders sagged slightly. “When I was younger, my mother took the brunt of it. She made sure he directed his fury at her. Then, when Mom died, I stayed out of his way, and he seemed to calm down a little.”
He recalled her telling him she’d been sixteen then. He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat.
“Not long after that, he had his gall bladder removed. My stepmom was his hospital nurse. He was on his best behavior while he was wining and dining her and never showed his real self until after they were married.” She fiddled with her hands then drew a deep, shuddering breath. “Melissa, my stepmom, she’s one tough lady, and he quickly realized he’d chosen the wrong kind of woman this time.”
Ian inclined his head. “You’ve mentioned her. You said she and Alex were your only family.”
She nodded. “I adore her. She was the role model my mother should have been. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my mom, and I miss her every day. And I know she protected me, but she didn’t stand up for herself. If not for Melissa, would I have learned to value myself? To not put stock in the belittling words I grew up around? I’m not so sure.”
His stomach churning, Ian reached for her shaking hands, covering them with his own. “You’re strong, Riley. I saw that in you from the first day we met.”
She smiled at that. “I like to think so.”
“Did he ever hit Melissa?” Ian asked.
She shook her head. “They fought often and loudly but…he just seemed to keep himself in check somehow. I think he knew Melissa would go to the cops.”
“Your mom never did?” he asked, but he already knew the answer.
“I begged her, but…no. She wouldn’t.”
“So what happened?” Because something had tipped the precarious balance. That much was obvious.
“Alcohol happened,” Riley said in a disgusted voice. “He was always a heavy drinker, but living with Melissa, suppressing his rage, it got worse. And one night, Melissa was working the late shift. He expected me to have his dinner on the table. Not only didn’t I do it, but I talked back and…he slapped me. Hard across the face.”
A building fury like he’d never felt before filled Ian, making him want to lash out. But his more rational self understood that anger was the last thing Riley needed to see, and he clamped down on his simmering emotions.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said in a gentle voice he barely recognized.
She nodded. “I tried, but I couldn’t hide the red mark on my face. The next day, Alex saw, and he went berserk. Part of me was surprised he took it so badly. I mean, in my mind, a slap was nothing compared to what he’d done to my mother, though I hid that from Alex as much as I could. Looking back, I thought I was getting off lightly, but Alex was furious.”
“Good for him,” Ian muttered.