I dreaded confronting Thorn about Hunt’s suspicion. It was a huge insult if I was wrong. After everything we’d been through, it was painful to accuse him of something that seemed so impossible. He’d been everything to me for the past decade. There was no one in the world I trusted more than him.

As much as I wanted Hunt to be cleared, I didn’t want him to be right about this.

I couldn’t lose Thorn.

I stopped by his penthouse after work. He was home, having just showered after his session with his personal trainer. He was in gray sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair was slightly damp because he usually dried his hair with a towel.

“What’s up?” he asked as he greeted me in front of the elevator. “Your turn to raid my fridge?”

“Like there’s anything in there. You’re practically a garbage disposal.”

He chuckled as he headed to the kitchen. “A man like me needs fuel. I don’t look like this from starving myself.” He opened the cabinets and made a drink for me and grabbed a beer for himself. He carried it to the living room then turned on the TV. “The game is coming on in an hour. You wanna hang around and watch it?”

“No company tonight?”

“Nah.” He drank his beer then set it on the coaster. “I had this woman over for the weekend. Still trying to recuperate, if you know what I mean.” He nudged me in the side and winked.

“It’s pretty clear,” I said sarcastically. “You like her?”

“Yeah, she’s gorgeous. Doesn’t speak much English though.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“I had a business meeting, and the guy brought his Russian wife along.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You slept with the guy’s wife?”

“No,” he said with a laugh. “She brought her sister along. I hooked up with her. Then she went back to Russia on Monday.”

“Now it all makes sense.”

“Russian women…” He whistled under his breath. “My god, they’re beautiful.” He rested one arm over the back of the couch and looked at the TV. “What’s new with you? How’d your day go?”

“It was good. I had a meeting that went longer than it should have, and it messed up my entire day.”

“Hate it when that happens. My assistant brings a timer. When that goes off, I’m outta there no matter what.”

It wasn’t so simple for me. Men constantly talked over me and tried to take control of the meeting—unsuccessfully.

Thorn took another drink of his beer then returned it to the coaster. “Something wrong with your drink?”

“No.” I hadn’t cared about it because I was focusing all my attention on this dreadful conversation. The longer I sat there with him, the more unlikely Hunt’s theory seemed. Could Thorn really do that to me and then listen to me confess how much I loved Hunt? How would he be able to sleep at night knowing he was causing me so much pain?

“Well, you haven’t even taken a drink.” He turned his gaze toward me, his eyes narrowed with accusation.

“I’m trying to cut back.”

His eyebrow cocked. “Please don’t tell me you’re pregnant.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. I really am just trying to cut back.”

“Why?”

“I drink too much.”

“Says who?” he questioned. “We all drink. Who cares?”

“I’m not quitting, just trying to taper it down a little.”

Thorn finally stopped the interrogation and turned back to the TV.

I didn’t even know how to broach the subject. I didn’t know where to begin or how to start. If I came right out and asked the question, it could be too harsh and unpredictable.

“Is there something wrong, Titan?” he asked without looking at me. “I’m getting some weird vibes from you. You aren’t yourself right now.”

“I have something on my mind…”

Thorn ignored the TV and looked at me, granting me an attentive look. He gave me his complete focus, turning into the friend that I’d known for the ten years. He cared about everything I had to say. It was hard to believe this man could ever do something so deceitful. I was about to ask him about it, and I still couldn’t believe it could possibly be true. “I was talking to Hunt yesterday…”

“That can’t be good.”

“And he said something to me that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“I’m listening.” He gave me the same stare, waiting for me to continue.

Something in my gut told me this wouldn’t go over well, but I had to ask. “Hunt mentioned it was a strange coincidence that the news story came out directly after I told you I wanted to be with him.”

His expression didn’t change.

“He insists he isn’t the one who went to the newspapers. And since only the three of us knew about it, he thinks you are a possible suspect. You didn’t want to let me go, so you got rid of Hunt by framing him.”

Instead of getting angry, he let a slow smile creep onto his face. “Wow. That guy is desperate, isn’t he?”

His reaction wasn’t setting off any alarm bells, but he didn’t state he thought Hunt’s assumption was wrong. “Is he…?”

