CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LIAM
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Jayden sits on thesofa opposite me, his legs wide, arms by his side.I sip my coffee, wishing I’d added a cap of whiskey, and assume I look far more relaxed leaning back in the cushions of the armchair than I actually am.
For days I’ve known this conversation was going to happen, but I didn’t think it would take place after Jay had walked into my room and found me in bed with his sister.
Or that I’d have to get physical to protect Jessie after she was raped.
A fucking second time!
I know it’s not my fault, but I feel like it is.
It happened while she was in my care.
She’s not a fucking kid, as she keeps telling us.
And yet, it’s for that exact reason that I feel responsible.Jessie is the woman I love.The one I’ve silently sworn to protect as long as I live.
Christ, I must have been eight when I had the thought.Just a kid.And yet, it’s as strong within me now as it was back then.
She belongs to me.
More so even than her brother sitting opposite me.I can’t explain it.It’s a feeling.Like we are both two sides of an oyster shell, meant to be together.
Now here I am, twenty-eight and fighting to keep both my best friend and the woman I love in my life.
It will be a cold day in hell when I let them both walk away from me.
They should know me better than this.I’m tenacious, determined and always get what I want.
Now that I am admitting what I want, I am going after it.
I fucking love you.
