Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“I was what?”
“That you were dead, Holt.” Tears pooled in her eyes as she repeated, “They told me you were dead.”
“What the fuck?” I’d gone through a hundred scenarios in my head from she wasn’t sure he was mine to she didn’t think I’d want him. I never dreamed her father would go so far as to say I was dead. “Who the hell told you that?”
“Mom. Dad. Rooks. They all did.”
“Fuck me.”
Surprise wasn’t something I handled well. I was a guy who liked to be in the know. Maybe something I’d picked up in the military, or maybe it was ingrained in me as a kid, but I always wanted to be prepared for anything and everything. I didn’t want to be caught off guard.
Needless to say, hearing that people I once cared about lied and said I was dead wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. Some might say I was in shock, but to me, it was much more than that.
I felt like every molecule of air had been knocked right out of me, making my lungs seize up and burn. I struggled to take in a simple breath like I’d forgotten how to fucking breathe. Tallie didn’t look like she was doing much better.
She looked up at me, her eyes desperately searching mine, and I could see that she was anxiously waiting for my response. I knew she wasn’t lying. Hell, I could tell just by the way she was looking at me with that pained expression that she was telling the truth.
But the whole thing seemed unfathomable, and the longer I sat there trying to make sense of it, the more confused and hurt I became. Rooks was my best friend for the better part of my childhood. We’d always had each other’s backs, and now, he’d put a knife in mine. “They really thought I was a piece of shit, huh? Couldn’t stand the thought of me being in your life.”
“No, it wasn’t like that.”
“Then, what was it?” I snapped. “Why were they all so determined to keep me out of your life?”
“It’s more about me than you. They thought it was the right thing for me, but they were wrong. They were wrong about it all.”
“This whole thing is a clusterfuck.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have trusted them.” Her eyes met mine as she added, “I should’ve come back and made sure you were really gone.”
“Yeah, you should have. I deserved that much.” I tried to reign it in, but it was too much. The secrets and betrayal had my anger simmering deep within. “Hell, you could’ve at least asked Marcus.”
“But I did.” Her brows furrowed. “Marcus was there for me through it all. I don’t think I could’ve survived it all without him.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” I shook my head. “Him, too?”
“What?”
“I never bought into that bi bullshit. I knew he was into you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Marcus knew I was alive, Tallie.” There was a mix of surprise and hurt in her eyes as I told her, “He saw me not long after I got back. Hell, we even talked. It wasn’t for long. Just some idle small talk. I even asked about you, but that wasn’t the only time we crossed paths.”
“But he never said anything.”
“Yeah, clearly.”
“No, you don’t understand. I fell apart after I heard the news. I was crying all the time. I couldn’t get out of bed, and I leaned on him through it all.” With tears streaming down her face, she gasped, “I still don’t understand how he could do that. How could he just let me fall apart like that and never say anything?”
“That’s something you’ll have to ask him, but if you ask me, it was because he was hoping to have you for himself.”
“What?” she gasped. “He wasn’t interested in me that way.”
“He was, and I’m guessing he still is.”
“That’s not possible.”
“It is, and I get it. You’re an amazing woman. He’d be a fool to miss out on a chance to snatch you up. But your brother...,” I swallowed hard. “I don’t get what he was thinking.”
“He said he was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? What a load of bullshit. He had his agenda, and it had nothing to do with protecting me.”
I sat there, staring at her, my mind spinning with everything she’d just told me. Lies. Years and years of them. Her father had used them to tear us apart, only it wasn’t just him. It was everyone she cared about. They all let me believe she was gone forever.
My chest was so tight I could barely breathe, and it only got tighter when she said, “I loved you, Holt. I loved you with all my heart and soul. They can tell their lies, but nothing can change that.”