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Chapter Twenty

Quinn

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Alice asks, bouncing Brooklyn on her hip and I shake my head, forcing a smile to my face. My stomach feels uneasy but I know that this has to be done. Even if a part of me still doesn’t want to.

“No. I don’t know how long it will take and I don’t want her there.”

She sighs, glancing toward the front door. “I’m not happy that you’re going alone. You should have someone there with you.”

“I’ll be okay, Al,” I whisper, thinking back to the message I left for Lucas yesterday as I fight back tears. When I called him, I truly meant what I said. I had no expectations but I can’t deny that not hearing from him hurts. I guess it’s time to come to terms with the fact that things are truly over between us.

“Maybe Willa could go with you or something. Or I could ask her to babysit Brooklyn and I’ll go with you.”

I shake my head and force a smile to my face. “I need to do this alone, Sis, but I appreciate the thought.”

“Well… if you’re sure.”

“I am,” I answer, nodding as I grab my purse and turn toward the front door, sucking in a breath.

“You’ve got this,” Alice calls as I grab the doorknob. “And call me if you need anything.”

I nod in response as I pull the door open and step outside.

“Quinn.”

I gasp as his voice melts over me like chocolate and tingles race up my spine. I turn to the swing on the other end of the porch where he’s sitting with his elbows propped on his knees with a ball cap on his head. My stomach rolls. My heart skips a beat.

Oh, God, he’s here to end it.

“Lucas,” I breathe, blinking back tears. He looks up and as soon as our eyes meet, it punches me in the gut, stealing the air from my lungs as my heart thunders against my ribs. “What are you doing here?”

He stands. “I’m here for you.”

“I don’t understand,” I whisper, my mind completely blank as he walks toward me, looking just as fine as he did the first time I met him. Gripping the railing, I suck in a breath and fight the urge to close my eyes just to breathe in his familiar scent.

“I got your message last night and I’m going to the police station with you.”

“But what about your brother?”

He shakes his head. “What about him?”

“Are you really just going to turn your back on him? Just like that?”

“No,” he snaps, closing the distance between us and pulling me into his arms. “Not just like that. I’ve killed myself for years, trying to help him and now, to know that he was out there hurting people, hurting you.” He reaches up and brushes his thumb over my cheek. “The woman that I know with every ounce of my soul was made for me - it makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t protect him anymore.”

“Lucas,” I gasp, shaking my head. “I can’t ask you to do that to him. He’s your brother.”

“I’m not doing anything to him, Quinn. I’m just not cleaning up his messes anymore. This is one mistake that he’s going to have to own.”

I shake my head, staring down at the boards of the porch. “I don’t know what to say. Your support is exactly what I had hoped for but I can’t get rid of this guilt I feel for what I’m doing to you.”

“No,” he growls and my gaze flicks up to his. “I don’t ever want to hear you talk like that again. You’re not doing anything to me. You’re not doing anything to Clay. You are the victim here and you deserve to get justice for what was done to you.”

“I can’t ask you to do this to him. He’s your brother, Lucas.”

“Baby,” he urges, cupping both sides of my face in his hands as he forces my gaze to his. “Listen to me. You’re not asking anything of me. I’m choosing to do this. I love my brother but he needs to face the consequences this time and I would be turning him in whether we were together or not.”

My eyes widen. “You would?”