Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“Okay,” I replied as we both got up and walked out of his office.
Griffin closed the door behind us, and I wrapped my arms around my brother. “God, Griff. What do we do? How do we work through this? Mom…Dad…Chase…” The words wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t say them. It hurt enough just thinking them.
“I know.” Griff hugged me back.
There was a loud crash behind me. I jerked away from Griffin and turned around to see the door to the station had been shoved open and hit the wall. Chase stood there, his clothes wrinkled, his eyes intense and…so broken and pinned directly on us.
He had that little pinch in his forehead that he got sometimes when he didn’t know what to do. Neither of us moved. We just stared. It was as if my feet had grown roots. I knew what I wanted, which was him, but I couldn’t seem to move, couldn’t seem to go to him.
There was a nudge against my back—Griffin—and that little push unstuck whatever had been frozen inside me. I went for Chase, ran to him, and he did the same. The second we were together, his arms around me and mine around him, our bodies touching, so familiar and right, I knew that no matter what, it would be okay. It had to be okay. Being with him made things better. Not perfect, not even good, I didn’t think, because there was so much to work through, so much to figure out, but it was better.
“I’m sorry.” Chase cupped my face, kissed my forehead as he apologized over and over. “I shouldn’t have left without telling you what was going on, and then when I found out everything…Christ, I needed to get home to you. I don’t know if I’m too late, but I didn’t want you to hear it without me being here.”
“They said your dad…” My words trailed off. I still didn’t think I could say them, not out loud and not to Chase.
“Wait. Come on. Let’s go find a place we can talk.” Chase glanced up then, and from the way he looked, I could tell his gaze had snagged on Griffin. “I, um…I think you should come too.”
Griff cleared his throat. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”
Chase held on to my hand as he led us into what looked like a conference room. “We’re going to be in here for a few minutes,” he said to one of the officers sitting at a desk in the next room.
“Sure thing, Chase. We hope to have you back soon.”
Chase nodded and closed the door. When he turned around, I was struck again by how tired he looked. There were dark circles under his eyes and a curve to his spine that wasn’t typical for him.
“I—” Chase began, but Griff cut him off.
“Before you go on, I’d like to say something.” Chase nodded. “I know I’ve been walking around with my head up my ass since I found out about you and Kell. It was a shock, and I wish you’d trusted me enough to tell me, but I understand why you didn’t. And I want you to know, Chase, that I love you. Being with Kellan isn’t going to change that. What your fath—” Griff’s voice cracked, but then he continued. “What your father did, that won’t change it either.”
There was more they would have to say. How couldn’t there be, but I was glad Griffin had said that. He’d let Chase know that regardless of what his father had done, Griff wouldn’t hold it against him.
Chase stood there for a moment, and then…then he closed his eyes, and I could practically see the relief wash through him. “You think my dad was involved in your parents’ murder and you still feel that way? Both of you?” He looked back and forth between me and Griff.
I couldn’t help but notice his use of the word think, which confused the hell out of me, but still I said, “Yes,” because I wanted Chase to know that no matter what, I wasn’t walking away.
“Yeah, man. Always,” Griffin added.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve both of you, but I’ll spend every day of my life thankful I have you,” Chase replied.
Griffin stepped forward and clapped Chase on the shoulder. “You’ve always deserved better than the hand you were dealt.”
They looked at each other in this macho dude-bro way where I knew they were saying all sorts of things to each other without words.
“Thank you.” Chase cleared his throat, then reached for my hand and pulled me closer. “Come on. Let’s sit down.” The three of us took chairs around the long, rectangular table. “I can’t give you all the details since it’s an open investigation, but it wasn’t my dad—with your parents. It wasn’t my dad.”