Thorn’s smile faded away once he read the room. This wasn’t some ridiculous accusation that I’d brushed off. It wasn’t impossible, even though it was extremely unlikely. When he saw the seriousness in my eyes, his mouth tightened in a deep frown. “Wait, you’re actually buying into this?”

“Not at all. But I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“Talk to me about what, exactly?” His hostility grew like a fire that just been fed a splash of gasoline.

“Are you denying the accusation?”

He threw his arms down and rolled his eyes. “You’re kidding me, right? Do I really need to answer that question?”

I stared him down.

His eyes filled with pain when he realized I was being serious. “No, Titan. I didn’t sell your story to the newspapers just to get rid of the man you love. I didn’t risk life in jail just to keep him away from you. For the past ten years, I’ve only been your rock and you’ve been mine. The world has turned against us countless times, but we’ve always stood shoulder to shoulder. To think I would betray you in such a manipulative and cunning way…is disgusting. The fact that you doubted me, even for a second, is… There are no words.” He rose from the couch and ran his hands through his hair.

“I didn’t mean to offend you—”

“Well, you did.”

I rose to my feet and faced him, watching the flustered look on his face. “Hunt pressured me to ask you. He insists he didn’t do this, and he wants to figure out who did. His suspects are you and Bruce Carol.”

Thorn’s normally fair skin had a tint of red. His blue eyes were cold like ice, and his chest rose and fell dramatically with the deep breaths he took. He was angry, his rage slowly building and filling the entire room. “And he’s the biggest suspect of all, Titan. Why do you keep forgetting that?”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

“Seems like you have. This asshole is the one who betrayed you, and now he’s turning you against me. In case you’ve forgotten, I was the one who stabbed Jeremy in the heart to protect you.” He slammed his fist against his chest. “I was the one who gave you your first loan. I’m the one who’s always got your back and your front. One pretty man walks into your life, and you forget all of that? You strip away everything that’s so damn good about our relationship just because he plants a ridiculous idea in your head? I thought you were smarter than that, Titan. But it looks like you never learn after all.”

My tongue suddenly felt too big for my mouth, and I felt too weak to stand.

“Get out.” He turned away from me, shaking his head like he’d never been so disappointed in me.

“Thorn, I never accused you. I just wanted—”

“Yes, you did. The fact that you even had to ask is a demonstration of how much you’ve lost your mind. Get out of my house and don’t come back.”

My heart slipped all the way down to my stomach. “Thorn—”

“Don’t make me ask a third time, Titan.” He walked out of the living room and into the hallway. I knew he was in his bedroom when I heard the door shut behind him. The TV was still on, his beer was covered in condensation. A commercial came on the screen, and it was about insurance.

I didn’t go after him because he needed his space. He’d never walked away from me like that before. He’d never asked me to leave. He’d never turned his back on me the way he did now.

I let myself out.

---

I sat in the dark for hours, thinking about my conversation with Thorn. I felt like shit. I felt worse than I did when that article about me was published. I felt like I’d lost a piece of myself, lost a family member.

It was like losing my father all over again.

My instinct was to call Thorn and apologize. But he wouldn’t take my calls. He was angry with me, and what he needed right now was space. Pestering him wouldn’t get me anywhere. I would give it a week before I tried to speak to him again.

I felt like an idiot for asking him that stupid question.

I dragged my hand across my face and sighed, feeling the distant ache in my entire chest. It was the painful precursor to tears, the beginning of an action I worked so hard to avoid. I didn’t let a single tear fall, but keeping it in was somehow more painful.

My phone rang.

I grabbed it and hoped to see Thorn’s name on the screen.

But it was Hunt.

I didn’t feel like talking right now, so I silenced his call and set it on the cushion beside me.

He didn’t leave a voice mail, but a text message popped up. I need to talk to you.

I could feel the urgency in his message. It was the only thing that caught my attention in that moment. I was in pain, but for some reason, his pain seemed more important to me. I picked up the phone and called him.

His deep voice filled the silence. “Hey.” He seemed down, like he’d already heard the news about Thorn and me. He only said a single word, but the pain in his tone was heavy. It was unmistakable.

