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“I—I don’t think someone’s ever said something like that.”

“Well, I think it’s fucking true,” He says, his jaw clenching as he turns back to the road. “I’m not going to let her take that happiness away from you guys. She’s not gonna fucking win.”

Something clicks in the back of my head as I stare at the way Jax’s hands clench the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are white. The thickness and intensity of his scent in the cabin of his car screams there’s something deeper here.

“How did you know what to say about my mom?” I ask softly.

“Experience,” He laughs bitterly. “My momma was the same fucking way. Her need for being the center of the fucking universe got her and my father killed.”

My eyes go wide.

“What? Oh my god, that’s fucking horrible.”

“Yeah, it was a fucking shit show.” He turns to me, his gray eyes lined with so much pain.

“I’m here for you, Jax, you can tell me.”

“She had to be the center of the universe too,” he says. “My dad wasn’t enough for her, he always worked too much apparently, even though he would’ve chopped off his left fucking arm for her, it wasn’t enough. She had to be the center of attention.”

He reaches his hand out and I take it in both my hands, lifting it up to my lips to kiss.

“She brought all these random fucking alphas to our home when I was a kid. The obsessive kinds of guys. And one day, she must’ve pissed one of them off because he came to my parent’s house and murdered them in their bed.” He squeezes my hand. “I was the one that found the bodies. I came home from school to that fucking mess.”

“Holy shit,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” He laughs. “Senior year of high school, so I shipped myself off to the military the first chance I fucking got.”

He turns to look at me again, a look of pure determination on his face. “That’s why it’s so important to not let your fucking mom tear you and your sister apart. I refuse to let that happen.”

“Oh Jax,” I say, reaching out to him. My heart hurts for him. I never would have guessed the amount of bullshit he also carries in his past.

“There’s a fucking reason I live in that gigantic fucking mansion alone,” He grits out. “When my grandpa died while I was deployed, I literally had no one left. Until you. Now I have hope again. I’m not going to let some fucking narcissistic bitch take your family away from you. I refuse.”

When he pulls into the parking lot of our final destination and parks the car, I grab his face and pull him over the center console and to my lips for a kiss. The kiss makes my heart twist as our lips move against each other. It’s so full of all the feelings swimming around in my head: all the passion, hurt, and hope.

“God,” he whispers against my lips. “I don’t know if I deserve you.”

“Shut up,” I say, grabbing his face and staring deep into his eyes. “You’re fucking amazing. You care so fucking much about me. About Summer. I don’t think I’ve ever had that from someone.”

“You should have,” He says, brushing some of my hair away from my face. “You deserve the world, love.”

“So do you, oh my god, so do you. You don’t deserve all that bullshit life has thrown at you at all.”

“We were dealt some pretty shitty hands in life, huh,” He says, flashing me a smile. “I don’t know if I can complain though, because life also gave me you.”

I feel something bubbling up in my chest. Three little words that hit me so hard I don’t think I can keep them inside.

There’s a part of me that knows this is way, way, way too fast for something this big.

But there’s also another part of me that’s ready to scream it from the rooftops. A part of me that needs to hear it back because if shit hits the fan moving forward, at least I’ll have that.

“Jax?” I say, my voice soft.

“Yes, love?”

“I—I have something want to say,” I whisper. If I weren’t holding his hand right now, mine would be shaking. “But I’m scared to say it.”

A smile crosses his face. “I love you, Liv,” He says, cupping the side of my face.