AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What if you aren’t there to protect me? What if thatonetime you aren’t there, Kai…? What then?” she asked.
I went to answer her but thought better of it as she began pacing in the grass.
“You told me that story about Angel. About how youthoughtyou had the shot and didn’t. I don’t want that to happen to you again—for you to not be able to save me. And I certainly don’t want to not know what to do.”
I took her hand in mine, pulling her close to me. “Why a gun?” I whispered.
“Have you seen me?” she said, motioning to her small frame.
“Logan and Liam are both bigger than me, no?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“I don’t use a gun, though.” I smirked. “I don’t need to, and you don’t either.”
“Why does it matter to you so much? Why keep coddling me?” She tried to pull away, but I held her firmly to me. The image of her dead in my nightmare wasn’t fully gone from mybrain yet. Instead, it sat there, simmering, ready to flash itself to torment me.
“I’m coddling me,” I said, running a hand through my hair nervously. “I hate those things. The smell, the feel, the sound. Everything about them. They…they…" I couldn’t finish the sentence.They kill. Because, at the end of the day, they were no better than a knife. Each a tool to commit violence and to draw out the soul of someone else. “Just find something else…please.”
“What if you teach me? We can both get through it together,” she offered, dead set in her ways. Her stubbornness matched with the pout, and her body pressed tight against mine almost had me falling to my knees. I wanted to do anything to make her happy, to keep her safe. But that was one thing I couldn’t give her.
“I made a promise, Audry.”
She flinched when I used her name. I let my heart freeze over, preparing myself to deny her.
“A promise?” she asked.
“At Angel’s funeral, I promised her…I swore I would never use one again.”
“But the dead can’t make promises,” she whispered, laying a soft hand on my chest.
“Good thing I’m not dead then,” I retorted, looking away. “You do what you want, Audry. But I won’t help facilitate this. I can’t.”
Her warm, soft hands rested on my chin, tilting my gaze back towards her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have scared you.”
“You didn’t scare me.” I rested my forehead against hers.
“I…just…thank you for being honest with me,” she said, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
Chapter 35
Audry
Kai’s walls were crumbling slowly but surely. His hand tangled in mine as he helped me from his lifted jeep. There was a shift in our relationship since he told me about Angel—the first real thing he had shared about himself. But neither of us acknowledged it, nor did we talk more about the whole gun situation.
We walked hand in hand along the walkway. Colorful shops lined the main street, most not open this early. The cool air blew in a salty scent from the water nearby.
“It should be up here”—he pointed—“I never have tried the coffee here, but Logan has.”
We rounded the corner, a woman standing in our way, her back to us.
“Excuse us,” I said, trying to step around her.
Her long blonde ponytail grazed my cheek as she whipped around, rubbing her sharp cinnamon scent into my space. Kai pulled me closer to him, his grip on my hand tightening.
“Actually, I’m Maddison McKenzie.” She adjusted her brown leather jacket to the side. The flaps opened, and a gold sparkle caught my eye. On top of her tucked in black shirt, fastenedto the belt of her jeans, was a police badge taunting me in the morning light.
All the blood and heat from me fell away. My fingertips went cold, and my life shattered once again. I was fucked, and this was it.
