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“Right before that weekend in San Antonio.”
Oh, God. Had he planned to propose for that long? And she hadn’t known, had never suspected he wanted more than friendship.
He pressed the box into her hand. The velvet was worn smooth, and she wondered how many times he’d opened the box to stare at the ring over the years.
She opened it now and picked the ring out.
“I know it’s not going to be easy,” he murmured, kissing her neck again as she examined the stone. “I know we both have our demons... but we’re stronger together. We can fight them together.”
She turned and looked into his hopeful eyes and saw all the love he had for her. Saw the past they’d shared. Saw the future they could have...
And, yes, she wanted it more than anything.
She slid the ring on her finger, then, as a slow, boyish smile spread across his lips, she cupped his cheeks in her palms and kissed him. “I love you, too, Connelly Davis, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
He returned the kiss with an intensity that sent a thrill through her. Warmth spread from his lips to every nerve ending and wrapped around her heart. Once the kiss broke, he buried his face in her hair and tightened his arms around her. She pressed her fingers into his back and just held on.
Finally, he pulled away and cupped her face in his hands, brushing a light kiss over her lips. “I’d like to write our story if you’re okay with it. It’s not horror, but I think it’s worth telling.”
“I’ve had my fill of horror for a while.” She turned her hand over, watching how the diamond sparkled. “Write me a love story, Connelly.”
His grin was quicksilver. “I already have.”
epilogue
Jaxon Thorne was innocent.
After receiving the call from a grumpier-than-usual Ash, Cal pumped a fist in the air.
He’d known it.
He’d defended killers before and knew Jax wasn’t one.
Sure, the guy had still done some pretty awful things. He’d hurt Alexis in his twisted quest for revenge, and he was going to spend time in prison for it.
But he wasn’t a serial killer.
He wasn’t a rapist.
He was a war veteran with severe PTSD, and the system had failed him. He’d tried to self-medicate with drugs and lost his mind, and Cal was going to make damn sure he got the help he needed while he served his time.
Cal pulled his chair out and sat heavily in it, the leather creaking under his weight. His mind buzzed with a million thoughts, jumping from one file to another in rapid succession. A sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the case files spread out on his desk.
Jaxon Thorne wasn’t the only one the system had failed. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be the last.
But Cal would keep fighting for them all.
Because someone had to.
The shrill ring of his desk phone jerked him out of his thoughts. It was Ellie. He knew it before he even answered. He had expected her to call sooner rather than later, and now that it was here, he felt a strange mix of dread and relief.
“Cal.” Ellie’s voice came through the phone, frigid and sharp as shards of ice. “Is it true? Was Jaxon Thorne cleared of the murder charges?”
“Yes,” he said.
“He’s not walking free, is he? He still hurt Alexis. He tried to kill her!”
He could picture her expression—those beautiful blue eyes narrowed in anger, lips pursed in distress—and couldn’t blame her for her anger. She’d lost one sister already and, because of Jax’s actions, had nearly lost her other. It was only human to want someone to blame, someone to hate. But Jax—as messed up as he might be—wasn’t the root of all evil.
