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“This is Bennett’s dad. He’s here to help.” I shake my head, eyes dropping. “I’m fine. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong.” Her eyes go cold and she turns to look around the room before she sneers. “Where the fuck is he?”

She’s the only one that knows everything—though I’m sure Sadie’s figured much of it out by now—so when her eyes connect with Ethan as he steps out of the office, she takes off again.

Heart in my throat, I can’t even manage to shout for her. But Adam seems to figure it out fine, his legs moving swiftly behind her—

“Hey,” Alessia shouts, grabbing Ethan’s biceps to spin him toward her. But before she can hit him, Adam swoops an arm around her waist and scoops her backward against his chest. She wrestles against him, but he says something in her ear that has her eyes shooting up toward him, fight leaving her body. He lets her go after a moment, both ignoring whatever Ethan is shouting as well as the cops surrounding him.

Adam takes over, speaking swiftly and calmly—low enough that I can’t hear.

“What the fuck?” Ethan spits. His face is red and I wonder if it’s from me. My arms were swinging wildly. I know my elbow caught his jaw, and he’s got a patched-up cut on his eyebrow, so maybe that’s where my hit landed.

“Fuck you,” Alessia shouts.

I take another sip of water, hands shaking, eyes never straying from the scene.

There’s another burst of noise and all our eyes are drawn to the entrance, where Bennett and Rhys are shoving their way through.

“Gray!” It’s almost a frantic shout as Rhys makes it to us first, reaching down and grabbing Sadie out of his father’s arms. He scans his eyes over her, making sure she’s all right, before picking her up and tucking her head into the crook of his neck for a long moment. Her legs wrap around his waist and I see relief pour over him before he turns his face away, kissing her hair and whispering quietly as her shoulders shake.

Bennett stops right in front of me, head ducking to look into my eyes. My stomach somersaults.

A long moment passes, both of us just looking at each other—searching for something. And I let my walls fully down, pouring everything I have into the string that seems to bind us.

He nods, like he understands some great truth.

Bennett closes his eyes only for a moment, breathing slowly, before tucking his hand under my chin. “Are you okay?”

I nod. His brows dip as he glances over me again, his hands moving my body like a doll, inspecting every inch before—

“What the fuck?” he snaps, voice louder. His nostrils are flaring like an angry bull, shoulders hiking with tension. “Who did this to you?”

My gaze flutters past his body anxiously, toward where Ethan, Alessia, and Adam are still standing off. Bennett tracks my gaze, a punch of breath leaving him as his eyes close tightly and then open over me. They drop back to my bruised hand again.

“Was it him?” His voice sounds like gravel in a blender.

My eyes dart away, only for a second, before Bennett’s hands bracket my face. Gentle, but firm.

“P,” he breathes.

“Yes,” I say, my voice quiet.

“You hit him?” he asks, his voice still steady, but overwrought. I can feel the intensity he’s holding back like a wave. “Because he . . . Paloma.” He swallows, his throat working against strain. “Is that who—”

My eyes squeeze shut. I know what he’s asking and I don’t want to say it.

“Tell me, P. Please.” He swallows hard. “Was it my fucking stepfather? Was it Ethan?”

I nod, biting down on my lip and taking in a shaky breath.

Bennett’s face cracks—just for a moment, pure anguish and grief, guilt, flash across it clear as day. I have a front row seat to the confession that I always worried would break him.

But then he straightens, body somehow growing bigger and taller as he nods heavily. His eyes stay glued on my bruised hand as he juts his chin toward his best friend.

“Rhys.”

That’s all he has to say. Rhys, Sadie still in his arms, steps to my side as Bennett storms heavily across the room toward where Adam is still holding Alessia, looser now, and Ethan is talking to an officer.