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“I’ll be all right,” I repeated, needing him to believe it. I pulled back just enough to stare at him. “Say goodbye to Mom for both of us.”

He swallowed hard, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.

“Okay,” he replied.

I forced myself to walk away, my back rigid as I walked right back out of the church. Every step felt too controlled for the amount of rage burning through me. My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching it, and my hands kept flexing at my sides like they were looking for something to help. The cold air outside should’ve helped, but it didn’t begin to touch the heat crawling under my skin.

Behind me, Sariah’s heels struck the pavement in quick steps as she chased after me.

“Rhodes,” she called after me, but I kept walking. “Rhodes! Wait.”

I didn’t. If I opened my mouth, I’d say something I couldn’t take back. If I stopped moving, I’d turn around, and if I did that, there was a very real chance I’d march right back through those doors and finish what my father had started.

I had to get to my car and get out of there. That was the only smart plan.

“Rhodes!” Her voice drew closer as I rounded the car and fished my keys out. “Rhodes fucking Kennedy, you turn around right now, or so help me!”

Every nerve in my body was raw and stretched past its limit. Her voice was the last thing that pushed me over the edge. I whirled on my heels, forcing her to take a single step back. Her shoulders squared off, and her chin lifted slightly as she readied for a fight.

“What?” I demanded louder than I intended. My chest heaved with breaths that came out too quickly for me to control. Anger vibrated through every inch of my body until I shook with it. Dad’s voice beat endlessly against my skull.

Your fault.

You left her.

I wanted to hit something so bad I could practically feel it.

“Give me the keys,” she ordered.

“No.” I tightened my fist around them instead, the jagged edges biting into my palm. The pain barely registered.

“Now.”

“I said no,” I snapped. I didn’t need another person telling me what the hell to do. Instead, I unlocked it and yanked open the driver’s side door. She grabbed it before I could get in. My voice dropped dangerously low as I ordered, “Let go.”

She didn’t. For one blinding moment, I stared at her hand wrapped around the doorframe and felt something ugly winding through me. I wasn’t mad at her. Not really. But the anger had nowhere else to go.

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting you drive home,” Sariah retorted. “You’ll get us both killed.”

The pain in my hand increased as did my grip on the keys. I wanted to get away from the church and away from my father. But mostly, I needed to get out of there before the small, rational part of my mind lost its grip, and I did something I couldn’t take back.

“Either get in the fucking car or walk home,” I growled. “I don’t fucking care, but you’re not driving.”

Because driving was something I could control, and I desperately needed one thing in my life I could control. I climbed behind the wheel before she could argue again. I shut the door and grasped the steering wheel. My heart hammered beneath my skin, and every muscle in my body was wound tight enough to hurt. I started the engine as Sariah hurried around to the passenger side. She was barely settled in her seat before I shot out of the parking lot, needing as much space between me and the church as possible.

CHAPTER 77

Theo

Istood off to the side of the vestibule with Wyatt, but I couldn’t have repeated a single thing he was saying if someone offered me a million dollars. My attention was fixed on the church doors. Rhodes had stormed through them only a minute ago with Sariah chasing after him, and every instinct I had screamed at me to follow. I hated standing there knowing he was hurting while I stayed behind, pretending I belonged exactly where I was.

But for as horrible as it was that Mr. Kennedy had forced Rhodes to leave, this was Jude’s mom too. He needed me here.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself as Wyatt’s voice faded into meaningless noise beside me. My chest was still painfully tight from watching how his father had treated him, from how Jude had tried to protect him, and from the fact that I knew this would be the thing to break him. In my heart, I knew this was the moment that would break Rhodes after everything.

And that left me struggling to stay. I wanted to run after him—to be there for whatever the crash-out looked like. I trusted Sariah to take care of him, but he was still mine, and doing absolutely nothing was devastating.

I caught sight of Jude weaving around groups of people and walking straight toward us, his hands shoved in his pockets. His expression was carefully composed, but I knew him well enough to catch how his jaw ticked with frustration as he neared.