“And say what?” My voice is sharp, cracking at the edges. “This isn’t about me.”
“No,” he agrees. “It’s about Eden. And how the hell you’re supposed to support her.”
Bitterness burns like acid as I stare through the windscreen. “She’s better off without my support.”
“You’re wrong,” Diesel mutters. “She’s desperate for it. Anyone with eyes can see how sad she is. Hollowed out. And I ain’t seen you put an arm around her once. Not one fucking time.”
I pin him with a glare sharp enough to cut. “Now you’re watching me?”
“I’m watchingher, brother. And if you were, you’d see how much she needs you.” He shakes his head. “Fuck, Kade, she looks like she’s fading.”
A pulse of pain detonates in my chest. I slam my palm into the steering wheel. Once. Twice. Again. The burn shoots up my arm and I welcome it.
“I wasn’t watching!” I shout, voice breaking loose like something feral. “That’s the whole fucking point. I wasn’t watching. If I had been—” My voice cracks. “If I had been, none of this would’ve happened. I let her down. I let her fucking down, and I can’t get past it.”
Diesel lets the words hang there, the confession I’ve been choking on for days.
He nods once. Slow. Understanding but firm. “Then fix it,” he says. “Before she walks for good.” He pops open the passenger door and steps out into the cold night air, where the others are waiting. “It’s time.”
He slams it shut, leaving me alone with nothing but the echo of what I’ve been refusing to say, I’m scared to look at her. Because when I do, I’ll see everything I failed to protect.
We head towards the warehouse. The men stay outside, leaving me and Diesel to go in.
Jimmy’s pacing before we even step into his office. I hear him before I see him, his boots scraping the concrete, muttering under his breath, the sharp clink of a bottle hitting a desk. He sounds frantic.
Diesel pushes the door open, and Jimmy’s head snaps up. Relief floods his face like a man who’s been handed oxygen.
“Thank fuck,” he blurts, dragging a shaky hand through his hair. “Boys, I know I’ve been quiet, Nathan’s not answering, and I’m trying to figure out where the hell my shipments are—”
He stops suddenly, frowning between Diesel and me like he finally registers the mood. The energy. The silence. He swallows.
“Look, if this is about the work…” He forces a laugh that dies halfway out his throat. “I told you, nothing’s come through yet. I’ve been distracted. Liam’s killer is still out there and I’ve been trying—” He trails off, his eyes narrowing and darting between us both. “Kade?” he murmurs. “What’s going on?”
I step closer. Enough to make him tense. “You want answers about Liam?” I say quietly. “Fine. You’re gonna get them.”
His throat bobs. “What?”
“You said you’ve been looking for his killer,” I continue, meeting his eyes dead-on. “You can stop.”
Silence tightens the air like a noose.
Jimmy’s jaw flexes. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Diesel leans against the wall, his arms folded, watching him with that look he gets right before all hell breaks loose.
“It means,” I say slowly, “we know exactly who killed him.”
Jimmy stares. “Who?”
I let the truth drop like a loaded gun hitting concrete. “Eden.”
Jimmy’s face drains of colour. “What?”
“She killed him,” I repeat, my voice sharp. “And she did it because Liam raped her.”
The shock hits him so hard he actually staggers, grabbing the desk behind him.
“No.” He shakes his head violently. “No. Liam wouldn’t, he’s a lot of things, but he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t do that. Not to your woman.”
