My chest decompresses as a gush of air rushes from my lips.
“What happened?” I step forward, gently spin her around and look into her blue eyes. “Who did this to you?How?” My voice shakes with fury. “Hailey...” I curl my fingers under her chin, dying to hide her in my arms and kiss every bruised inch of her. “Tell me what happened.”
Tears dance in her eyes as she inhales deeply, biting her bottom lip. “I... it doesn’t matter. Can you pass me the hoodie, please?”
Her voice is so small, so broken, so fragile... just like her.
She’s a strong girl. Has been since the moment we met, juggling grief, amnesia, her father’s paranoia, and her feelings for me, never once complaining. New environment, new people, a life she couldn’t remember, and yet she had the strength to dig deep into her memories for answers.
Now that strength is wilting away.
Too much has happened recently. She looks on the brink of overloading, but somehow, she keeps herself together.
“Let me help,” I say, wondering how much she’s hurting, and hating myself for dropping her on the bed without a care.
I want to touch her, hold her, kiss her. I want the one thing that has the power to numb my mindless anger: her closeness. The feel of her warm body in my arms.
“Help?” she asks in an incredulous, hurt tone, gently shaking her head. “You lied for weeks and now you want to help? You don’t get to act like everything is okay without a lick of explanation. You pretended to care about me—”
“I lied but I never pretended. You have no idea how fucking much I care.”
“All you care about is the evidence,” she spits out, injecting a vial of venom into her words. It’s a front to hide her hurt. “You’re just like Alex,” she adds, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “But this time I know how it ends andIdecide how much I give you.”
That hits me even fucking harder than her bruises. Maybe because I realize that, on some level, she’s not wrong. I spent so much time hating that fucker because he used my sister for personal gain that I didn’t realize I was doing the exact same thing to Hailey... but there’s one distinct difference between Alex and me.
“Ineverhurt you.”
She scoffs, the sound artificially angry while the fire hisses out of her. “You did.”
I have no words. I can’t stand the sadness painting her face. It guts me becauseIdid that to her... I have no line of defense.
A minute passes while I try and think of one, staring into her tear-stained face.
“I wanted to tell you.” I sit beside her, so close and yet so fucking far. “I should’ve, but—”
“It doesn’t matter,” she cuts in, disappointment clear in her tone. “What’s done is done. I know why you came for me. You want the evidence. If I help you find it... will I be allowed to walk away?”
Nois the first thing that springs to mind. I can’t imagine my life without her. She’s mine. She can’t leave. She doesn’t really want to leave... she just hasn’t realized yet.
I broke her trust. It’s too fragile to reconstruct in a day, but I’ll make it work. I’ll makeuswork.
As bad as it sounds, the hurt and disappointment shadowing her pretty face mean she cares about me.
“How do you know about the evidence?” I ask.
“Blaze told me... unlike everyone else in my life, he didn’t lie. He answered every question I had.”
My jaw clamps shut, working in small circles as I swallow the bitter pill. She sounds like she respects that piece of shit. Like she’d rather be in his mansion right now than safe here with me.
“You think he was protecting you, Hailey? He’d kill you as soon as you told him where the evidence is. And I doubt he told youeverything. He doesn’t know half of it.”
“Details,” she scoffs.
Her attitude drives me fucking feral for two different reasons. I hate that she thinks I’m the enemy but I alsolovethose claws on her. I love that she’s fighting, determined to come out on top.
I don’t necessarily love how hard her attitude makes me, but there’s little I can do about my aching cock. I doubt it’ll catch a break anytime soon.
“Details are important,” I insist. “Tell me what you know.”
