Keeping Karly (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free PDF Page B

house. I have my sister, her boyfriend, Chris, and Grant and Bryce with me for support—and I suspect for protection, as well—but it doesn’t stop the nerves bombarding me.
    It’s been nearly four weeks since my husband’s violent attack. It took a lot of convincing, but I finally see the situation more clearly. Bryce and Grant wouldn’t let me hide from the truth. I even hated them for a while, but now I think of them as two of my closest friends. I never imagined that would happen. Bryce, Grant, Casey, and even Chris, have gone above and beyond what I expected from friends and family. As much as I appreciate their support, I really hope this is the last thing I will need for them to help me with.
    I want to regain my independence. I have a right to do things my way. I know that now. A marriage should be about compromise and acceptance, not about me being too frightened not to do what my husband demands. For so long I truly believed we had the perfect marriage, but now with distance and time and a whole lot of self-introspection I realize just how wrong I truly was.
    I never thought I’d get a divorce. Three years ago I said my vows with an open heart and a determination to make things work, so it feels awful to go back on my promise.
    I can’t get the correct key into the lock, and despite the irritation I should feel at a man taking over, I smile gratefully when Grant eases the ring of keys from my hands and quickly opens the door. I immediately move to the alarm panel to disengage the security, but it doesn’t escape my notice that both Grant and Bryce flank me. It should be irritating, but under these circumstances I’d rather feel safe.
    It takes me a few moments to realize that the alarm is not turned on, so my husband’s voice has me leaping in fright. Grant and Bryce both steady me as I turn toward the man who’d once promised to love me forever.
    “Get out of my house,” he says calmly from halfway down the stairs. His gaze is glued to the two men who move to step in front of me.
    “As soon as Karly collects the things she came for,” Grant says casually. His voice might sound friendly, but I can feel the tension in him where my fingers are touching his lower back. I quickly snatch my hand away, surprised I reached for Grant—I glance at my other hand— and Bryce under these circumstances. True, I consider them friends now, but I’ve really only known them for a handful of weeks. I knew my husband nearly two whole years before he showed his true colors.
    “Nothing in this house belongs to her,” he says dismissively. “Now get out.”
    “Nothing?” I ask in a small voice. I really want to stand up to John, but this is the kind of annoyance that led to days I’m trying hard not to think about.
    “What did you expect, Karly? You never did a day’s work in your life.”
    “That’s not true,” I say, shaking my head. My newspaper articles and weekly variety column brought in a little bit of money, but it had been John’s insistence that I give priority to making a home that had left me without a real job.
    “You know that’s not true,” Casey says, sounding angry. “My sister ran herself ragged making certain everything was perfect for you. If I’d realized she did it out of fear I would have dragged her out of this marriage a long time ago.”
    “And where would you have gone, little whore?” John asks dismissively. “Last time you were here, it was you needing my hospitality. I should have thrown you out when I had the chance.” He grins at whatever expression those words put on my sister’s face. From behind Grant and Bryce I can’t see much of anything as John takes a couple more steps down the staircase. “You were always dragging Karly down, distracting her from what was important with your slutty behavior. You started the argument we had that night. You do realize your sister getting hurt is entirely your fault, don’t you?” He smirks at Chris as the man steps in