Page 112 of Liam

Olivia’s eye narrow. “No problem,” she says, her eyes never leaving mine. “The girl who killed my grandparents was just about to leave.”

My eyes widen, and I make the mistake of looking at her brother—just in time to see the color drain from his face. Vision blurred by the tears I’ve held onto for years, I face Olivia again. “I’m so??—”

“No!” She shrugs out of her boyfriend’s hold and steps closer until we’re toe to toe. Eye to eye. “You don’t get to say anything to me or my family, do you understand?”

I nod, ignoring the single tear that falls from my lashes.

And then she leans in, her breath warming against my ear when she whispers, “Don’t think for a single second that I don’t know what you did.”

My heart stops beating, falls to my stomach.

When she pulls back, my wide eyes stay on hers. And then she smiles, as if she just won a game. “I knoweverything.”

I leave, ignoring the bile in my throat and the ache in my chest, and retrieve my phone, my hands shaking as I type out a text.

Addie

Please come back!

Liam

On my way.

Liam

I was already out of my minivan, leaning against the hood, when I watched her come out of the office and send me the text. Already crossing the street when I replied to it.

She’s on the sidewalk, going in the wrong direction, away from where I parked, and she’s crying. I can’t see it or hear it, but I can sense it, even from a few steps away.

“Addie!” I call out, and she turns, practically falls into my arms.

Before I can fully assess the situation, a male voice barks from behind me. “Hey!” I turn to see Rhys Garrett marching toward us. “Don’t fucking do that again.”

I stand in front of Addie, blocking his path. “Do you have to do this now?”

His gaze flicks to mine, the rage in his voice clashing with the confusion in his stare. “Lincoln?”

“No.” I shake my head, stand taller. “I’m the other one.”

“Oh.” His shoulders drop as his eyes drift shut, and he takes a moment to breathe. To calm the storm that had been raging inside him. When he opens his eyes again, they go straight to Addie, now standing beside me. “Listen,” he starts, his jaw set. “Olivia wanted me to come out here and apologize to you, but I’m not going to do that. She lost her cool just now, which isveryunlike her, but she has every right to.” He pauses a breath. “I understand why you did what you did. I assume you’re trying to heal parts of you that are broken, but… Liv and Dom are healing, too, and they don’t need you coming around to remind them of the tragedy they’re healing from.” He squares his shoulders, crosses his arms. “I get that you might want redemption, but find it on your own. You showing up like this, it’s for your own selfish desires, pure and simple. So don’t do it again.”

“I won’t,” Addie’s quick to say, a sob catching in her throat. “How—how did she know it was me? That I was the one driving?”

Rhys sighs, as if resigned to the moment. “She was on the phone with her grandparents when it happened. The line stayed connected, and she heard it all. Even the aftermath—when the guy you were with told you to keep quiet. That he’d tell everyone it was him.”

I turn to Addie, watch the blood rush from her face, watch her eyes darting back and forth, like she’s trying to pull from a memory that isn’t there. She blinks hard. Once. Twice. And then she looks at Rhys, but he’s already walking away. “Rhys!” she calls, and he spins to us. “Will you um…” The crack in her voice shatters a piece of my heart, and I take her hand in mine. “Will you tell them…”

Rhys nods. “I’ll tell them you’re sorry.”

Addie and I stay unmoving as we watch him walk away, go back into the building. After a moment, she looks up at me, her eyes filled with tears and pain and anger and regret. “Roman?” she cries. “I want Roman.”

Without a word, I grip her hand tighter and take us to the other end of the building, where I know Roman will be. The construction site is loud, covered in dust, scattered with drywall and scaffolding and temporary walls and posts, and we shouldn’t be in here, but we are. I find Logan’s crew in the back corner and stay a few feet away from the power tools in action.

It’s as if my brothersensesmy presence before he looks up and sees it. His eyes are narrowed at first—confusion—and then he sees Addie, and that’s all he needs to see. All he needs to know. He takes a few steps to where Roman is working and says something I can’t make out. The moment Roman turns to us, Addie releases my hand and runs toward him.

I thought shefellinto my arms on the sidewalk earlier, but it’s nothing compared to how she falls into Roman’s. It all happens so fast, he doesn’t even have time to react. He seems to fall with her, catching her right before she hits the ground. Addie’s kneeling on the floor now, her head in her hands, while Roman holds her face to his chest, wraps his entire body around her. He’s her shield, and she—she’s never appeared so small before, so young, sobreakable.

I don’t know what to do.

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