Page 106 of Between Never and Forever
“I do. You said you had to take care of family. That’s what families do. Dimitri has been calling you his future sister-in-law for ages now. Are you not my family, Kee?”
“Dex—”
“You grew up next to me. You ran through our freaking fields, you went to school with us, you cried on the side of that lake with us, shivering, cold, in shock after we lost our friend. You’re my family.” It all made sense now. The reason I never committed before and couldn’t see a clear road ahead was because she wasn’t on that road. “You’re going to be my wife.”
Her mouth opened and closed twice before she blurted out, “I’m not marrying you.”
“You are. In our hometown. Where your father and I can have a chat.”
“Did you hear anything I said?”
“I heard you trying to leave me again, but it’s not happening. I’m too obsessed with you to let you go.”
“And what if I’m too obsessed with you to let you go through with it?” Her eyes widened like she wasn’t planning for that to come out of her mouth. “What if I say no?”
I sighed at the inconvenience. “The HEAT empire will go toe-to-toe with Trinity Enterprises. It’ll be a big scandal for everyone, including your best friend.”
I knew exactly who Keelani Hale was now. She was someone who wouldn’t burden anyone she cared about if she could avoid it.
“You wouldn’t,” she whispered. Dragging Dimitri into this was necessary because I knew Kee wouldn’t do anything that would hurt him. “You can’t.”
“I would do just about anything for you at this point, Kee. I’m not letting you go. And you’re not letting me go either. You need to come to terms with those feelings. Now, want to talk about the text you got last night?”
“Are you— What the hell, Dex? Are you fucking stalking me?”
“Yes, but you like when I do. So, you have one stalker threatening your life and the other saving it. Who do you want to pick to fight with?”
“I’m mad at you, Dex.”
“I know, heartbreaker. That’s fine. You can be mad all you want, but you also need to stay within the HEAT empire while we figure this out.”
“I’m making an official statement about—”
“You aren’t leaving.” Didn’t she fucking get that her life was in danger? “I can’t protect you if you do. If you leave the room, Jimmy will be there to escort you.”
She stood from the chair and combed a hand through her hair. “Dex, I am not hiding anymore or keeping my mouth shut. I’ve listened to everyone for a decade and a half, and I just want to be free of it and—”
“You will once we find out who’s sending those texts and red fucking envelopes.”
“It’s probably just Ezekiel or—”
“It can’t be him.” I sighed. “I tracked his whereabouts. He’s been seen with other women. I’ve also…” I tapered off, not wanting to admit the rest. Yet, I was being diligent. I wouldn’t miss a single damn thing.
“You also what, Dex?”
“Let’s put it this way. He knows better.”
“What exactly does that mean?” She wasn’t going to let it go.
“I told him no one would find his body if he tried what he did with you on another woman again. He knows better.” I was very clear with him. I’d gone to extreme lengths by having someone search his home. We’d collected fucked-up evidence on him already. The man was going to have to be put behind bars either way, but my first priority was her.
I was going through building a case on him quietly with a team in the meantime. Yet, my first priority was Kee.
She wrung her hands in front of me before she confessed, “Is it bad that I want to cry over admission? That I instantly feel like you’ve protected so many women in the industry by just threatening him? I shouldn’t feel good about that, but I appreciate you.”
“Show your appreciation by not leaving the building until we find out who’s sending you things.” I paused. “And marry me.”
“You can’t fix everything, Dex.”
