Jesse did everything he could, minus physical restraint, to stop me from leaving. I flipped him off and fled the apartment.

Keiran was the ass, and yet I was roaming the city in the middle of the night. At that moment, it was hard for me to believe that much had changed about us. Exhausted, I spent the night in a hotel where I should have gone in the first place. By morning, I wasn’t any more prepared to face Keiran so I shopped for toiletries and a change of clothes. I then drove five and half hours to the only ally that I had left.

“Whoa, girly. What are you doing here?” Di answered the door, appearing wide awake and wearing a crop top and sweatpants. “Keiran lets you out to play this far?”

“I need a distraction, and I need you to keep your mouth closed about it.”

“Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise.”

“Di…”

“Fine. Come in.” She moved away and let me inside. I followed her into the living room where she plopped down on the couch. “But I want to know what turned you into such a raging bitch.”

“I’m not raging.”

“But you are acting like a bitch. So spill.”

“Mitch is dead,” I blurted.

“I heard.”

“And it’s because of me,” I finished solemnly.

“No fucking way,” she grinned. I shook my head at her misplaced enthusiasm.

“I didn’t kill him.”

“But you wanted to.”

I so fucking wanted to.

“Have you met his father?”

“No, but I’ve heard he’s a real catch.”

“Where are you getting your information from?”

“My bestie,” she sighed and lay back against the cushions and threw her left leg over the top. “How is he adapting to daddyhood, anyway?”

“Keenan? He rules with an iron fist,” I said sarcastically.

“So, what did you have to do with Mitch’s murder and kudos to you, bitch. He needed to be put down a long time ago.”

“I went there to kill him, but Q stopped me.”

Di stiffened and her eyes dulled as she stared at me in disbelief. “Q—Quentin was there?”

“He followed me out there the day Keiran went away for business. Apparently, he was assigned to be my watchdog.”

“Ever the obedient little slave,” she whispered absentmindedly. She stared off, appearing lost. Her body trembled ever so slightly.

“Di?” It took three tries of calling her name to bring her back from wherever she had been trapped.

“Yeah?”

“Where did you go?”

“Somewhere I have no intention of sharing with you or anyone, girly.”

“Maybe you should talk about it,” I mumbled.

“What?” Her tone was angry, but her green eyes were wide as vulnerability burst from their depths. Di had always been a puzzle, but right now, she looked like a frightened girl.

“You don’t talk about your past, but it’s clear your past is what haunts you. Therapy might—”

Her eyes narrowed into angry slits, and it shut me up. “Do you want to be kicked out of my apartment?”

“Ok, I won’t go there, but can I just say one thing?”

She clenched her teeth and shifted. “What?”

“Fuck being afraid.”

I could tell she tried to fight it, but she finally cracked a smile and gained back that sarcastic twinkle in her eye. “You kill a man and you grow a pair of balls.”

“I think it’s the other way around.”

She snorted and said, “Not for you it isn’t. Want to get a mani?”

We spent the day getting pampered and spent the night drinking away our issues. I expected Keiran to be lurking around every corner, but as it turned out, I didn’t see or hear from him for two days.

Chapter Eleven

KEIRAN

It was hard leaving Lake behind, but I had a pretty good idea of where she hid. The need to conquer and control was overwhelming, but I managed to curb those urges in order to protect her. It was why I was stalking the dilapidated house in the middle of the night while she hid from me.

For two days, I watched the home and the family that lived inside. On the third day, when I memorized their routine, I decided to move in. I knew at this time, the woman who lived inside would be getting ready to take her night shift while her husband gave into a drunken night of sleep and the two young girls slept.

When her back was turned, I muffled the scream that would come and whispered, “I’m going to move my hand. Don’t scream and don’t run.” I felt her nod and ignored the guilt at the tremble of her thin frame.