Page 121 of Hard Bargain

“How old were you?” The question came out sharper than intended. “The first time.”

Knox hesitated. “Eleven.”

Dominic looked away. Had to. The anger came up fast and hot. He exhaled through his nose and forced himself to keep his voice level. “And what happens after?”

Knox gave a small shrug. “It’s always the same. Seventy-two hours. They monitor her, talk to her. She says all the right things.”

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “Meaning?”

“That she’s fine. That it was a mistake. That she won’t do it again.”

“And they believe her?”

Knox’s gaze flicked to the closed door. “They can’t keep her if she doesn’t meet the criteria.”

Of course they can’t.

“They offer her a longer stay,” Knox went on. “Voluntary.”

“Let me guess. She says no.”

“Every time. They also offer a therapy plan. She doesn’t go. And she’s already on everything they can put her on.”

Dominic looked at him properly. At how steady his voice was, how practiced all of it sounded. Like he’d lived it too many times to react to it anymore.

Eleven years old.

Four times.

And a woman who walked out every single time like nothing had to change.

“I want you out of that house,” Dominic said.

Knox blinked. “I can’t…”

“Yes, you can,” Dominic said, voice low but firm. “It’s not your job to keep her alive, Knox. That’s hers.”

Knox shook his head, pulling back. “You don’t get it.”

“I get it just fine,” Dominic said. “You’ve been doing this since you were a kid. That doesn’t make it your responsibility.”

Knox didn’t answer.

Dominic exhaled through his nose, forcing the anger down enough to keep control. “I’ve got an empty apartment. On the third floor of my building. Cassian’s got one up there too. It’s yours.”

Knox stared at him. “Even if I could leave her… I can’t pay rent on her place and my own.”

“You don’t have to pay me rent.”

Knox just looked at him. “Why?”

Dominic didn’t have an answer. Nothing that sounded rational, nothing that didn’t circle back to the same thing he couldn’t fully explain to himself. “I’m not letting you go back there,” he said instead.

“That’s not—” Knox shook his head, stepping back. “People don’t just do this for someone.”

“I do.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”