“You’re being childish, Trenton,” Mom calls from within just moments before the door springs open and Mom shoves a pre-packed duffle bag into Dad’s arms, clearly having already thought this through. “I’ve wasted years waiting on you. I’ve allowed you to walk all over me, but I’m through. There is no coming back from this. Now go! Leave your key on the way out.”

  Mom slams the door in his face and he’s left standing in the hallway, banging on the door once again. “Open the fucking door. You don’t get to decide when you’re through with me. You’re my wife. You obey me.”

  Oh, hell no.

  I storm down the hallway, determined to put this fucker in his place. No one speaks to my mother like that and gets away with it. “The fuck did you just—”

  The door tears open and my mother comes storming out, shoving my father in the chest. “Excuse you?” she spits, stepping into him and forcing him back as his eyes widen, realizing way too late what just came out of his mouth. “Where the hell do you get off speaking to me like that?”

  “Sara, I—”

  “OUT. NOW,” she roars, her whole body shaking with rage. “If you step foot in this house again, I will call the authorities to have you removed. Do not make me ask again.”

  “You won’t even hear me out?” he questions.

  “There is not a single word that could come from your mouth that I wish to hear,” she tells him, not wavering for even a second. “You destroyed our marriage. You lied to me. You bedded another woman and betrayed my trust. You took our vows and regarded them as nothing more than trash. Get out of here, Trenton. Go back to your little whore across the globe. Go and enjoy your new children and leave mine the hell alone. I just hope you don’t screw them over like you did us.”

  With that, Mom storms past him, shoulder charging him as she goes. She makes her way downstairs, refusing to look back and give him the satisfaction. As of this very second, Trenton Morgan is dead to my mother. Hell, he’s dead to me too.

  My father turns, desperation in his eyes as he glances toward Addison’s closed door, but I take a step to my right, blocking his way. “Addison made it clear she doesn’t want a damn thing to do with you,” I remind him before indicating the duffle bag in his arms. “Looks like you’ve got everything you need. For what it’s worth, I hope your new wife is smart enough to take her kids and run. They deserve a shitload better than a fuck up like you.”

  I watch as my father swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as I do everything in my power to ignore the heavy sobs and murmured whispers coming from the other side of Addison’s door. I don’t doubt Hudson will be breaking down the front door any minute now, determined to be the shoulder Addie cries on.

  Without a single card to play, my father finally realizes he just lost the best thing to ever happen to him. No matter how many wives or children he has, he’ll never be able to replace what he had here with Mom and Addie. He shoots me one last stare and there’s still a fight in his eyes, but he knows damn well I will put him in the ground.

  He hangs his head, his shoulders falling in defeat before silently walking back down the long hallway, clutching the duffle bag in his hand. He passes in front of me, and I watch him go, an odd hollowness in my chest. He gets halfway down the stairs when I move closer to the railing, watching him closely. “Dad?” I call after him. He pauses to glance back up at me. “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

  And with that, I turn around, hoping like fuck I never have to see him again.

  Chapter 21

  BRIELLE

  “You know what?” Sara says as we sit around the dining table, Tanner on my left and Hudson on the right while a puffy-eyed Addison sits directly opposite me. “I’ve always wanted to open a bakery, but I’ve never had the guts to do it. I’ve always waited around for Trenton, waiting on him to tell me what our next steps will be, but why should I hold back? There’s nothing stopping me from going after that dream now.”

  “I say go for it,” Tanner says while scooping a bite of risotto into his mouth. “There’s no denying you’re the best baker in Bradford. The things you make are sophisticated and elegant, much better than the shitty bakery down by the school. Their chocolate eclairs look like someone took a shit on the baking tray.”

  “Tanner!” Sara scolds. “Watch your mouth. I’m not doing this to be some kind of competition to every bakery in town, or because I think I can do a better job. I just want to wake up every day and enjoy what I’m doing. I want to have purpose.”

  “And what about those country club bitches?” Addison asks, propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand. “I doubt they’ll be accepting of you when you walk in wearing a dirty apron with flour in your hair.”

