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Chapter One
Kennedy
My body trembles as I sit here, watching Conner sleep. He looks so peaceful, so innocent. I trace the profile of his face, imprinting this moment and one of the best nights of my life to memory.
Conner loved me again and again, showing me just how good it could be between us.
But this is it.
I know I can’t stay a second longer, even though I never want to leave.
Forcing myself to stand, I glance at Conner one last time. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, silent tears trickling down my cheeks.
Backing away slowly, I tiptoe across the room and drop the handwritten note onto the nightstand. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but when you love someone, you make sacrifices for them.
You protect them.
And there isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do for the boy sleeping soundly in that bed.
Conner Jagger isn’t only my best friend, he’s my everything. My small slice of heaven in a world full of darkness and pain.
My hands tremble as I open the door and slip into the hall. It’s late, the middle of the night, so I don’t meet any other guests as I make my way downstairs. Every step away from our room is like another shot to my heart, and I know by the time I make it out onto the sidewalk, there will be nothing left.
I scan the reception, hoping to avoid a scene with the night worker. Thankfully, it’s empty and I hurry past the desk. But I pause at the last second.
Maybe I don’t have to do this.
Maybe if I just tell Conner what’s happening, he and his brothers and James can figure out a different way.
No.
I owe them this.
They’ve been nothing but good to me since I arrived in the Bay.
I won’t be the reason their lives are thrown into chaos again.
Drying my eyes with the back of my sleeve, I take a shuddering breath.
I can do this.
It’s nothing I haven’t endured already before.
Conner saved me, but now it’s my turn to save him and his family.
As I step outside and let the darkness swallow me, I tell myself I’m okay with that.
“Kennedy, thank fuck.” Warren stalks toward me, pulling my shivering body into his arms. I go rigid, silently willing my heart to calm down.
His touch is like ice, freezing me from the inside out, but I force myself to stay still, to accept his offer of comfort.
Not that his arms ever made me feel safe.
“I’ve missed you, baby. I’ve missed you so fucking much.” He holds me at arm’s length, his eyes moving over my face and down my body.
Something flashes in his eyes and I wonder if he can smell Conner on me, but then his expression morphs into one of relief. “Jagger?” He spits the word.
“Sleeping.”
“You did good, baby. So good.” He curves his hand around my neck and kisses my forehead. “Let’s get you home, shall we?”
Home.
The word is like a knife to the stomach. But I try to make my face say otherwise as I muster the best smile I can. “I’d like that.”
Warren doesn’t let me go, guiding me to his beat-up Chevy. The streets of Colton are quiet, no one around to witness my escape.
Not that it matters.
When Conner wakes up and sees my note, everything will change.
Pain coils around my heart, and I smother a whimper. Warren glances down at me but I pretend not to notice, keeping my eyes on the sidewalk.
“In you go, baby.” He opens the door and coaxes me inside. The second the door closes, the air leaves my lungs and everything grows small around me. The urge to run saturates my veins.
I can’t do this.
I can’t go back there...
But I have to.
This is bigger than just me now.
Tears threaten to fall again, but I blink them away, desperately trying to get a rein on my emotions before Warren climbs into the car.
His door opens and he folds his big body inside. Letting out a steady breath, he turns to me, a wolfish grin tugging at his lips. “Back where she belongs,” he murmurs, roughly grabbing my hand pulling me along the bench to him. “These last few weeks have been... shit, Ken, you really scared me there for a second.”
