Ben might claim he doesn’t know where she is, but I don’t buy it for a second. The man’s an ex-FBI agent, and more importantly, he’s her father. No way he’s not keeping an eye out, even from a distance.
Still, the doubt claws at me.
It took me months to come out of the hollow shell I became after my mom died. By the time I did, it was too late. Lina was already gone.
Since then, I’ve been searching. I look for her in every face I pass, every single day. Every street, every crowd... I see her everywhere and nowhere. A flash of golden hair. A familiar laugh. It always turns out to be someone else, but still, I look. I have to.
I’m pathetic.
Eight years, and I haven’t moved on. Lord knows I’ve tried, but no one compares to her. Nik and Johnny can pretend they’re different, but I see it in them, too. She didn’t just leave. Shetooksomething of us with her. And the worst part? I’m not sure we’ll ever get it back.
Nik walks over and takes my hand. His blue eyes lock on mine, and the contact sends a jolt through my chest. He’s always been beautiful in that sharp, masculine kind of way. Thick blonde hair gathered in a manbun, full beard framing a strong jaw, and a face that could either ruin you or save you, depending on the day.
His other hand grips the back of my neck and pulls me in. His mouth crashes into mine, all heat and hunger. There's nothing soft about it. Just dominance, desperation, and a tether pulling me back from the edge.
By the time he pulls back, my lungs are struggling, my knees feel weak, and my cock throbs. Some things never fucking change.
“We’ll find her,” he says, voice low and fierce. “We’ll bring her home.”
When he steps back, I glance down at the black and blue leather bracelet still wrapped around his wrist like a permanent reminder. Some days I wonder if she even thinks about us. If she ever stops and questions where we are, or if this entire mission is built on nothing but delusion and leftover hope.
When I look up, Nik is watching me with that same fire in his eyes. Hebelievesshe’s out there. That wewillfind her. I wantto believe, too, but I just don’t know how much hope I’ve got left in the tank.
“It’s already February,” I mutter. “We’re down to four months.”
I rake a hand through the top of my dark hair, the buzzed side catching against my fingers. The prickly sensation grounds me.
“Four months is plenty,” Nik says. “That’s how much time we had with her the first time. Remember?”
How could I fucking forget? Four months changed everything. It wasn’t anywhere near enough time, but I keep that thought to myself. We’re on borrowed time as it is. If we don’t find her before July, it’s over.
Johnny’s happiness literally depends on us tracking her down. His anger runs deep, and when it comes to Lina… he’ll do whatever it takes to get his version of justice. Even if it means marrying the wrong woman.
The last eight years haven’t been kind. I barely survived after my mom died. It took me an extra semester just to graduate high school, and that pushed back everything—college, life, my future. Luckily, the University of Tennessee was understanding and let me defer my admission by a semester.
I joined Nik that following January and enrolled as a commercial art major. It was fine. I got through my Bachelor’s, checked the boxes, made decent grades, but the joy bled out of it fast. The critiques, the deadlines, the structure... it wasn’t for me. College turned something I loved into something I dreaded.
So, I pivoted.
I started apprenticing at a local tattoo studio back home. I took shit jobs, cleaned tubes, and practiced nonstop. I paid my dues until I built a name for myself. Now, I work freelance, either from my shop or as a guest artist in studios around the country. I’ve traveled and lived and built a life on my terms.
And I’ve hated every minute of it without her.
My beautiful, haunted girl ruined every woman who came after. No one holds a candle to her. Except Nik. He and I came out in college. We’ve tried to bring another woman into the mix, but it never worked. None of them were her. None of themareher, and we both know it. So, it’s just us, for now.
Nik holds half of my heart. He always will. But the other half? That still belongs to the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl we lost too soon.
I know one thing’s for sure… when we find her—and we will—I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her. I’ll tether her to us with more than vows and promises. I’ll bury myself so deep inside her soul, she won’t remember where we end and she begins.
This time, I won’t let her slip away.
Not ever again.
Chapter 3
Lina – 8 years ago…
The University of Georgia campus is more beautiful than I expected. I love walking down the bustling sidewalks shaded by towering oaks, past the red brick buildings with ivy climbing their sides, and watching students everywhere… laughing, moving, living.
