Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1)(90)

He was her safe place.

A friend.

Her lover.

A confidant.

Stolen moments.

Silent conversations.

Long nights and late mornings.

How was she supposed to sum that up?

What word was good enough?

Vera cleared her throat, still looking like she was trying to decide whether or not to close the door. “So … it’s like that, huh?”

Violet blinked, warier than ever. “I don’t understand what you mean by ‘like that’.”

“Really?”

“I—”

The roar of an engine and the scream of tires made Violet turn fast on the doorstep to find a familiar Porsche coming to a halt right in front of Vera’s driveway. He didn’t even cut the engine before he was getting out of the car.

Kaz rounded the front of the Porsche, his gaze zoning in on only Violet like she was the one thing he wanted to see, and just like that …

Just like that the f*cking tears started again and the pain was back. All that anxiety she had been pushing down, and the realities she was pretending didn't exist were shoving their way forefront into her heart and thoughts like they didn’t have any plans to let go.

All she needed was the sight of Kaz—his fast steps, worried, angry eyes, and his hands outstretched for her.

Because he took, all the damn time.

From her, he took anything she didn’t want to hold anymore. Stress, worries, and petty shit that she didn’t have anyone to talk to about, he was the one who was there. When she had anxiety over upcoming tests for her classes, he had her books spread out over the bed. When she didn’t want to just be the Gallucci girl—Alberto’s daughter—she got to be just Violet with Kaz.

Violet’s foot had just hit the asphalt of the driveway and Kaz was already there. His arms swallowed her whole, tightening around her so goddamn hard, enough to hurt and take her breath away, but she found that for the first time in a good hour, she could actually breathe.

She caught him around the middle, hugging tight when his one hand splayed wide to her back, and his other wrapped up in her hair, holding her close.

“I got you,” he murmured into her hair before kissing the top of her head. “We’ll figure it out, Violet.”

All over again, time stopped.

There was nothing else that mattered when he was there, holding her like that.

Safe place.

Everybody had one person to be theirs. That one single person in the world that never asked for more than what was given, but always took what was too much to handle. The one person who made everything better, and made someone else better, too.

Kaz made her better, and she hadn’t really thought to look beyond it because she couldn’t. Not without maybe losing herself, him, or even them in the process.

She wanted to keep that safe place that he had become for her.

But it was too late.

And even if she didn’t get to keep it—keep him—she knew now …

Kaz was that one person.

For her, he was that one soul meant for hers.

And she wasn’t allowed to have him.





“I moved the Bentley and put your Porsche in the garage,” Vera said.

Violet looked over Kaz’s shoulder to find his sister leaning in the entryway of the kitchen. Vera hadn’t spoken a lot since Kaz arrived. Or rather, she said barely anything to Violet, and when she did speak, she directed everything she said to only Kaz.

It was cold and disconcerting.

Violet tried not to let Vera’s attitude bother her, but it was hard. Kaz had told her once that out of all his siblings, he was closest to Vera in both age and in friendship. And it was clear that Vera didn’t like Violet at all.

It was tough to swallow.

“Thank you,” Kaz said, never turning around.

His finger tapped the bottom of Violet’s coffee mug, silently telling her to take another drink. She lifted the tea and sipped, still watching Vera out of the corner of her eye. Kaz’s gaze was firmly stuck on Violet, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking, or he had a damn good idea. His one hand rested on the edge of the counter as he stood in front of her, close enough that he was keeping her in place and with him.

When his other hand landed on her waist with a soft touch, Violet’s gaze flew to his.

Kaz smiled, but it didn’t quite ring as true as it usually did. “Vera is ...”

Violet waited for him to finish whatever he was going to say, but he just left it hanging like that.

Vera huffed under her breath, and Violet watched as she spun on her heel and disappeared somewhere down the hallway outside of the kitchen. She hadn’t gotten the chance to explore much of the home’s layout, seeing as how Kaz had forced her into the kitchen and worked on soothing her panic attack first and foremost.

“She doesn’t like me,” Violet whispered.

“Vera isn’t going to like anyone I care for at first unless she’s hand-picked them,” Kaz said, smirking just a little.

“That is not why she doesn’t like me.”

Kaz nodded once. “Yeah, I know.”

“Then why send me here if you already knew, Kaz?”

“Because it was a safe place—Vasily won’t come after Vera, no matter what happens in all of this, and I needed time.”