Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 135382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
“She doesn’t trust the world,” Liam explained. “She certainly doesn’t trust herself and she’s never forgiven herself. Until she can do that, I don’t know that she understands the value she has. If you give up on her, she might never understand.”
He’d given up on her once. “Part of the reason I left her the first time was she scared me. She scared me because she’s reckless at times. And she scared me because I don’t know if I can reach her.”
“You can’t.” Taggart had stood up and joined his wife, his hand curving around her body to rest on her hip. “Believe me, I’ve figured this out. You can’t fix someone. That’s not what love does. Love can make a person want to fix himself. That’s the key.” He frowned at his wife. “I said love. I want to vomit.”
She smiled up brilliantly at him. “You go ahead, babe. I know how hard that is for you. But you’re right. You couldn’t force me to walk into the light. I lived in darkness, but when I met you, I wanted that light. I wanted you so badly I had to fix my world to have you.”
“Sometimes I forget how dark it was for you.” Taggart leaned over and kissed his wife, the passion between them a palpable thing. His voice went low and Brody almost missed his whispered words. “Because you’re my light now.”
“You could be Stephanie’s, Brody,” Avery said, and now she wasn’t even trying to stop the tears. “I think she needs you. I think you might be her last chance at really making a life for herself. She’s given up enough. She could be happy with you and Nate. But she can’t if you give up on her. You’re the one for her.”
Her light. Could he be that? He’d never once thought of himself as being someone’s light.
Nate pulled his finger down, drawing it closer and closer to his mouth. Everything went into that boy’s mouth. He grinned up, the expression so sweet and innocent and full of joy that Brody felt his heart break.
How could she not see how much Nate needed her? How much he needed her? He wasn’t sure they could have what the Taggarts had. What Liam and Avery had because Stephanie didn’t think she deserved it.
“I can’t promise anything.” He stood up. He couldn’t walk away and that meant putting aside his pain and getting to work. “But I know I can’t leave her out there no matter why she did what she did. We have to find her and fast. De Vries will get in touch with either Fedor or on that phone he left for Steph, and if we don’t find her by the time the switch happens, we’ll lose her.”
De Vries would take her, smuggle her out of the country, and he would keep her alive until he was satisfied she knew nothing. Then he would kill her and get rid of her.
He might be left without even a body to bury.
“Awesome.” Shane stood up, carrying his coffee with him. “I’ll start looking. I don’t know where but I’ll get on social media at this point and start asking around.”
Declan was right behind him. “Me, too. Though not the social media thing. What are you? A soccer mom? I’ll troll the Dark Web or something. Anything to get out of the couples therapy session I find myself in. I’m never getting married if I have to be someone’s light or something. You all have read way too many fucking romance novels. I bet you believe in faeries and guardian angels, too. Brody, I’m going to give you some actual manly advice. You had a baby with her. She’s a fucked-up chick, but you knocked her up and now she’s yours. Stop with all the overthinking and go get your girl.”
“What he said,” Shane added, heading for the door. “Tag, let us know when we can shoot something. Or preferably someone.”
The bodyguards strode out.
“I think I figured out how to scare the newbies. That group has been difficult to intimidate. I’ll threaten them with group therapy,” Tag said, kissing his wife again. “You know how we do it. We can put it into the opening day training package. An hour with Alex going over all the benefits, a tour of the office, and group therapy for the first month. Then maybe they won’t complain so much about the…”
Tag stood up straight.
Charlotte put a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “About the…?”
Ian looked over at Liam. “What do we do to all the new puppies, Li? Whether they’re on the payroll or not.”
Li’s eyes widened. “You don’t think that’s why he did it, do you?”
The answer hit Brody with the force of a hammer. A fucking hammer made of hope. He winced inwardly. He was getting syrupy in his old age, but he was going to find her, and Tucker wasn’t getting murdered. “That’s exactly why he did it. I take back everything I said. That kid is brilliant.”