Page 138 of Sinfully Yours

Straight into his arms.

His breath leaves him in a rush as I slam into his chest, my arms wrapping around his waist, my fingers gripping his shirt like if I let go, I might fall apart completely.

Liam catches me without hesitation, his arms locking tight around me, his heartbeat thunderous beneath my cheek.

I don't say anything.

I don't need to.

His hand slides up my back, fingers pressing into my spine, and I know—he needed this, too.

I don't know how long we stay like that, but eventually, footsteps approach.

I pull back slightly, just enough to see my brothers standing a few feet away.

Ryan is still breathing hard, his knuckles bruised from the fight, his expression caught somewhere between relief and grudging acceptance. Dean looks exhausted, hands on his hips, nodding slowly as he takes everything in. And Nate… Nate just watches, expression unreadable.

Liam tenses but doesn't let go of me.

For a long moment, none of them speak.

Then Dean exhales, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "Guess we owe you one."

Liam huffs a quiet, almost disbelieving laugh. "I'll frame that."

Ryan rolls his eyes, muttering something under his breath, but there's no heat to it.

Dean just shakes his head, then meets Liam's gaze, serious now. "You kept Ava safe." He crosses his arms. "That counts for something."

Liam nods as an unspoken understanding passes between them.

Nate just grins, tipping an imaginary hat. "And here I thought you were all bad decisions."

Liam chuckles. "I have layers."

Ryan groans. "I hate this."

I finally laugh, breathless, as the weight of the night starts to lift.

Vanessa is gone.

31

LIAM

AWeek Later

Life in Willow Creek doesn't stop just because we took down Vanessa Chase.

The city keeps moving. People go to work, grab their coffee, make weekend plans. Headlines flash across newsstands about the high-profile arrest, the corruption scandal unraveling in real-time, the offshore accounts now under federal investigation. But for the most part, life continues.

And maybe that's what shocks me the most.

How, after everything, the world still spins like it always has.

Vanessa is gone, her carefully constructed empire crumbling under the weight of her own deception. Cliff Reyes, in a move of poetic justice, turns into the prosecution's best friend, spilling every last one of her secrets to save himself. Andrew was pretty great, too. The files Tyler uncovered are now in the hands of the authorities, each document another nail in her coffin.

She won't be walking away from this.

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