“You’re done for today, Parrish.”
“No—”
“You’re no good to me tomorrow if I break you today. Clean yourself up, and I’ll see you at five.”
“A.m.?” I squawked, but he was already gone.
I collapsed with a tired groan and was still lying there, cheek to the mat, when I heard someone enter.
How long had I been lying here?
My eyes were the only thing I could move as they followed the direction the footsteps came from.
Ocean.
He was dressed in a suit today. This one was dark gray and tailored to accentuate his broad shoulders. Each of his strides that brought him closer to me spoke of confidence and power, and I was too transfixed to be on guard.
“Abel told me you might still be down here.” Ocean crouched next to me but didn’t touch me. I refused to read too much into why that felt disappointing.
I groaned again, feeling my stomach muscles spasm when I flopped onto my back. “That’s all I got. Just leave me here and save yourself.”
Ocean chuckled. “I told Abel not to take it easy on you.” This time, he did touch me. I felt the sweep of his thumb under the tender part of my cheek. “Was I wrong?”
“No.” What didn’t kill me made me stronger, and I was done being a victim. I suspect Ocean knew that, too. I didn’t realize I was nuzzling his hand until his thumb fell to my lips. “Thank you.”
“You don’t ever need to thank me, Vengeance.” He scooped me from the floor, and I immediately felt horrible for ruining his expensive suit with my sweat—so horrible I lay my head on his shoulder while he carried me out.
“Coby’s mad at you,” I warned him groggily.
Ocean chuckled and gave me a squeeze. “I noticed when she yelled at me for half an hour, but thanks for the heads up, Vengeance.”
“Don’t be mean to her, okay? She just doesn’t want me to get hurt.”
He shook his head. “I would never mistreat her. And I don’t want that either.”
I lifted my head to stare at him in disbelief. “You hired me to protect her. The day will come when it’s either me or her,” I warned. “Coby’s more important to you. She’s more important to me.”
I looked up in time to see Ocean shut his eyes and inhale. “Please stop saying that, Hunter. It’s not true.”
“But it has to be. Coby deserves to be the only thing that matters to you. As her best friend, I don’t want anything less, so please believe I’m not saying this out of jealousy. I want you to understand that this marriage will be real for Coby and for you. Once you both say your vows, promise me you’ll let go of whatever you want from me. Let me go… for Coby.”
Ocean’s teeth were clenched as he stared straight ahead. “Like you, Hunter, if I could promise that and mean it, I would,” he said as he climbed the spiral staircase. “You deserve more than a lie. I will never let you go. I will never let Coby go. It’s the only promise you’re going to get from me.”
“How can you be sure the three of us can work?”
“I’m not, Hunter. Love has never been a sure thing. It changes faces every day, and it’s not always pretty. Coby and I took a leap of faith while you’re still standing on that ledge waiting to see what happens. You’re never going to stop being afraid of the fall. You just have to choose if you want to fall alone or with someone you love. Withpeopleyou love,” he corrected.
I stared at his profile. “Are you trying to tell me you love me?”
Ocean’s gaze cut toward me before darting away. “I’m trying to tell you I’ve been falling ever since you first tried to kill me.”
And now he was putting himself on the line, hoping I’d follow…
“The last man I trusted to love me unconditionally wanted to sell me for poker chips.”
His grip on me tightened. “I know.”
“And the last man I trusted to just be a friend tried to—”
