Kai

I push the weight up, hold it, and then bring it back down. My arms grew tired two sets ago, but I continue. Lifting this bar over and over again has been the only thing keeping me sane lately. I hate not being able to see or talk to Teagan. I hate not knowing if she’s okay. Plus, I’m not getting any, and that has my frustration through the roof, but the meaningless hook-ups of the past aren’t where I want to stick my dick anymore. The girl I want doesn’t want me, but my body and mind don’t register that. She’s the only girl I want to be with, so for now, I’m lifting this bar and playing with my dick like a fourteen-year-old boy.

Pathetic.

“You’re going to wind up looking like your shoulders swallowed your neck if you keep up at this pace,” Paisley mocks.

My hunt for an apartment hasn’t been going well, maybe because I’m not really looking forward to getting my own place. Really, the only perk would be not having Paisley’s daily check-in. I’m out of energy to deal with her opinions. I let the weight fall back onto the rack and throw a towel over my damp face to rid myself of the sweat as well as avoid her. Maybe she’ll just go away if I don’t respond.

“Kai, I need to talk to you.”

“Paisley, come on,” I groan. “I can’t take any more of our little chats.” I sit up, wiping the towel over my face and then bringing it to my lap, hopeful that my expression tells her that I’ve had enough. I love her, but I’m over talking in circles about the same shit every day.

“I’m worried. I’ve thought over and over again about which of you were the lesser evil to come to about this, and I’m still not sure this is the right decision. Burke is going to kill me for not going to him. I need to tell you something, and I need you to remain calm.”

Well, she has my attention now.

“What is it?” I’m up on my feet and crowding Paisley’s space.

“Something isn’t right. I’m concerned about Teagan. I don’t think we made the right decision, taking her to that clinic.”

“Have you called her? Did she say something was wrong?”

“No. Well, yes, but no. The clinic has a policy that the patient can’t have any outside contact for the first thirty days. I called a couple of times when my nerves were nagging at me, but I always hung up after a few rings.”

“Okay, but what are you saying, Paisley?” I’m not even sure why I’m asking. She’s going to tell me whether I do or not.

“I’m starting to wonder—honestly, it’s been in the back of my mind for a while—if Teagan is even at the clinic. When she first came home from the hospital, she told Burke she was seeing a therapist. Only she wasn’t. He’d drop her off, and she’d ditch. The whole time, she was silently spiraling deeper into her depression but putting on a brave face for Burke. It feels like she’s done that again, letting him … letting us believe what we want in order to get us off her back.”

The towel in my hand falls to the floor. My feet move, and I leave Paisley standing in our home gym.

“Kai, wait! Where are you going?”

“To that damn clinic! I’ll bust through the fucking door and find out if she’s there myself if I have to!”

“There’s more I think you should hear first.” I don’t have time to hear more. I need to find Teagan. She may not want to see me, but I’ll always need to know that she’s safe, and right now, after the beans Paisley has spilled, I don’t know that she is. “STOP!”

My spine goes rigid, and I’m falling over my feet as I stop short at the panic in Paisley’s voice.

I turn to face my friend, and the worry is painted on her expression. Stress creates lines around her eyes, and concern tugs at her lips. My stomach drops and shoots out of my dick.

“I overheard some girls waiting to be tattooed at the shop yesterday. They were talking about Teagan. You know how this town is. Rumors run rampant, and you can only believe a percent of what you hear, but they said their friend saw her and that she was in rough shape.”

“Rough?” Fuck, how did we not know she wasn’t at that clinic?

“I don’t know much, Kai. I overheard bits and pieces of gossip, and we don’t have any idea how true they are, but they said she was in downtown Greenwood.”

Greenwood? That’s no place for Teagan. That town is full of fuckers and their fucking idiocy. A gnawing, tickling sensation creeps up my skin like bugs are burrowing tunnels under my flesh.

“Is that it? Have you told me everything?” Because I can’t take any more.

“Yes, that’s it,” Paisley confirms.

My shoulders deflate with the burden all this news has brought on.

“What do I tell Burke?” Paisley’s voice is small and broken.

“You don’t tell him anything because he’ll go nuts. It’s better if he stays here and handles the daily shit and keeps his head on straight. I’ll have Teagan back before he’s any wiser. He can kill us both when she’s home safe in her bedroom.”

Silence follows as Paisley gives me a tight nod of agreement. She doesn’t like keeping this from Burke, but it really is better this way. I’m okay with keeping him in the dark right now because I triggered this chain of events. It’s my fault Teagan has endured the things she has—from throwing all the sluts I’ve fucked under this roof in her face to her abduction and whatever happened to her while she was in Jacoby’s grasp. I need to fix it, and whatever needs to be done to get her home needs to fall on my shoulders, no one else’s.

“I’ll make this right. I’ll bring her home.”

“I know you will, Kai, but please be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”

“I’ll bring her home. That’s my only promise.”

Whatever happens to me doesn’t matter. If I need to kill, barter my life, or sell my soul, that’s what I’ll do. Prison, death, or losing myself doesn’t scare me. I’ve already lost the only thing that has ever really mattered to me. The only thing worse than that would be losing her from this world. Nothing else would be of consequence compared to that. No matter what it takes, Teagan will be coming home to this house safe and sound, and I’ll be the one to deliver her.