From The Ashes (The Knights of Mayhem Book 3) by Brook Greene

he bounds back down the steps with his pristine gym bag.  “Are you sure running is the right thing to do?”
    “Hollis, it’s not running, it’s vacationing.”  I can hear the defeat in his voice but his face is hard to read, which I’ve always been able to do.  The past couple days he’s kept it hidden from me, just like he’s doing now.
    He eyes me from head to toe, but never looks me in the eyes.  “You’ll need a jacket. It’s gotten cold outside.”
    I rub my arms at the thought. I don’t know about outside, but it has definitely turned artic in here.  “I don’t have one.”
    He huffs as he crosses over to a small closet tucked under the stairs.  He re-emerges holding a hoodie that he tosses to me.  “There, put that on.”  I hold it to my nose, smelling his cologne.  He clears his throat.  “Are you done?”
    “Yes.”  I respond sheepishly, pulling it over my head, imaging it was him engulfing me in his arms.
    ~~~~~
    Twenty minutes later we’re rolling out of town.  Roman had decided to take all backroads out. I’m not sure why, but the defeated girl in me knows.  I watch as we ride by all the old abandoned buildings that are tagged with spray paint of various colors.
    We sit in silence and the ringing in my ears is driving me crazy.  “Are you going to stay with me or are you leaving?”  I chance a side glance over at him. He’s devastating handsome.  The morning sun is streaming through the window, caressing the shape of his strong square jaw, his straight nose, and the prominent intelligence of his brow. 
    “No, I’ll stay with you for a few days, or just until I can figure out a way to get out from under this fucked up situation.” He never looks at me. Taking the hint, I train my eyes out my window, taking in the scenery flashing by in a blur.  I smile, hoping he can’t see my reflection. I know he’s staying out of desperation for himself, but I can’t help but think I’ll be alone with him.
    I stay quiet for the rest of the drive up. His phone rings constantly, but he silences it every time and eventually, he turns it off, throwing it on the dash.  “Shit, they know I’m on the road.”  He pauses to look at me for the first time in the already hour-long trip.  
    He can try and hide it all he wants, he isn’t doing this just for me.  He’s staying, hoping he can somehow reconcile the feelings he’s starting to have for me again with the hate he knows he should hold for me.
    Maybe I should take a page from his book—do my own soul searching on this trip so I can finally realize I never deserved Roman. No matter how much I think I’ve changed, I was, nor will I ever be, good enough for him.  Although I have made peace with myself, I should’ve never expected him, or his family to.  I’ve done some bad things in my life, and most of them have ended up hurting Roman and the people he loves. 
    I had so envied him with his big extended family that loved him so much.  I’d been left alone and with no one of character to guide me. I’d taken the life given to me by the horns and rode that bitch. She obviously didn’t have a great sense of direction.
    I’d chosen wrong, and I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life.  My punishment, my penance … walking barefoot across broken glass, letting the sting of pain remind my soul I had thrown happiness away with both hands, then rolled him over and kicked him in the nuts.

Chapter Seven
    Roman
    When we pull up to the cabin, the pressure on my chest is almost to the point of suffocating.  I sit looking into the sun of the early fall afternoon as Hollis’ soft breaths of sleep fill the cage I’m trapped in.  She doesn’t stir as I unload the bags of groceries I had taken from the house. Then I round the truck to her side.  Opening the door for her, I gather her up against my chest, holding her tight.  I try not to jostle her too much on the way into the cabin.
    I cradle her body to