She stiffened. Then, just as fast, she shoved against me. “Brooks, you need to leave. I don’t have feelings for you.”
I didn’t let her go. Not this time.
“No,” I said firmly, my grip gentle but unrelenting. “Stop.”
Her breathing was uneven, but she wasn’t fighting me as hard as she should have. I ran my hands down her arms, her back, the curve of her waist, grounding her. “Whatever it is you’re going through, we’ll do it together.”
Her resolve cracked for a split second. Her eyes flickered up to mine, and fuck, there it was. Warmth. Longing. Love. And I had been too blind to see it before.
“Brooks—”
“I know about your family,” I said softly, the words crushing the distance between us. “The threats against me. The break-in.”
Her entire body locked up.
Her eyes widened, panic flashing through them so fast it made my stomach twist. “Brigham told me,” I added.
Her expression darkened instantly. “That fucking idiot.”
Before she could storm off, I caught her shoulders, tilting her chin up so she had to look at me.
“Let me be a part of this,” I said, voice low, steady, full of every emotion I hadn’t said in the past four days.
“They… they can hurt you, Brooks,” she whispered, voice raw with real fear. “Or your mom. I can’t risk it.”
Her words sent a fresh wave of fury through me.
They had put her in this position. They had made her believe that the only way to keep me safe was to break her own heart in the process.
I cupped the back of her neck, pressing a slow, deliberate kiss to her lips. She trembled against me, her fingers curling into the front of my shirt like she was grasping for something real, something solid.
“I don’t care,” I murmured against her lips. “You’re not doing this alone. Not anymore.”
she blinked up at me, and her eyes shimmered, her walls finally caving in.
“Okay,” she breathed.
That single word slammed into my chest like a wrecking ball.
“Just okay?” I asked, a slow grin pulling at my lips. “I thought I’d have to grovel more.”
Her lips twitched, but her eyes were still wary, still holding onto something.
“We can deal with all of that later,” she said. “I texted them that I had the money and to meet me here. Better to stage it with witnesses than have them show up in the dead of night. They sound desperate, and I just want this fucking over with.”
“What’s the plan?” Logan piped up from behind me, his shit-eating grin so misplaced it was almost funny. Michelle’s mouth curved up slightly, but she shook her head at him.
“What?” Logan shrugged. “I like a good sabotage.”
“I have a recording on my phone of my father threatening you,” she said, finally meeting my eyes. “Brigs also installed a camera outside my apartment, and we caught my brother breaking in again. I lured them here with false promises, but I’m going to blackmail them. They can either leave me and you alone, or I take all of this straight to the cops. A friend of a friend. Someone they can’t bribe.”
My chest tightened.
She had done all of this alone.
And I had left her to it.
“Do you have any weapons or something just in case?” Logan asked, brows lifting.