  “Fuck them,” Sara says, her lips pulling into a smirk as her children gape at her casual use of the word fuck. “They can go to their hoity-toity events and live their lavish lifestyles, but every night, they’ll go home to husbands who won’t ask about their day. They will never know what it feels like to live a rewarding life, but I will.”

  “Damn straight you will,” Tanner says. “And if they have a problem with it, you could always shit in their eclairs.”

  Sara blanches, gaping at Tanner in horror. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear that,” she gasps as Tanner and Hudson giggle like misbehaving children.

  “Come on, Mom,” Addison says. “We all know those country club women would take one taste of your pastries and hire you for every event until their dying days. You’re just that good.”

  Sara gives her daughter a fond smile, pride shining through her eyes. “Thank you, my love,” she says just as a knock sounds on the door.

  Sara goes to stand, but Tanner waves her off. “Finish your dinner,” he says, getting up from the table. “I’ll get it.” Tanner doesn’t wait for a response before striding out of the dining room and through the kitchen.

  Sara continues talking about her bakery as I listen for Tanner, hearing the soft click of the lock and the front door creaking open. I hear a man’s voice, too soft to make out the words from this far away, but curiosity claims every inch of my soul. I lean back in my chair, peering up through the long hallway and into the foyer to see two men standing just inside the door.

  I gasp, recognizing them immediately. “It’s the cops from the hospital,” I say, my eyes wide, cutting off whatever Sara was saying as panic tears at my chest. “The ones taking Colby’s case.”

  Addison straightens in her seat, her eyes widening as Sara flies to her feet, gaping at me. “Are you sure?”

  I nod, pushing out from the table and getting to my feet. “Certain,” I tell her, walking around the big table, determined to hear what’s going on. “Their faces are ingrained in my mind.”

  Sara follows me with Hudson and Addie trailing behind. Addison looks like she’s about to pass out, her nervousness making her brave enough to clutch Hudson’s hand, refusing to let go. We make our way into the foyer and the detective’s voice trails off when he sees Sara approaching. “Mrs. Morgan,” he says, tipping his head like a gentleman. “We apologize for barging in on your evening like this. I’m sure you were all sitting down for a meal, so we’ll keep this short.”

  “What’s this about?” she questions as I move in beside Tanner, almost cowering behind his big shoulder, too scared to hear what they have to say. After all, good news doesn’t prompt an in-person meeting like this. Whatever this is, it’s not something we’re going to easily shake off. I grip Tanner’s hand and he squeezes mine in return, holding it tight.

  The detective gives Sara an encouraging smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “We’ve regrettably come to provide your son with an update on Colby Jacobs’ state.”

  Sara’s back stiffens as I grip Tanner tighter, feeling him starting to sway on his feet, the color already draining from his face. “Just give it to us straight,” I tell them, needing them to rip it off like a Band-Aid.

  The detective meets my stare and gives me a quick nod before lifting his haunted gaze to Tanner’s. “Would you prefer to talk in private, son?”

  Tanner glances toward Addison, fear in his eyes while Addie just looks … broken. Tanner shakes his head. “No, it’s fine. Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of my family,” he tells them, his voice thick with sorrow. “What’s the verdict?”

  The two cops share a glance before the officer takes a step back, allowing the detective to take point on this. “I’m sorry, Tanner. Colby was pronounced brain dead in the early hours of this morning and his family made the decision to turn off his life support. As of a few hours ago, Colby Jacobs was confirmed dead.”

  Addison gasps, dropping to her knees as Hudson hovers around her, dropping his hand to her back and doing everything he can to comfort her as the wild emotions rock through her. Tanner falls back against me, stumbling before quickly catching himself. “I killed him,” he mutters, barely able to meet the detective’s eye, disbelief thick in his tone.

  “Yes,” he confirms.

  A tear falls from Sara’s eye, and she hastily wipes it away before meeting the detective’s stare. “So what now? Will Tanner be charged for his involvement?”

