“I can’t even imagine. But listen, we don’t have to talk about this right now, okay? The most important thing is your recovery. There will be time to discuss all of this later.”
She blinked up at me, tears clinging to her lashes and making them all spiky. “I love you,” she said.
I grinned, though my throat was clogged with emotion. Fuck, there was a time when I thought I’d never hear those words again.
“I love you too.”
The next day,though I was loath to leave her side, I put Trey in charge of Sutton’s safety. He’d located Johns, and I needed to bring him in—or take him out. It was a toss-up.
He surprised me by descending on her hospital room with board games, Aspen and Reagan in tow, intent on cheering her up with some wholesome fun. I left her with a lingering kiss and promise that I’d be back soon.
I asked Finn and West to meet me at my house. I had a job to do, and I needed someone to watch my back. There weren’t any people in the biz better than the twins.
This was strictly off books. Although, even if it wasn’t, there was no way in hell I would trust anyone in my department to help me. I was struggling to trust any of them lately, and once this whole mess was settled, I’d be taking a good hard look at my staff, making sure no one who had aided Johns remained.
Finn, West, and I gathered around my kitchen island, the twins eyeing me warily.
“Is this the part where you finally kill us for tormenting you for years?”
I choked on a laugh at how close to the mark West’s comment had struck.
Not them, though. I loved my family. I would killforthem, would do everything in my power to make sure no harm came to them.
I hoped they felt the same.
“I have something I have to take care of,” I started.
“Sheriff’s business?”
“Nah,” I said. “Well…yes, but no.”
“You’re not making any sense,” Finn said.
“Ishouldbe acting on behalf of the department, but no. For me, this is personal.”
“This is about Sutton, isn’t it?” West asked.
I nodded. “If you’re going to come with me, to help me take care of this…problem, there’s something you should know.”
They glanced at each other, shared the type of quick, wordless exchange they’d been having their entire lives, then faced me again and nodded.
“It goes without saying that none of this leaves this room.”
“If it goes without saying, then why did you say it?” West quipped.
I glared, and he raised his hands in surrender.
“First, you need to know that the night of her twentieth birthday, Sutton was raped.”
Their faces adopted identical expressions of horror, but they didn’t ask questions, simply kept their mouths shut while I explained everything.
Our brief but all-consuming relationship. The rape and its aftermath. How she pushed me away. How she’d been strong-armed into signing the settlement offer that meant the rich prick wouldn’t face jail time.
“Why didn’t you fight for her?” Finn asked.
Having no good answer for that, I shrugged. “I was a dumb kid. It doesn’t matter now anyway, does it?”
“I suppose not,” he mused.
