Her breath shakes.“To you?”
I nod once.
“Because of the club?”
Another nod.
“Because you matter?”
That one guts me.
“Yeah,” I rasp.“Because I matter.And becauseyoumatter to me.”
Her lips part.
Her voice breaks.“Ledger.”
“I should’ve kept you away from me,” I state.The truth burns my throat.“I tried.But I wasn’t good at it.”
Her eyes fill with tears.“I don’t want you to keep me away.”
“Even now?”I ask quietly.“Even knowin’ what it cost you?”
She reaches out, slow, trembling, and sets her hand over my heart.Right over the place that hasn’t beaten steady since the moment she forgot me.
“Ledger,” she whispers, “I don’t remember our past.But every time you leave, it feels like losing something I never got the chance to keep.”
My breath catches.
Her touch tightens.
“And every time you look at me,” she says, “I feel like I’m on the edge of remembering everything.Even if I don’t get the memories back, being near you feels right in a way I have never experienced, that I know to my core.”
I grab her wrist gently, holding her hand against my chest, too overwhelmed to speak.
“And if someone is coming after me because of you?”she continues, voice stronger now, “then they’re going to have to deal with more than just the Kings.”
I shake my head.“Sunshine?—”
“No,” she states, eyes fierce.“No more protecting me from the truth.I want to remember.I needto remember.”
Lightning flashes outside.
Thunder rolls.
Her face is lit for a split second, fierce, brave, heartbreakingly soft.
I lean in before I can stop myself.
Not to kiss her.Not this time.
But I rest my forehead against hers again.
Her breath shivers.
“Kelly,” I whisper, “I swear to you nothing on this earth is gonna take you from me again.”
Her lips brush mine.