  The detective shakes his head. “No, ma’am, I do not believe so. Tanner was clearly acting in self-defense. However, it is up to the discretion of Colby’s family if they wish to push this further, but given the evidence, I do not think any judge in his or her right mind would convict your son of any wrongdoing.”

  “So it’s over?” Sara questions. “All the hell Colby Jacobs has brought down over our family is finally over?”

  “I understand this isn’t the type of justice you were searching for, but yes, Colby Jacobs cannot hurt your family ever again. However, it would be foolish to assume the scars of his brutal attack won’t live on.” The detective turns back to Tanner. “If you feel you would like to speak with a professional, I can offer you the names of a few local therapists who would be willing to sit down with you and talk through it all. Taking a life … whether innocent or guilty, it’s not something you can simply shrug off. It will haunt you and it will take a toll on your mind. It’s best to be prepared for that. It will hit you when you least expect it.”

  Tanner nods and my hand slips up the back of his shirt, pressing against his warm skin as a reminder that I’m here for anything he needs. The cop slips his hand into his pocket and pulls out a business card. He hands it to Tanner with a tight smile. “If you have any questions, just let us know.”

  Tanner nods. “Thank you,” he murmurs, the words sounding as though they cause him physical pain.

  The detective spares a forced smile for Sara before the cops turn and make their way back out the door when Addison gasps and flies up off the ground, her eyes wide. “Wait,” she rushes out, lunging forward to catch them. The cops turn and look back at her with furrowed brows, waiting patiently as Addison tries to find the strength to go on. “What about Erica?” she asks. “This isn’t over until she’s been punished for what she did.”

  “Erica?” the detective questions, glancing at the other cop for a quick second.

  “Erica Sawyer,” I confirm, clinging to Tanner’s side. “She acted with Colby, helping to drug Addison the night she was raped, and then fabricated evidence to pin it on me.”

  “Ahh, yes,” the detective says. “Unfortunately, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to continue pursuing a case. It’s been dropped, unless you have something substantial to add. Something that could hold up in court?”

  Addison shakes her head. “What … What are you saying? She just walks away from this with nothing more than a slap on the wrist? She drugged me, right along with Colby. She egged him on, laughed when I could barely stand up. And you just … you let her go?”

  Tears spring from her eyes as Hudson steps into her side, pulling her into his side and holding her close. The detective gives her a forced smile, trying to figure out what the hell to say in this situation, but not having a damn helpful thing to say, he simply bows his head. “I’m sorry, Miss Morgan. Our hands are tied. I wish there were something more we could do to offer you justice.”

  Addison shakes her head as my chest truly starts to ache. The bombs this man has dropped on Tanner’s family tonight will never be forgotten. I mean, fuck. How much more can these people take? Rape. Coma. Arrest charges. Bigamy. And now this.

  The cops leave, closing the door behind them and not a moment later, Addison falls into Hudson’s arms, crying into his chest as he holds her tight. “It’s not fair,” she sobs as Tanner falls back a few steps and crumbles onto the second bottom step, dropping his face into his hands.

  I sit down beside him as Sara desperately tries to console both her children, not a single one of us capable of easing the pain in the room. Taking his hand, I curl into Tanner’s side and am relieved when he welcomes me in, putting an arm around me and pulling me in closer. “I killed him,” he murmurs so softly I have to strain to hear him.

  Reaching up, I take his chin and force his broken stare to mine. “It was self-defense, Tanner. You did what you had to do to protect the people you love. If anybody else was in your position, they would have done exactly the same thing. It could have easily been Riley or Logan. You’re not a monster, Tanner. You’re the love of my life and the reason I get to wake up each day. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead right along with him.”

