Page 123 of Too Far

“You got somewhere to be?” Kendrick deflects.

Jade steps up beside her sister and offers a saccharine smile. “Oh, she does. She wants to go to Kayla’s party tonight.”

Kendrick frowns. “Why in the world would she be having a party tonight? We’ve barely made it out of the timeframe for the storm warning.”

Emilia places her other hand on her hip, doubling down. “Kayla’s family has a condo near Charlotte. She said the roads are open and there isn’t any damage in their neighborhood.”

“Damn private school,” Kendrick mutters. “Their friends have houses all over the state.”

I hold back a laugh, because I so acutely remember what it was like to be a preteen and care about nothing else besides who’s hosting the next party and whether I’d be able to go.

Hand in hand, we make our way closer to the girls.

“You know the rules,” Kendrick says.

Emilia shoots him a surly glare that makes her look so much like him. “I know. I’ll have her mom call you later. Okay? Please, Kenny? Please, can we go?”

Kendrick holds her gaze for so long and with such intensity that I start to squirm. “I’m not making any promises until I talk to this girl’s mom and confirm a few things. I’m also not committing to leaving here at a specific time.”

“Mrs. Lansbury could take us!” Jade pipes up.

With a scowl, Emilia elbows her in the side.

“What?” she demands, whipping her head around so quickly her beaded braids swing with the force. “She already said she would.”

Oh, sweet Jade.

Emilia hisses a warning under her breath, catches her sister by the elbow, and marches her away from us.

Good thing, too. K’s outrage simmers just below the surface as details of their scheme hit him.

I squeeze his hand once and shuffle closer so my arm brushes his. They’re just kids. Clever kids, yes. But their plotting is harmless.

“You’re strict,” I tease, pulling him forward so we can follow the girls. “We might have to talk to Kylian about joint custody of his nickname.”

Kendrick chuckles, low and melodic. The sound inspires a kaleidoscope of butterflies to riot in my belly.

“You’re a comedienne now, huh?”

I hit him with a cheeky smile. “Something like that.”

He returns my flirtatious grin, but his face quickly falls. He stops, and his hand still encompassing mine forces me to stop, too.

He grasps my other hand and tugs until we’re standing toe to toe. “I take care of the people I love, Jojo. Them. The boys.You. It’s my duty and a privilege to take care of you.”

Big hands skim up my arms until he’s pulling me into an embrace. His nose nudges against mine, his lips ghosting along my jaw.

“When we leave here, I go where you go.”

They’re words I didn’t know I needed to hear. His promise fills me with warmth, the reassurance quelling the anxiety that’s been kicked up from sharing a roof with Decker.

Emotion catches in my throat, and I have to blink back the tears threatening to escape me. The sentiment behind his declaration is identical to Kylian’s. We won’t go back to the way things were. Living separately, stealing moments every few nights. Deep, appreciative understanding rolls through me, a wave so strong I let the tears well and crest over my lashes.

We don’t know the details. How or where we’ll go.

But we’ll be together.

It’s so close to being all I’ve wanted for weeks—all of us, together.