My stomach twisted, nausea curling through me, and I pressed my palms to my thighs, trying to anchor myself, trying to stop my thoughts from spinning.
The lot smelled faintly of asphalt and exhaust. The engine thrummed under me, a steady reminder of reality, of the decision I’d made. I tried to count the cracks in the concrete, tried to will the minutes to pass without unraveling. My hands felt too tight, too hot. I shouldn’t have to be here.
A metallic clang cut through my thoughts. My head snapped up just as the gate groaned open.
He stepped into the lot, walking tall but cautious, shoulders tensed as if bracing against something I couldn’t see. But then I did—cameras, flashes, phones rising like flaming torches inLandon’s face. A dozen voices hurled probing questions from all directions, each one slicing the air.
I hadn’t noticed them before, hadn’t registered until now that the world was waiting to pounce on him.
“Landon!” My voice cracked, but it carried.
I shoved the door open and ran across the asphalt, heart stinging with each step. Gravel dug into the soles of my shoes. I didn’t care about the flashes, didn’t care about the shouting. Only him.
He moved through them, ducking under an arm, sidestepping a phone. His expression was tense and rigid, but something in his face shifted when he spotted me. The distance closed, the press of bodies shrinking to nothing.
And then he was in my arms. Everything I’d been holding in—fear, relief, frustration—spilled out. My hands tangled in his jacket, gripping as if letting go meant losing him all over again. I cried even as I tried to stop myself, tears spilling down unchecked.
He pressed his palms to my cheeks, wiping the tears I couldn’t control. “Hey,” he murmured, a rough thread of a sound. “Hey. I’m here.”
I couldn’t answer, not with words. My body shuddered against his, seeking some impossible stability in the middle of the swarm.
“Sorry. I’m an idiot,” I sniffled. “You’re the one getting out of jail. I have no reason to be bawling like a baby.”
Without checking or asking or glancing at the paparazzi, Landon’s lips found mine, a quiet claim against the noise and the flashing lights. As if it was all he could think to do in the moment that would both shut me up and make me feel better. He kissedme as if we were all alone, and the press looking on didn’t matter to him.
We pulled apart just enough to breathe. The cameras kept firing, voices still yelling, but we didn’t move. We stayed pressed together until I could ground myself enough to step back.
“Get in the car,” he said after a pause, voice steadier. I slid around to my side, and killed the engine that had been idling this whole time.
The world shrank to the interior, and finally, the doors closed.
“Thanks for posting my bail,” he said, voice softer now, almost casual, but there was an edge of something I couldn’t place.
“It’s the least I could do.” I tried to keep my own voice steady, but the tremor in my hands betrayed me.
I pressed my face to my palms, letting my elbows rest on my knees. “James isn’t taking my calls. He’s taken time off work, so he’s not at the hospital. If he were… I’d claw his eyes out myself.”
Landon laughed, dry and uneven. “Probably best if only one of us breaks the law for now.”
I shook my head, the guilt thick and bitter. “I’m sorry. For everything. This arrest… it’s my fault. If I’d stood up to him ages ago, dumped him like I wanted to, none of this would have happened.”
He touched my hand, his thumb tracing steady circles on my skin. “He’s a world-class dick, Nicole. That’s on him. Not you. None of this was your fault.”
My shoulders slumped. I let out a shaky exhale, tasting the remnants of panic and relief in the air filtering through the cracked windows.
“I need to talk to him,” he said then, voice tight with urgency. “Will you drive me to his place?”
I gaped at him, mouth dropped open. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I should just take you home.”
“No.” His face looked about as hard as the word sounded. “I need to talk to him. Just talk. That’s all.”
My stomach twisted into several knots. There was no way I could do this with a clear conscience after everything that had just happened. “Landon… You’ve already gone through enough. Another confrontation isn’t—”
“I have to do this,” he interrupted. He wasn’t angry or on edge. If anything, he seemed clearer than ever. “Please, I promise it won’t get out of hand and if it looks like it’ll go that way, I’ll leave.”
I hesitated, fear pressing against my ribs, but the determination in his eyes broke through. “Okay.”
I pressed the seat belt over my chest, heart still clattering, hands trembling against the wheel. His presence in the passenger seat was a solid weight next to me, but did little to smooth the fraying edges of my nerves.