“Hey…” I couldn’t speak without my voice cracking. I was a master at hiding my emotions from everyone, but with Hunt, all my skills were useless. He could crack through my hard shell with a single word.

His concern exploded through the phone. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

I shouldn’t let him call me that anymore, but it felt so nice. It blanketed me with his affection, his love. It was like being cradled in his big, strong arms without his even being there. “I talked to Thorn…”

He sighed into the phone. “What happened?”

I didn’t have the energy to tell the entire story. Reliving it would just be painful. “Denied the claim…and then was hurt that I would ever suspect him doing something like that. Told me to get out of his penthouse and…not to come back.” I struggled to keep my voice steady, but it was useless. It kept shaking. The pain and emotion combined together to make a single storm.

He sighed again. “I’ll be right there, alright?”

I shouldn’t want to see him, but that was the only thing I wanted. Nothing sounded better than having his masculine kisses all over my body, his comforting words spoken directly into my ear while his powerful arms protected me from the coldness of my reality. “Okay.”

He arrived less than ten minutes later and helped himself inside my penthouse. The elevator doors opened, and he headed right toward me. His heavy body sank into the couch and his arm wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest, right where I wanted to be. His lips brushed against my hairline, giving me a kiss that was more searing than the kind he gave when he was between my legs. His breath fell across my neck, and he felt perfectly comfortable positioned that way.

I wrapped my arm around his waist and snuggled into his side. I didn’t talk about Thorn because there was nothing more to be said. I’d hurt his feelings, and I wished I could take it back.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is my fault,” he whispered. “I told you to ask him.”

“And I shouldn’t have listened to you…”

His body stiffened in reaction. “He seemed sincere when he said it wasn’t him?”

I nodded. “And if he was just doing it to get rid of you, he ended up getting rid of me himself. So your theory is debunked.”

“He didn’t get rid of you. He’ll come around.”

“You didn’t see him.”

His lips brushed over my temple, and he placed a kiss on my forehead. “I had to know it wasn’t him.”

“And he still thinks it’s you.”

“It’s not me,” he whispered. “I promise it isn’t me.”

“And you told me to accuse Thorn because you knew this would happen…that I would push him away.”

“What do I get out of that?” he asked. “Seeing the woman I love almost in tears? I have kinky tastes, but I’m not into that.”

I moved away from his touch and sat upright on the couch. I looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze. “I wish I could undo all of this. He seemed so hurt by what I said. I feel terrible.”

“I promise you, he’ll come around.”

“Even if he does, it won’t be the same. I violated our trust.”

“All you did was ask a question. You didn’t accuse him of it.”

“It’s the same thing—we both know it.”

His hand moved into my hair, and he forced my gaze on him. His brown eyes were warm like hot coffee, and his t-shirt fit snugly against his frame. He looked sad in a way I’d never seen him before. He hurt when I hurt, but this was different. It seemed like he was troubled on a deeper level. “Is there something wrong?”

He held my gaze, his fingers moving through my soft hair until they reached the tips. His eyes glanced down, and he looked at my hair as it stretched across my shoulders. His hand traveled between my shoulder blades and down my back. His pregnant pause stretched on with no end in sight. “No.”

“When we spoke on the phone, you seemed down.”

“Just missed you.” His eyes moved up again, his brown eyes no longer easy to read like a book. He seemed to be hiding something, a thought or an emotion. “I’m sorry you’re in pain, baby. I hate seeing you like this. I know how much he means to you. He’s more than a friend…he’s family.”

“Yes…he is.”

“He’ll come around.”

I bowed my head because I didn’t believe him. There was a finality to our conversation, like things would never be the same between Thorn and me. He was the best thing that ever happened to me, the best friend any person could ask for. Now he was gone.

“Try talking to him again.”

“I need to give him space. He’s too angry right now.”

Hunt grabbed my hand and leaned toward me. He pressed a kiss to my shoulder and rested his mouth there. “Tell me what I can do.”

I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I wanted a distraction, something to take my mind off the throbbing pain inside my heart. I wanted a clear head so I could get some sleep. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get any rest for the next week. “Fuck me. Fuck me until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.”