She gave me a smirk. "So they got off light, huh? Well, what aboutyou?"
I didn't get it. "What about me?"
"You got off lightest of all, didn't you? Look." She poked a finger toward my chest. "You'refine. Not a scratch on you, is there?" She turned and pointed toward my car. "And look. Your car's fine too. Seriously, what has any of this cost you?"
She was wrong.
"Chloe. It's cost me everything."
"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "Right."
"Everything that matters."
"You know what?" she said. "That's real easy for you to say." Her voice rose. "Me? I'm an inch away from losing my job. Those guys, they got their car trashed. But you? This has cost you nothing." She took a step closer. "Nothing!"
Her eyes were wet, and her body was trembling. I couldn't stop myself. I reached out for her.
She slapped my arms aside. "So who's gonna kickyourass? Who's gonna getyoufired?" Her voice broke. "Who's gonna trashyourcar?"
"You want someone to kick my ass?" I spread my arms. "Go ahead. I'd welcome it."
"Sure you would."
"Think I'm lying? You think I don't know that I deserve it?"
"Yeah? Well, words are cheap." She turned away.
"Wait."
She stopped. "For what?"
I met her gaze and said one simple word. "Proof."
Chapter 5
While Chloe watched, I strode toward the back of my car. I popped the trunk and rummaged around until I found the thing I was looking for. I pulled it out, slammed the trunk, and returned to Chloe.
I showed her the tire iron. It was big and heavy, solid metal. I held it out in my open palms. "Here."
She glanced down. "What would I want with that?"
"Take it." I looked into her eyes. "And hit me."
She didn't move. "Oh shut up. I don't want to hit you."
"Alright," I said. "Get someone else. Havethemdo it."
She looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Had I? Probably. But that didn't mean the offer wasn't real.
"Go ahead," I urged, "find someone. I'll wait."
She shook her head. "Oh c'mon, you can't be serious."
She was wrong. I was deadly serious. At the memory of what I'd done to her, I could hardly choke out the words. "Why not? I deserve it. Just like you said."
She was still shaking her head. "You are seriously messed up. You know that, right?"
"Hell yes, I know it! You think I'm liking myself right now? You think I don'tknowthat I deserve an ass-beating? You think I don'twishit was me 'suffering,' as you say?"
