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“She means nothing. She was a one-night stand I met online—”
“What’s going on here?” Jack’s rough voice choked from behind me. He cleared his throat, doing his best to swallow some of the fear pulsing between us. “Can I ask why you gentlemen are delaying this man? A man who is clearly injured and just needs to go home and rest.”
Fuck, Jack.
Damn you, Jack.
My bones snapped.
My heart shattered.
The four men narrowed their eyes at the one guy I never wanted to get in trouble for me. He’d done so much. He’d lose so much.
Jack threw me a look. I sucked in a breath. And I saw it all.
Saw his confession at harbouring me.
Saw his submission to whatever punishment would come for him.
And I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t let him pay for my mistakes.
Neri would never forgive me.
I would never forgive me.
“Move along, sir. None of your business,” one of the officers muttered.
“Ah, see, that’s where you’re wrong,” Jack argued. “It is my business because—”
“Who the fuck are you?” I whirled on him with violence. My hip threatened to knock me out, and my voice wavered with grief I couldn’t quite swallow. “Go away, old man! This is embarrassing enough without a complete stranger butting in where he doesn’t belong.”
Jack’s eyes widened.
His mouth fell open.
I glowered at him as if I was one moment away from punching him.
The officers shifted, and one of them touched my elbow. “Let’s go. We’ll continue our questions elsewhere.”
“No, you can’t,” Jack grunted. “You can’t take him.”
“I told you!” I growled, pointing my finger in his face. “Stay the fuck out of it. Go away.”
He trembled and shook his head.
Everything inside me gagged on despair.
I wanted him to fix this.
I’d give anything for him to find a way to take me home with him. Back to Nerida. Back to anonymity.
But I wouldn’t let him pay for my mistakes.
I wouldn’t let him suffer for the selfish decision I’d made to trespass on their lives.
I couldn’t talk my way out of this. I had no ID. My injuries lined up with those used to confirm who I was. My own fucking father’s face condemned me to my death.
My only options were to outright fight when I was barely strong enough to walk, or...say goodbye to a life I wanted more than anything and protect those who’d loved me for eight incredible years. Eight years that I wouldn’t have had without them. Eight years where I’d loved blindingly, lusted obsessively, and would always be so fucking grateful at finding my soulmate so young.
Neri.
What I wouldn’t give to see her again.
To tell her how sorry I was.
To find a way to give her back her heart so I didn’t take it with me when I died.
Neri...
Her name was a bullet to my chest, an axe to my neck.
“Aslan Kara, please step inside the vehicle,” thin-lipped guy said. “Time to go.”
Jack raised his hand. “Wait, you can’t—”
“Enough!” I roared. “I told you to butt out. This doesn’t concern you.”
My eyes met his.
His filled with tears.
I couldn’t look at him.
I’d break.
Balling my hands, I marched as steadily as I could toward the silver SUV.
The flash of handcuffs swung in one of the guy’s hands, revealing how close they’d been to arresting me in full view of injured people and my father-in-law.
An icy whip wrapped around my wrists.
Terror shot down my spine.
No way could they imprison me.
No way could they trap me.
I’d lose it.
I’d snap.
Fuck, Neri...
I couldn’t breathe at the thought of never seeing her again.
I...
I...
I can’t fucking breathe!
My knees buckled mid-step.
Jack shot forward as if to catch me.
I swallowed my groan and righted myself, pushing him away. “Get a fucking clue, old man! Go! Get out of here.”
Before they know you’re the reason I survived here this long.
Before my father learns who you are.
Jack shook his head, his self-control breaking. Turning on the men, he snarled, “Can’t you see he’s hurt? He can’t go anywhere. He needs to rest!”
“We’ll take good care of him, sir.”
“Leave him be!” Jack shouted, rousing the attention of other people. Some stopped to watch. My spine prickled with eyes. So many eyes. More eyes that’d seen me since I’d started hiding in plain sight.
“Sir, I suggest you don’t involve yourself in affairs that have nothing to do with you,” thin-lipped guy muttered.
Jack’s mouth twisted to argue.
Horror shone in his eyes.
And my body chose that moment to break.
My heart blew through all the depression I’d suffered and all the terror I’d harboured.
It exploded with the worst pain I’d ever endured.
It shattered.
Pulverised.
Splintered.
It hurt worse than any broken bone.
It bled quicker than any severed artery.
I dropped to one knee.
I groaned as my hip throbbed.
Hands hitched under my arms as I was hauled almost kindly to my feet.
In a haze of pain, I was guided toward the SUV and helped inside.
Jack chased after us. “You can’t take him. I won’t let you—”
