Page 37

“Don’t you dare hurt my best friend again, Noah LeBlanc.”

“I’d rather die,” I admit and she studies me for a second before nodding and walking out the door. I stare at it for a moment before turning to Kady.

“How exactly did I hurt you before?”

She laughs. “How didn’t you hurt me, Noah?”

I scowl as she walks back into the kitchen and after a second, I follow her, determined to get answers. Kady always has been and always will be my entire goddamn world and what I said to Hannah was true - I’d rather slit my own throat than hurt her.

“I’m serious, Kady. How did I hurt you?”

“Really? You don’t know?”

I shake my head and plant my hands on the counter as she leans against the sink and sighs. “Back before you got locked up, how often did I ask you to get out of the club?”

“All the time,” I answer, not sure where she’s going with this. “But I was doing that for you, for us. To set us up for the future.”

“I didn’t need all that, Noah. I just needed you but you wouldn’t listen to me. You were so convinced that you knew better than me and you had so little respect for me that you wouldn’t even try to see it my way.”

I stumble back, studying her as her words sink in. I shake my head. “No. I was just trying to give you everything you deserved. I wanted to give you the world, baby.”

“All I wanted was you, Noah… and a family. I didn’t need the money and I would have been happy even if we lived in a shack. The club and the money - it was all for you so you could feel like a big man.”

“That’s bullshit,” I growl, stalking across the kitchen and pinning her against the counter. “Everything I did was for you.”

She shakes her head with a sigh. “I don’t have the energy to fight with you today. Let’s just agree to disagree. It’s not like it matters much now.”

What the hell is going on here?

Where is her fire and attitude?

Where is the fight that I love so much?

Where is my Kady?

“What happened to you, baby?” I ask, searching her eyes and she turns away from me as she tries to push me off her with her hips. I put my hands on the counter on either side of her, locking her in place. “Tell me.”

“It doesn’t fucking matter, Noah. You can’t change it.”

I knew it.

“Who was that man today at the clinic?”

She scoffs. “I should have known you were there, too.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Bucking her hips again in an attempt to push me off, she turns away from me. “You’re not going to get one so give it up.”

“Never.”

When she turns back to me, I can’t help but smile.

Ah, there it is - that fire I love so much.

“What the hell do you want from me, Noah? I think I’ve made myself pretty clear.”

I shrug. “I think you’ve made it clear that you’re a liar but beyond that, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”