  Tanner knocks my grasp off his chin and looks at me with such pain in his eyes it nearly kills me. His fingers trail down the side of my face, pushing a stray lock of golden hair behind my ear. “You look at me like your hero, like I’m deserving of your love, but the truth of the matter is I lost control. I couldn’t stop. I beat him until he stopped breathing, all while you and Riley screamed for me to stop. But I couldn’t stop, Bri, and more than that, I didn’t want to. I wanted him to die. I wanted him to feel the consequences of what he did. I wanted him to hurt and know that I was the one who did it. I killed him, Bri. There was nothing heroic about it. I’m a killer, just like the fucking Hardin brothers.”

  He pauses, shaking his head as he comes to terms with the words falling from his lips. “I promised you that you’d never have to see me lose control like that again. You deserve so much better than this, you deserve—”

  “Don’t tell me what I deserve,” I snap, pulling away from his touch and getting to my feet, standing on the bottom step to look him in the eye. “I know what I want, so don’t get all high and mighty on me now, Tanner Morgan. Pulling away from me is doing nothing but punishing us both, and that right there is exactly what I don’t deserve. I’m not letting you go, Tanner. We’re going to face this together.” I drop down in front of him, resting my hands against his knees. “I know you lost control out there. I saw you, Tanner. I saw the look in your eye. You wanted him dead, but after what he did … it’s justified. The way he hurt the people you love, the way he hurt your sister. You’d just watched him stab Jax and boast about hurting Addison again. I will never hold that against you. Yes, you lost control, and that’s something we’ll work on. Hell, we have been. The other day at school, you held yourself back from that asshole in the hall instead of beating him black and blue. You’re not the monster you think you are, Tanner. You’re the best man I’ve ever known.”

  Tanner reaches forward, gripping my arms and yanking me hard into his chest, wrapping his arms around me as though he’ll never let go. “You’re my whole fucking world, Killer. I can’t do this without you.”

  Lifting my head from his chest, I press my lips to his. “You’ll never have to.”

  Tanner presses his forehead against mine and pulls me into his lap before dropping his head to my shoulder and holding me there, neither of us willing to move an inch. My arms wrap around him, hating the heaviness resting on his soul. I don’t know how to help him, how to ease the pain of realizing he’s killed a man, but I have to hope that this is enough, that I’m enough.

  I’m just about to ask if he wants to go upstairs when Addison pushes back from Hudson behind me. “No, this isn’t right,” she seethes. “I can’t … I can’t just sit back and let Erica walk away from this. She might not have physically touched me, but she holds some responsibility for what happened to me that night. If she hadn’t been there, if she hadn’t encouraged Colby to fuck with me, I would have walked out of that party fairly unscathed.”

  “I know,” he tells her. “But what can we do? We don’t have the evidence to support it. It’s our word against hers, and it’s not like we can trust the courts anyway. They let Colby walk free despite all the evidence.”

  Addison shakes her head, fresh tears appearing on her cheeks. “But it’s not fair,” she cries. “It’s not fair.”

  Her chest heaves with fast gasps and within the space of a few seconds, she starts hyperventilating, having some sort of panic attack. Her hand goes to her chest as everyone’s eyes begin to widen. “Fuck,” Tanner rushes out, more than ready to throw me off him in order to get to his sister, but Hudson is right there, his hands gripping her arms and pulling her in close.

  “Look at me,” he tells her, keeping calm and focusing his whole attention only on her. “Focus on me, babe.”

  Addison looks up at him, her panicked stare locked on his. Her brows furrow and I hate the fear I see deep in her eyes. She watches him as though he’s her whole world, relying on him to make everything okay, and I don’t doubt he’s the only person on the planet who has the power to do so.

  When the panic doesn’t subside, he steps in closer, weaving his hand up around the back of her neck. “I got you,” he tells her, his voice velvety smooth as it sails through the foyer. “You’re safe here.”

  She nods, her eyes locked on him as though they’re the only two people in the world, and just like that, she inhales deeply and finds peace, somehow managing to pull herself out of the storm. She doesn’t look away, watching him as though he’s her knight in shining armor, but the look in her eyes—she’s still scared. Terrified, in fact. She wants him so bad. She wants to be his world, but she’s not able to make the move herself. She needs him to take the reins and give her the push she so desperately craves.