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Instead, he takes my face in his hands and kisses me with a force so strong, so deep, it steals my breath away.
I love this man.
Deep down, I never stopped loving him. Even when every breath, every beat of my heart, physically hurt because we were apart.
It’s always been him. And now we both know it.
King pulls away from my lips, locks his gaze on mine.
“I needed you too, Jules. More than you’ll ever know.”
Warmth blooms in my chest as he holds me in his strong arms, my head resting on his chest. Snuggling in, I drift off to sleep, happier than I’ve ever been.
The buzz of my phone jolts me awake. I fling my arm out from beneath the sheet and grab the cool metal, hitting the button to silence the dang thing.
“Shit.”
I stare at the string of missed messages, delivered last night while we were otherwise preoccupied.
Sabby: Your brothers are here looking for you. I’m sticking to the plan
Heart pounding, I keep scrolling.
Sabby: Cash keeps pushing. But I’m acting like I don’t know anything
Another text, thirty minutes later:
Sabby: Where are you? Call me
Then another one, thirty minutes after that.
Sabby: SOS
Ten minutes later, she sends a photo. I tap the pic and zoom in.
“Oh my god.” My stomach rolls, acid rising up my throat. “Those bastards.”
Sabby’s arm is black and blue, handprints visible on her pale skin. My brothers’ hands. Those pigs laid hands on my friend, all because I asked her to cover for me.
I immediately text her back.
Juliet: Sabby, I’m so, so sorry. I can’t believe they hurt you. I never would have asked if I thought they would touch you. Call the police and file a report. They deserve it
Guilt washes over me, and I fight back the urge to scream, instead clenching my fists so hard my knuckles ache. The movement wakes King. He runs his palm down my arm, soothing me.
“Babe. What’s the matter?”
“This.” I thrust my phone at him, and he holds it away from his face, squinting at the screen.
“Is that your friend at the Tipsy?”
“Yeah, Sabby. I asked her to cover for me if my brothers came in. You know—because they were sniffing around and love to cause trouble. Well, guess they didn’t believe her and got rough to get their point across.”
King’s jaw tenses, his muscles flexing behind me. Readying for battle.
“I’ll handle them, Jules.”
Not a question. Not a warning.
