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The lie tastes bittersweet on my tongue. Yeah, I’ll take being friends over her shutting me out, but I’d fight like hell for more. I can’t bear the thought of sitting on the sidelines, watching her and Ethan build the family I fucking want.
“We’ll never be friends.” She exhales deeply. “You know that. I refuse to live with the drugs and alcohol, and everything that goes along with it. I care about you, but my child deserves better.” Her voice breaks. “Ideserve better.”
22
AURORA
It’s quiet—fartoo quiet. It’s the type of silence that equates to loud minds, and in the darkness, I find it easier to let my guard down, to reach across the void between us.
Jackson lies rigid on his back, his arm shielding his eyes. I lie on my side, facing him, and run my fingers through his soft hair. The weight of his pain is palpable, and the compulsion to care for him, to ease his torment, is visceral, a primal urge etched into my very being.
“Can we start over?” he asks, his voice gravelly. “Can I show you, before the baby comes, that I’ll stay clean? I’ll keep away from Kyle. I’ll live with you in New York and won’t leave your side.”
If only life were that easy.
“That’s not realistic. You have hockey, and every time one of us travels, I’m going to worry you’re getting high and screwing around with someone else.”
He throws his arm back and hits the plush headboard. “Stop fucking saying that. That isn’t who I am. Besides, I’ve been suspended, pending league investigation.” He rolls toward me, glides his hand up my neck and into my hair. “Please, Aurora.You are my best friend. I can’t see a future without you. Give me one more chance.”
His skin burns hot against mine, and I melt into his touch. What’s wrong with me? I should be running in the other direction, demanding he leave. He won’t, but, still…I shouldn’t want this.
“Are you keeping anything from me? If we were to start over, is there anything I’d find out?”
He hesitates, and my stomach sours.
“Maybe.”
“Jackson…” I say in warning.
With a reluctant sigh, he places his forehead on mine. “That night, at Kyle’s party, when I saw you with another guy and threw a bottle at him, it wasn’t only because I was wasted and jealous. It was because the men around Kyle are sick; they’re dangerous. I was pissed—at Emily, at me, at fucking life. I could’ve killed someone. I nearly did, and my reaction put you on Kyle’s radar. He had something more to control me with…” He shakes his head, as if clearing the memory of one of the most horrible nights of my existence. “None of that matters. It’s his fucked-up society I refuse to be a part of, and I need you to understand it’s safer if you don’t know.”
Ricky
My partnerand I exchange a glance as we listen to Jackson’s confession.
“So you won’t tell me?” Aurora’s tone is heavy with disappointment, and it pulls on my heartstrings. We’re all lying to her.
“You don’t need to be tainted by this shit. Believe me, it’s not knowledge you want to live with.”
I can’t blame him there. I also wish she wasn’t a part of this. She’s too innocent, too naïve.
Aurora and Jackson fall silent, and we remove our headphones.
“So he knows…which we figured. How could he not?” Charlie chews on his lip and stares out the windshield.
I nod in agreement. “But he’s not involved.”
Charlie’s gaze snaps to mine, and he raises a finger, indicating he’s about to spew a lesson. “Oh, Jackson is involved, whether he wants to be or not. How is organized crime identified, tracked, and ultimately dismantled? The money trail. Not only is Kyle using Jackson’s fortune to bankroll his extravagant lifestyle, but he’s also likely money laundering. A police commissioner’s salary alone isn’t enough to afford multiple properties, a yacht, a jet, and endless vacations—not when he failed to marry into wealth and politics. Is it financed with corruption or his son’s assets?” Excitement brightens his expression. “So Jackson can run to New York, but…”
“His father will never let him go,” I finish.
“Correct. Stick to Jackson like glue. Become his best friend.” He waggles his brows. “Or Aurora’s.”
“We’re already good friends.” Because she believes I’m her gay bodyguard. Wait until she finds out I’m very muchnotgay, have seen her naked,andI’m investigating her boyfriend—not precisely him, but close enough—she’ll never forgive me. “And Ethan is his.”
I rub my sore eyes and reflect on everything we heard tonight. Something doesn’t sit right. A knot of anxiety twists in my gut, and fragmented thoughts linger just out of reach.
“You think Kyle is actually worried about child support?” I ask.