“Tell Kym I’m sorry. Truly.” His smirk fades, replaced by something quieter, more sincere.
My voice wavers. “And that you love her?”
He hesitates, but then, he nods.
I step forward hesitantly, wrapping my arms around him. “A hug from everyone,” I whisper into his shoulder.
For a moment, he’s still. Then, slowly, his arms come around me, holding me as tightly as I hold him.
FOURTY
Iwake with a jolt.
The warmth is gone. So is the sunlight. The laughter. The pancakes. The peace.
And in its place…
Faces. Four of them. Hovering above me.
Lilia. Bea. Kym. Liam.
They’re all staring down at me, eyes wide, expressions drawn tight with concern. It takes me a second to realize where I am, my spine pressing into something soft.
I blink, confused, and push myself upright.
We’re still at the Steele house.
I’m on one of the long couches in the sitting room, I realize. Everything is quiet now. Dim.
Lilia exhales sharply. “Thank god,” she says, her voice cracking with relief.
“What… what happened?” I ask, my voice rough and groggy. My limbs feel heavy, like I’ve been asleep for days.
The group exchanges a look.
Cautious. Guilty.
That’s when I see a bright red path across Liam’s cheek. Angled, raw, and already darkening into a bruise.
My breath hitches. “Oh my god. What happened? Are you okay?”
Kym answers before he can. “Kai happened.”
Her voice is low. Hollow. She looks worse than I’ve ever seen her, paler than usual, her eyes bloodshot. And her hands are tucked into the sleeves of her hoodie, fingers trembling beneath the fabric.
I frown. “What did he do?”
“He knocked you out,” Kym says quietly, arms folded tightly across her chest. “Pressure point. Right at the base of your skull. The vagus nerve. If you press hard enough, the blood flow can slow and make someone lose consciousness.”
My stomach turns.
“But why?” I ask, the memory flashing back in fragments. His hand. The pain. My legs giving out beneath me. “He wouldn’t have done that for no reason. There must have been something—”
I glance between their faces.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Liam sighs, dragging a hand down his face. “Paris and Anderson. They snuck out. Kai found out and drove after them.”
