Savior Complex: A Small Town Love Triangle Romance

As for Nina, something isn’t sitting right with me about all of this. In the short time it took to walk her home, she had been vulnerable, honest…so completely refreshing. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about her had awakened a part of me I didn’t know had been asleep.

But I hardly know her. And the woman I’ve known and loved for five years is telling me that Nina is bad news.

This shouldn’t be complicated. I have a fiancé, and Nina is no one to me. If she’s the kind of person who would screw over her family and manipulate her grandmother, she’s not to be trusted.

And yet, I can’t stop thinking about how she’s been run out of her family’s house and is possibly too drunk to drive.

“You have to call her,” I say, then ignore Jordy’s look of shock. “Listen, you may hate her, but I’m sure even you don’t want your cousin to do something stupid like drive drunk.”

I can tell Jordy wants to argue about it, and I’m ready for the fight. She must sense that, because she finally sighs and digs her phone out of her back pocket.

“She’s not answering,” she says after a few moments. I don’t hesitate, taking the backyard way to the side gate then slam through another gate to the front. I pull my keys out of my pocket, ready to hightail it down the highway when I see Nina in the front seat of a Cadillac across the street, her head in her hands.

“Brayden,” Jordy calls after me, but I ignore her as I stalk across the street and open Nina’s car door.

“Hey!” She jerks her head up, and I can tell she’s been crying. At this moment, I don’t care what happened in the past that makes this whole family hate her. I don’t even care that Jordy is on my heels, about to witness me getting too familiar with someone who’s supposed to be a stranger. There’s something carnal inside of me, ready to explode at the sight of Nina’s tears. I want to hurt everyone who’s ever hurt her.

Jordy arrives at my side and takes my arm. I have to fight the urge to jerk away. I’ve never wanted to pull away from Jordy’s touch, but right now, it feels like the wrong woman is holding on to me. Even more, I can see from the look on Jordy’s face that she’s gloating at her cousin’s tears. I swallow hard, inhaling deeply so I don’t do or say anything I’ll regret.

“You can’t drive.” I release my arm from Jordy’s grasp and reach across Nina to take the keys from the ignition. She still smells of alcohol, but this close I can also smell the lilac of her ocean hair and the warm honey of her golden skin, igniting a hunger inside me that’s white-hot and captivating. I’m going to go out of my mind if I can’t touch her.

I yank my head out of her car, then take a few steps back, her keys in my hand. The rage in her eyes tells me she sees this as a violation, but I’m just trying to keep my distance so I don’t do something stupid.

“You smell like my father’s liquor cabinet,” Jordy huffs. “What, you have to steal his booze too?”

“Fuck you, Jordy. And fuck your whole family.” She turns to me, too. “And fuck you, give me back my keys so I can get the hell out of here.”

“No.” I put the keys in my front pocket. Her eyes follow, and my dick twitches to attention, as if she called its name. I close my eyes briefly, willing it to behave. “You’re riding with Jordy in the truck, and I’m driving your car home.”

“Like hell I’m driving any vehicle with her in it.” Jordy glares at me, and I realize she’s right. If I put these two girls in the same cab, they’re liable to tear each other apart on the two-hour drive home.

“Fine, then drive the Cadillac,” I say to Jordy. “I’ll follow in the truck with Nina.”

“Are you kidding me? Why can’t her parents take her home?”

I think of how her mom jabbed at her the whole meal. If this was how she treated her in public, what would it be like for a two-hour car drive?

My inner voice of reason interrupts this thought process though, reminding me that Nina is not my responsibility. Her dysfunctional family dynamic is not my business. The only one I should be concerned about is Jordy, and it would probably do us both good to pack up and leave, letting the rest of them figure it out.

But I can’t. Ever since the night I rescued Nina from those assholes, I have not been able to get her out of my mind. Seeing her here is making me question everything. I can’t just walk away, and I definitely can’t leave her.

“Look, we’re going the same way. And you know where she lives.” I do, too, but Jordy doesn’t need to know that. “We’ll just caravan over there and drop Nina and her car off before heading to the ranch. And the sooner we leave, the sooner we can be home.”

“Hello, I’m right here.” Nina steps out of the car and leans against it. “Don’t I get a say in it?”

“No,” both Jordy and I say in unison. Despite myself, I quirk a smile at my fiancé. I can see she’s softening. I tilt my head in question until she rolls her eyes and holds out her hand. I fish the keys out of my pocket and place them there, holding her hand for just a moment as a way to say thank you. She relaxes, her eyes showing the hint of a smile.

“Let me just grab my purse and tell them we’re leaving.” She trots back to the house.

“I’m not really drunk, you know,” Nina says once she’s gone. “I had two drinks and that’s all.”

“Two strong drinks, if I can still smell it. Come on, let’s get in the truck.”

“You don’t have to save me,” she says, unmoving. “You already did that, and I’m grateful, but I’m done being saved. I’d like to just go home and forget I have a family, or that any of this happened.”

“You can do that once I drive you home,” I say. “Now get your ass in the truck.”

Chapter Six