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He breaks eye contact with me and returns to Chase. Eliminating the space between them, he sticks his hand out. “Thank you. For saving my daughter’s life.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Chase shakes his hand.
When he tries to pull back, Jonathon doesn’t allow it. “I mean it. Thank you. I will forever be indebted to you.” He looks over at me. “To both of you.”
Chase nods, looking my way. His brow is raised.
Jonathon finally releases his hand and turns to me. “May I speak with you in private?”
I want to say no. I’m not ready to have this talk. Jonathon deserves the truth about what happened. But the question is what will he do with the information once he knows? I nod and tell Chase I’ll be right back. When we’re standing alone in the deserted hallway, he begins.
“Thank you.”
“I don’t think you owe me a thank you. More like I’m fired for putting your daughter in danger—”
“You know what I’m thanking you for.” He stares down at me, his eyes boring into mine.
“I did what was right. She has her whole life ahead of—”
“Stop,” he cuts me off. It takes him a moment to gather himself. I’ve never seen him so stripped bare of his emotions. “She may have saved your life, but you saved hers. I will never forget this.”
“If the truth ever comes out, I’ll accept the consequence—”
“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
The question is, can Anna keep the truth a secret?
Chapter 30
Chase
I wish everyone would stop babying me and get the hell out of my apartment. I’ve been home a week and feel like I haven’t gotten a single moment alone with Bridge.
The guys suddenly live here. I can’t get Ben off my couch, and Levi is acting like my mother, putting groceries in my fridge. I almost punched him when I saw him about to clean my bathroom.
I love my friends, but right now, all I need is Bridget. And she seems to get pulled away every time I try to get her alone. Something’s going on with her. She’s doing everything she can to hide it, but the first two nights, she woke up screaming. I tried to comfort her, but she refused to talk about it. She’s been called into the police station twice and has returned distraught both times. I asked her to talk about it, but she kept deflecting and making it about me. When it became too much to bear, she finally broke down and confessed the burden she’s been holding. She wasn’t the one who shot that woman—a secret only four people share and will stay that way. I will always and forever lay down my life for her.
When she’s not trying to baby me, she spends the days with Anna. The little girl still isn’t talking. It guts me to think about what she endured. What she witnessed. Since Bridge feels responsible, she’s overworking herself to make it better. Not sure how anyone erases the horror of what that kid went through.
Kip’s been over every second, but he keeps his distance. He barely says a word. I guess he’s still having a hard time getting over what I did. And I get it. I’m just happy he’s here.
I grab a beer out of my ridiculously full fridge, pop off the top, and walk back into my packed living room. “Jesus, now Hannah’s here?” I look over at Hannah, who’s carrying a gift basket. “No, take that shit right back.”
“Shut up. It’s not from me, so don’t worry. It’s from my mom. She thought you would like some of her baked goodies.”
Ben gets ready to intercept when I storm across my living room. “Not a fucking chance. Give me that basket.” I snatch it from Hannah, and she laughs. You’d have to be insane to turn down a bakery basket from Kip’s mom.
“What are you doing? No drinking! How many times do I have to tell you?” Bridget comes out of nowhere and snags the beer out of my hand. “You can’t drink on your medication.”
I pout while the guys snicker. Assholes. “Well, I’m a man. I can drink whenever I want.”
“What are you gonna do about it, Chasey-poo?” Ben teases.
I’m gonna punch him, for starters, because he knows I’m not going to do a goddamn thing. I’m absolutely whipped and in love. If Bridget Matthews told me to jump off the building, I’d do it while blowing her kisses. “Angel, give me back my beer.”
“No.”
Damn, that was stern.
“Fine, I’m just going to get another one.” I turn my back to all the laughing jerkoffs and head into the kitchen. Opening my fridge, I push around protein shakes and fruit. “Who the hell eats fruit—?”
“Hey.”
I lift my head. Kip stands in the doorway of my kitchen, his hands shoved in his pockets.
