I risk taking a step closer, moving slowly, not wanting to scare her.
“Truth or dare?”
She just stares at me.
“Truth or dare, Briar Rose?” I say, softer this time.
“Truth,” she whispers, wrapping her arms tighter around herself, curling her fingers into the frayed edges of her hoodie.My hoodie.
“Why?”
She swallows hard, her eyes darting around, marking the exits.
“Why did you give us up to Giovanni?”
She inhales a deep breath, steeling herself against me.
“Why, Briar?” My voice raises in volume, and she jumps. My heart constricts, and I say, softer this time, “Ineedto know, Briar Rose, please.”
She nods stoically, letting out a shaky breath. “I had to make a choice… he was going to hurt her; it was you or Remi, and in this, there was no choice. I had to do it, Koen, I’m sorr?—“
I step forward, pressing my palm over her mouth, feeling her tremble under my fingertips, her eyes shining bright in the moonlight.
“Ineverwant to hear you say that again.”
Tears fill her eyes, but I don’t stop.
“You havenothingto be sorry for, do you hear me? You protected your daughter—our child… it’s all you’ve ever done. You did everything you could to keep her safe—even from me.”
Tears leak down her cheeks, wetting my hand, and I pull it away to kiss the top of her forehead, holding her face in my hands.
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“But I kept her a secret?—”
I shake my head. “You kept hersafe.” I stare into her eyes, brushing her hair out of her face. “And I can’t hate you for that.”
Her breath shudders, and she looks up at me.
“I was wrong—about all of it. I didn’t listen, I didn’t even try to understand, and I punished you, god, I—” I rub my handdown my face, remembering how I held that gun to her head in the woods.
I lower myself and my knees hit the ground. I look up and watch as silent tears leak down her cheeks.
“I’msorry,” I repeat, hanging my head, my forehead falls against her stomach, holding her to me one last time before I let her go. “I can’t take it back—what I did—how I treated you when I should have been protecting you…”
I pull back from her, letting my hands fall away.
“If you want to go… if you want to take her…” I choke on the words, but force them out anyway, “I’ll let you go.” I swallow hard. “Anything you need, wherever you want to go, I’ll take care of it. No threats, no guards, no dark shadow watching you—hauntingyou in the night. I won’t force this on you if you don’t want it. If you want me to stay away… I will.”
Briar’s red-rimmed eyes burn into mine.
“But that’s not what I want,” I whisper to her, shaking my head and trying to keep my composure. “I want you.I’ve always wanted you.I want you by my side and tangled in my sheets. I want it to be me you run to when you’re scared or overwhelmed. I want to be there foryou,and I want to be there forRemi. In every way I should have been from the start.” My throat locks and I drop my gaze. “I missedso much, and I can’t get that back, but I want to try. I want to hear her adorable little laugh every morning when I wake up. I want to be the one who gets her to smile when she’s sad. I want to tie her skates and teach her a proper slap shot, and god, I might be shit at it but… I just—I want to be herdad.” My eyes flick up to meet Briar’s. “If you’ll let me?”
She’s got a hand pressed to her mouth, trying to stifle the sound of the choked sob as it rips through her, but I can’t stand it, and in another second I’m on my feet, with my arms around her.
Briar buries her face in my chest, tears falling freely now, but she’s holding on to me tight; something inside of me breaks, and I feel a tear slip away.
“I’m here,” I whisper, my voice breaking, wishing with all I have that she doesn’t push me away. “I’m here, baby, and I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to.”
