Shadows In Durango

Chapter 123

*****Vincent's POV*****

The silence in the car was killing me.

I kept my eyes locked on the road, gripping the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles pulsed around the leather.

The tension between us was thick, almost suffocating, and I figured that it wouldn't have been so severe since we had both spent some time apart...

But boy was I wrong!

I could feel her growing antsy beside me, fidgeting, probably lost in her own worried thoughts, and all I could think about was how badly I'd screwed this all up from start to finish.

I knew that I couldn't avoid this conversation any longer, but damn, I still wasn't as ready for it as I thought I would be.

Not even close.

There was a million things to say and to talk through, yet all I could give her right now was thickening silence...

She had every right to be angry, every right to hate me for how I had handled things. The way I'd kept her in the dark. The way I'd gone behind her back.

But what the hell was I supposed to do?

Did she expect me to just sit back and watch her get pulled into even more danger? Watch her father finally catch up with her? Watch her get hurt because of me?

I only thought I was helping...

I glanced over at her, just for a second, and saw the tension in her face, her hands twisting nervously in her lap below.

She was hurting like I was over this, probably more.

And I hated it.

knowing that I was the one who'd put that very look on her

silence anymore. I had

Anything.

this, you know," I said quietly, not daring to look at her. My eyes stayed glued to the road ahead, my

snapping toward me, and I could feel her gaze burning into the side of my face. "What? I mean, how?" Her voice was shaking, and I could hear the confusion in it, the

trying to figure out how to explain myself. "I don't blame you for what happened

getting shot at all, but I knew it probably seemed that way with how I had acted last night, but I was just well and truly overwhelmed

why could I see the guilt all over her face as

words, and then, almost like she couldn't stop herself, she whispered, "I feel that I'm responsible for all of this. If I hadn't come into your life at all, none of this would've happened to any of

she was a curse, or some kind of

didn't. I had no right to snap at her, not after everything that she's already been through... that would only

hesitated, knowing what I was about to say wasn't going to be easy for her to hear. "What was to

her feel any worse, but I couldn't pretend like it didn't bother me. She should have told me. I needed her to tell me. To trust me with

to keep

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spoke, her voice was

edge that at the time, I didn't want to selfishly add another problem on top of that... but what I

me hard next, pausing any

can I say to

for words as I stared ahead and waited for

their toll now since this

in to my driveway, I put the car in to park and took a second to think... allowing my head to bury in to my hands, the weight of this

me, her presence close but distant at the same time. I didn't even know where to start now. I'd run it over in my head a thousand times, thinking through all the things I would say when we found her, but now that we were actually here, it was like every word I wanted to say had just evaporated

this heavy talk

her an explanation for why I had chose to reach out to the one person she feared

had fucked up majorly, I knew that, but I was now fucking terrified of

I raised my head, forcing myself to face her on this. She was staring out the window, tears

times before, now hurting because of me, the one she

right thing in order to keep you safe, I didn't know he was going to manipulate the situation like he did, and the whole arranged marriage thing wasn't mine or my fathers idea, it was all him - believe me!" I begin to spill out, hoping that I could provide enough context on how things

malicious, at least not intentionally, but the same fact still remained - I should have discussed