“Did your friends know?”
“No.” She was quick to come to their defense. She knew how Kieran was—what he was capable of. Had she been his friend in college, he probably would have put Vovik through a wall. “I hid it pretty well. I was good at makeup, and we all had busy schedules. Alex figured it out first. We had the same minor, so I couldn’t avoid him as well. Once he told Nat, they were all on my ass about leaving him. It was this stupid, ridiculous cycle where it would get bad and I’d leave, but he’d apologize and promise he loved me and—” Lily sucked in a breath. “I was stupid.”
Kieran squeezed her hand. “It’s not stupid to believe someone you love when they make you a promise.”
“Yeah, well.” She blinked away a few stubborn tears. “Nat made a promise, too. It was my birthday last year, and he threw me a party. He got really drunk and so irritated that I was playing beer pong with some of his friends. He got it in his head I was flirting and—”
Kieran swiped his thumb over her cheek, wiping away her tears. “Let me guess. He acted like an insecure little bitch and hurt you?”
She forced a smile. “It’s almost like you know his type.”
“I’ve come across them a few times. So, what did Nat do?”
Lily inched closer, letting his warmth bleed comfort intoher. “Well, I ended my birthday in the emergency room. When I told them I fell, Nat just lost it. She swore she was done, and she wasn’t gonna wait for him to kill me. She said I could go home with her or our friendship was done.”
“And you chose Nat.”
“I chose Nat.” At the time, it had felt like the end of her life. In reality, it was the beginning of her first taste of freedom. “Jack and Alex used my key to go get my stuff while Vov was at work. They left the key and my ring. I texted him it was over, blocked him, and moved onto Nat and Jack’s couch.”
Kieran raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers before cradling it against his heart. “Remind me to thank her next time we hang out.”
He wanted to see her friends again? Lily inhaled and chewed her lip. What were their current rules? Keep it low-key. Tell each other what they wanted. Be exclusive fuck buddies. Did fuck buddies mix their friend groups the way they had? Did fuck buddies lie quietly atop the covers, wiping away each other’s tears?
“Kier…” Her voice caught in her throat. What if she ruined it? What if the dreadedwhat are wetalk sent him running for the first time in his life?
“Yeah?” he prompted.
She forced a little smile. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
He offered half a shrug. “That’s what friends do.”
The assertion settled warm in her chest. Yes, Kieran was her friend. Maybe more, she wasn’t sure, but certainly not less. She wiggled even closer and rested her forehead against his strong chest. He was quickly becoming one of her closest friends—someone she could depend on.
Kieran was safe.
ChapterTwenty
Lily was safe.
That’s what Kieran told himself when he heard Lily shriek and rushed to find her tucked into Danny’s desk chair, her thumbs wildly jamming every button on a game controller while Danny triangulated her position on the map.
Lily was safe.
That’s what he told himself when, well after Danny’s room fell quiet, Lily snuck into Kieran’s bed and curled herself in his arms.
Lily was safe.
That’s what he told himself when she closed the door to her apartment with a “See ya later, Southpaw.”
Kieran bracketed the kitchen sink with his hands and sank into his bones with a heavy sigh. If Lily was safe, then why did leaving her to go back to her normal routine put a frenetic energy under his skin?
Because it felt like doing nothing, and, back at home, there was nothing better to do with pent-up energy than clean a sink full of dishes.
The hot, soapy water stung, but it kept him from reaching for his phone and texting her.
Footsteps thudded down the stairs. Kieran checked the time. Nine o’clock was early for a kid used to sleeping in until eleven during the summer.
Kieran turned his attention to his brother.
