Fearless (Broken Love, #5)(25)

“You’re going to lose that girl because you’re afraid she’ll break you, but maybe it’s what you need, man. You can’t be invincible forever.”

“Isn’t that why one would be invincible?”

“Fuck, man. You might be right.” He cracked a smile, and I found myself grinning back at him. Why was my relationship with my childhood friend unbendable when my relationship with Lake had cracked right down the middle? Could it have been because she affected me more than anyone else did? I trusted her with a part of me that no one had been able to touch before her.

I groaned and leaned back, covering my eyes with my hands. How the fuck would I get us past this? Ensuring Lake never had the chance to deceive me again was high on my list of priorities.

“How did they bag her?”

I released a humorless laugh. “She signed in. They have her signature on file the day of the murder.”

He was already shaking his head before I finished speaking. “That’s impossible. She snuck in the back. I saw her.”

My chest threatened to break open from the harsh pounding of my heart. She was still lying to me. “Did you see her leave?”

“She left before I did a sweep of the room.”

“What about her car?”

“I was a little preoccupied with not getting caught with blood on my hands. Besides, why would she stick around?.”

“She told me her grandmother is living at the facility. It’s the only reason they aren’t able to pin the murder on her yet. She has a valid excuse for being there. The father of her boyfriend also residing there was just a coincidence.” It was the story Thompson was able to spin. It was a rocky defense but the best we had. He was also planning to exploit the illegal arrest in court and obliterate their credibility. Whatever idiot made that call would regret it for the rest of his life. I’d make sure of it.

“It sounds like you need to talk to her.” He must have anticipated my intent because he added, “But not tonight. It’s been a long day. Sleep it off. You need a clear head because your girl’s got it in her head that you need to be protected. She won’t give in if you push her.”

I wanted to argue the point that Lake had been my toy for years, and I knew exactly how to break her when I realized that breaking her was the last thing I wanted. I wanted Lake strong, but I didn’t want her fighting my battles. Hell, I didn’t even want her fighting her own.

While I struggled, Q stood and announced he was crashing in the basement. I laid my head back against the couch cushions and stared at the ceiling as if the answer to how to deal with my girlfriend was in the paint.

The next morning, after I’d showered, I found her sitting on the side of the bed staring down at her phone. “What’s up?” It was meant to sound casual. The way she’d jumped and her eyes widened, I knew I sounded anything but.

“Do you think we can reschedule our court appointment? I’m due for my birth control shot.” She looked down at my morning wood tenting my jeans. “It’s not something I should miss,” she admitted with flushed cheeks.

“We can’t reschedule. It’s too late. It was also a condition of your release, warrant or not.” I didn’t add that I was eager to get this handled so I could get her home alone where there would be nowhere for her to run and no one to interfere.

I expected her to argue but she simply nodded, grabbed her toiletry bag, and walked past me to leave the bedroom. She stopped in the threshold and said, “You can’t touch me.” She slammed the door, leaving me alone to stare after her. I could tell by her demeanor that I had fucked up royally last night, and if we ever got past this, I’d be paying for it for a long time.

I took her spot on the edge of the bed and waited until she finished her shower. When she returned, her eyes avoided me as she moved about the room, clutching the towel closely around her. She was hiding herself from me and it pissed me off more than her silence.

“Lake.”

She stiffened before giving me her full attention. “Yes?”

“Why did you go back?”





Chapter Eight


LAKE



“Why did you go back?” I was beginning to expect the unexpected so when he asked me a question that seemed out of the blue, I wasn’t really surprised, but I was confused. “Q said you slipped into the facility through the back entrance. You must have gone back because how else did your signature get on the logs?”

There was murder in his eyes, and I wasn’t sure if the truth would only provoke his bred nature to the surface. “I never left.”

“Explain,” he growled. I felt the single word like an ache in my bones.

“I waited until Q left and then went back.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“It’s what I said, Keiran.” God, I felt so exposed. Without clothes, I was even more vulnerable and he looked ready to either fuck me or murder me.

“What happened?”

“I got spooked. Q… he left a message on the wall that said ‘For John’—in blood.” The veiny throb I’d come to identify as an indicator of Keiran’s breaking point made its first appearance, and I wondered if I’d just made things worse. “I suppose he didn’t tell you.”