Page 69 of Broken Empire
“I’m so sorry about your mom,” Shay said softly, reaching over to rub my shoulder. “Part of me thought she was still out there somewhere.”
“Yeah, me too.” I clenched my jaw and turned to look at her. “You know, I hated her for so fucking long. I thought she left us. Didn’t give a shit about us. But you heard Robert. She changed her mind. She was going to come back and be with us. She was going to tell the truth and get help with all her issues.”
“But he didn’t let her,” Shay finished for me. “He let everyone think she ran away and abandoned her family. All to save his own pathetic ass.”
“At least I know the truth now,” I said softly. “She didn’t hate me. She didn’t want to leave me. And it wasn’t my fault.”
“It was never your fault, no matter how it happened.” Shay squeezed my shoulder. “But you’re right—at least you know the truth now.”
I moved my hand to her face, stroking her cheek with one finger. “I love you, Shay. So fucking much.”
Her lips hooked upward in a small smile. “I know. I love you too.”
I pulled my head back and positioned myself so I could kiss her. And what a kiss it was. Raw, hard, full of overwhelming sensation.
As I deepened the kiss, pulling Shay even closer, I knew this was it. This was forever. We were both fucked-up and broken, both people who’d lived in the dark and lost more than words could ever describe, but together we could be whole. We could fix each other. Close all those old wounds and find the light hidden within that darkness.
That sort of bond could never be severed. Not by distance, time, or physical force. Not by anything.
We remained locked in our embrace for what felt like an eternity, lips and hands demanding more and more. When we were finally spent, Shay leaned her head back on the seat and exhaled deeply. “So… what happens now?” she asked, eyes flickering with apprehension.
I smiled faintly and took her hand again. “You already know,” I said softly, tracing a pattern in her palm with my thumb. “I have to turn myself in.”
22
Killian
Four yearslater
“Sign here and here.”The corrections officer handed me a silver pen and pointed to the sheet on the counter in front of me.
I scrawled my signature on both lines and handed the pen back. The officer handed me a large Ziploc bag. “This is everything you came in with. Just check to make sure.”
I opened the bag and peered inside. “This looks right.”
“Well, in that case, you’re free to leave.” The officer flashed me a wry smile. “I hope I never have to see you again, Mr. Knight.”
I grinned at the clichéd joke and lifted my hand in a wave as I stepped toward the exit. A buzzing sound filled the air, and then the glass door slid open.
I stepped out into the fresh fall air and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply.
“Killian!”
My eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar voice. Shay was standing in the parking lot on the other side of the chain-link fence, wildly waving her left hand.
A broad grin stretched over my face, and I broke into a run as the gate slid open with a metallic grinding sound.
I wrapped my arms around Shay and lifted her in the air, swinging her around in a slow circle. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said breathlessly, eyes sparkling in the sunlight.
“I’ve missed you too,” I murmured, setting her down so I could pull her close to my chest. “So fucking much.”
She’d visited me as frequently as she could during my sentence, but it wasn’t quite the same as being with each other in real life. No touching was allowed in the visitor’s room, and I was always left aching with need by the time she had to leave.
“I guess it could’ve been worse,” Shay said, voice muffled by my shirt. “You could’ve been locked up in there forever.”
I smiled and ruffled the top of her hair. “My lawyer was too good for that.”
After all the shit went down four years ago, it was obvious that I couldn’t escape a prison sentence. Even though I’d reduced the Schöneberg Group’s vile empire to rubble and experienced a massive outpouring of public support, I had to face the fact that I was on the hook for my participation in the Hellfire Club.
