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I’d kidnapped her for a reason. I’d craved an outlet, and that gravitational pull that ensured Alex and I orbited each other wouldn’t be denied. I’d needed her, only she’d needed a sane man who could put her back together again.

How could I fix her if I couldn’t fix myself? How could I be the man she needed when all I wanted to do was bend her until she snapped?

“It’s too late for us. What’s done is done. Someday, she’ll see it’s for the best.”

Jax sighed. “You think she’s strong enough to stand on her own?”

“I know she is. She’s stronger than me. I’m the one who needs her.”

“Then fucking take what she wants to give. I don’t see the problem here.”

“The problem is me! I’m fucked. I’ve done too much.”

“We’ve all done too much,” he shouted, banging on the steering wheel. “Every one of us has done shit we’d take back if we could. You’re just running away because you’re scared.” He jabbed his finger in my direction. “You’re scared because you know shecanhandle what you want to dish out. Even more, she wants it. But you’re scared of the responsibility.”

“Fuck yeah, I’m scared! I’m terrified I’ll hurt her. Every bone in my body wants to make her cry. I want her on her knees, chained to my damn bed not because I’m trying to keep her safe, but because that’s where she fucking belongs.Thatisn’t normal!”

“You,” he said, “have never been normal.”

I drew in a deep breath. “I can’t do it.” I gave Jax a pointed look. “I lost control with your uncle. I remember it all like it was yesterday. It was an accident, but what I did back there…” I gazed at the blood on my hands. The literal fucking blood. “I won’t risk her life.”

“You’d never hurt her.”

“Not willingly.”

“Okay then,” he said.

“Okay?” I raised an incredulous brow.

“I ain’t changing your mind about this, so why try?”

“Finally, something we agree on.”

“I still think you’re making a mistake. She’s gonna come undone when you leave, man.”

“You say you owe your life to me?”

Jax rubbed a hand down his face. “Yeah, I owe you.”

“Then make sure she stays in one fucking piece. Until she’s on her feet, watch her for me. Be there for her. You’re not the one who wants to fuck and strangle her.”

He glanced at me, slack-jawed.

“Jax, you’re the only one I trust.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?”

“The truth. The man she loves is dead.”