Page 86 of Hard Knock Hero

“I did it for you.” She pulled me down so our foreheads touched. “I have no regrets when it comes to you. Not a single one.”

Dammit. This incredible woman. I couldn’t go yet.

I crushed my mouth to hers. Kissed her desperately. We kissed until we couldn’t breathe, and then we kept our heads together, gasping the same air.

“Aiden,go,” Trace said. “The fire will cause some chaos for a while, but somebody is bound to notice the jailbreak any moment. You need to be out of Hartley by then.”

“We’ll handle Owen,” Scarlett chimed in. “You know he’s on your side anyway, and when he realizes what Chester was planning, he’ll be furious with the Rigsbys. Not you. We’ll get it all sorted out. You just get going to Steamboat Springs.”

I looked at Jessi. She was nodding. A single tear slid down her cheek. “Aiden, the past few days… It was like a dream, and dreams have to end. But I will never, ever forget a moment of it.”

My chest had winched tight around my heart. I didn’t want to let go of her.

“Aiden,” Trace warned. “You gotta go.”

A clean break.

“I’m working on it.” I kissed her again, slower this time. Dragging out every gentle press of our lips.One more. Just one more.

A million more. That was what I wanted.

How was it possible that I’d never felt freer than when Jessi was in my arms? Why did leaving her feel like the worst kind of burden? But I knew that Trace was right. I had the power to hurt Jessi, and I couldn’t allow myself to do it.

Jessi held onto my shirt. “Go,” she whispered.

She wasn’t pushing me away, though. She needed me to take the first steps. We both knew this was how it had to be.

A clean break. Don’t look back.

I forced myself to back away from her. She let go of me, hands outstretched. I went to the truck. The keys were still in the ignition. My duffel was in the backseat. My regular clothes, which I would change into later. I started the engine and put it in drive.

I wasn’t supposed to look back, but I did. Couldn’t stop myself.

In the rearview mirror, Jessi had her head against Scarlett’s shoulder. Hiding her face. And for some reason, that made the moment so much worse. I’d wanted one last look at her. I’d wanted her to be holding her head high as I drove away.

I gripped the steering wheel and took the next turn, aiming the truck toward the freeway. Trace had told me the best route on the drive from the jail. I needed to bypass Hartley’s main drags and stay out of sight until just before the freeway entrance. From there, I’d cross the bridge, and I’d be on my way. Leaving Hartley behind.

No regrets. That was how I’d lived until now.

Until her.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Jessi

“Let it out,”Scarlett said. “You’re going to be okay.”

I soaked Scarlett’s jacket with my tears.Two minutes, I told myself. I would wallow for two minutes, and then I would be done. We had so many other things to deal with. Trace radiated with impatient energy a few feet away. I had to push these feelings down.

I hadknownthis was coming. From the first moment Aiden had kissed me, I’d known. But I’d had no idea what it would really feel like.

No matter how much else I’d been through, my heart had still been that same fragile dreamer underneath the thick skin I’d worked so hard to develop. And Aiden had pierced me down to my center. From thefirst kiss, he had exposed me. Stripped me down and made me feel purer pleasure than I’d ever experienced. True safety and contentment. He’d been my refuge.

My foolish heart hadn’t stood a chance. It had ripped itself right out of my chest and gone with Aiden when he’d driven away. So damned impulsive.Still. But unlike when I’d fallen for Jeremy, Aiden had been exactly who he claimed to be.

And with Aiden, I’d known exactly what I was doing.

“One more minute,” I whispered to Scarlett. “I promise that’s all I need.”

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