She left him.

Holy fuck.

That piece of shit she married was no longer in her life. That was… huge. I wasn’t even sure what to think about it. I wanted to dig deeper, push her to answer the million questions I had, but I wouldn’t.

The stark sadness in her red-rimmed eyes as we went through Will’s closet kept me from broaching the subject again. She was a shell of her usual bright, full-of-life self. I’d have given anything to take her pain away, bearing that heavy burden myself if it meant protecting her from it.

But I couldn’t. And that feeling of helplessness burrowed its way under my skin and made itself at home, spreading its poison and making me feel even more useless.

After finishing the painful job, we left, locking up Will’s house exactly as we’d found it—with the exception of Lyla packing herself an overnight bag in order to crash at her parents’ place—and I took her to her car in the hospital parking lot.

“You sure you don’t want me to stick around?” I asked, throwing the SUV our security guy Ian let me borrow into Park and turning to face her in the passenger seat. “I could come back with you to your folks’ place, hang out for a bit.”

“Thanks, but I’m good.” She gave me a small smile that didn’t come anywhere near her eyes, but was still more beautiful than any other woman’s I’d ever seen. The usually glowing honey color was dark and shadowed with thick purple smudges beneath. “I’ll probably just go back and sleep.”

The thought of leaving her sat like a lead balloon in my gut. I couldn’t stand the idea of her curling up in that bed all alone. “You sure?”

She let out a heavy breath, like just the thought of moving from that seat was too much. “I am. But thank you for this.” She waved at her car parked right next to mine. “For everything, really. I don’t think I could’ve gotten through that back at Will’s if it hadn’t been for you.”

“I’m here, Goldie. Any time. Anything you need, just call, yeah? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Her smile was more genuine that time. “And thanks for that too. See you tomorrow?”

She was talking about the funeral, and although the realization of what was to come burned in my throat like acid, I nodded and offered her a grin of my own. “You will, baby. And remember what I said. Any time. You call, and I’ll pick up. I promise.”

With a simple nod, she opened the door and climbed out, leaving only the soft smell of her perfume behind. As she climbed into her car and drove away, I thought about this being the third time I’d had to watch her leave me. It still hurt like a son of a bitch.

That had been four hours ago. I’d gone back to the hotel where the guys and I were staying and tried to exhaust all the turmoil swirling around my head by beating the hell out of my body at the hotel gym. When that didn’t work, I’d gone back up to my room and called room service for dinner before climbing into the shower.

When I finally got out, I didn’t bother drying off, simply wrapped the towel around my waist and headed toward the wet bar in the common area of the suite. There was a bottle of Jack that had been calling my name for the past few hours.

Unscrewing the cap, I slugged back a mouthful just as a knock sounded on the door. I opened it expecting to see someone carrying a tray with my food, only to find Lyla standing on the other side.

* * *

Lyla

“Goldie?”

I looked down at Mace’s towel-clad body and my brain immediately screamed, This was a mistake!

His hair was dripping wet from the shower he’d obviously just taken. The droplets fell onto his broad shoulders before trickling down the olive-toned skin of his chest to the valley made by his defined abdominals. I watched each drop in fascination as they made their journey over and around muscles that hadn’t been there the last time I saw him shirtless before being absorbed into the terrycloth hanging precariously low on his hips.

My mouth went dry at the sight that was Mace, and I unconsciously licked my lips as I continued to stare, forgetting for a moment why I was there and what had been going on. That was until he spoke again and pulled me from my gawking.

“Ly, sweetheart. What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

Shaking my head, I forced my roving gaze back to his, those crystal blue eyes just as captivating as his body. “Yeah. Sorry. Everything’s okay. I just….” Shyness set in, and I could feel my cheeks burning as I cast my eyes down and finished my admission. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d go for a drive. I just sort of ended up here.”

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to happen. Hell, I wasn’t really even sure how I’d ended up there. It was as if I’d climbed into my car in a daze, and it just sort of took itself to the hotel where Mace was staying. But when he offered me a soft, sweet grin and took my hand, pulling me into the hotel room, I followed without any objection.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m just gonna get dressed real quick.”

Ignoring the tiny voice in my head that cried out in protest of him covering up, I turned to scan the room, amazed by its sheer size. But I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. The easygoing boys I’d grown up with had turned into world-famous rock stars. I was sure the opulent suite was barely a drop in the bucket.

“So,” Mace called, yanking me from my perusal, “you eaten? I have room service coming any minute.”

His idea of getting dressed was apparently switching out the towel for a pair of black track pants with white stripes down the side, still leaving that godlike chest on perfect display. But now that I’d had a moment to acclimate myself and get over the lust-induced stupor I’d been in when he opened the door, I was able to behave like an adult.

“No, thanks. I’m not hungry,” I answered, taking a seat on the fancy buttoned leather couch. “But I will have some of that,” I said, pointing to an opened bottle of Jack sitting on the bar across the room.

He grabbed the bottle and two glasses, taking a seat across from me in one of the matching club chairs and pouring a liberal amount of whiskey in both glasses. “When’s the last time you ate?” he asked, giving me a stern look.

I glanced to the side and gave that some thought. My face scrunched when I couldn’t remember the last meal I had. “I’m not sure, but it couldn’t have been that long.” Right?

A knock came on the door and Mace stood. “That’s room service. Don’t care if you aren’t hungry, baby. You’re eatin’ some of it. Only way I’ll let you have that.” He pointed to the glass on the table before heading to answer the door.

The thought of food had made me nauseous the past several days. But surprisingly enough, when Mace set a large tray on the dining table and removed the silver domes, my stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl, and the hunger that had been absent came back full force.

Mace looked at me with a knowing smirk and teased, “Uh-huh. Get your pretty ass over here and eat, baby.”

I did as ordered without complaint, taking a seat as Mace cut the tender filet he’d ordered in half, placing one part on a separate plate. He split the mashed potatoes and green beans as well, scooting the plate in front of me before moving to the living area and grabbing our glasses and the bottle of whiskey.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a steak,” I told him as I cut into it. The meat was the perfect pink and melted like butter the instant it hit my tongue. I closed my eyes and let out a low groan. “My God, this is so good.”

When I looked back at him, his eyes had grown dark and were pointed directly at my mouth, his strong jaw hard as granite.

“Mace?”

Clearing his throat, he glanced away and lifted his fork, taking a bite of his own. “Sorry. You’re right. This is great.”

And that was the last thing he said as we ate. Once my plate was clean, he slowly pushed my glass in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said quietly, offering a smile as I lifted it to my lips and took the first sip, savoring the way the liquor burned on its way down.

All the while, Mace was resting in his chair, holding his own glass as he studied me intently. “Why’d you come here tonight, Goldie?”

The question caught me off guard, and I choked on my next sip. “Do you… do you want me to go?” I asked, my chest clenching painfully at the thought of him asking me to leave.

Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on the table, staring right into my eyes. “Not at all. I want you to stay. But I want you to talk to me, baby. You came here for a reason.”

“It’s like I said.” I shrugged. “I just got in the car and drove. Then I ended up here.”

“Bullshit.” My back shot straight at his declaration. “Talk to me.”

With a sigh as heavy as my heart, I slugged back the rest of my whiskey. I might’ve just eaten, but the lack of food for the past several days meant my tolerance was low—and I was a lightweight to begin with.

“Honestly? I don’t really know,” I confessed. “I can’t go back to Will’s, there’s no way. But I couldn’t… I just couldn’t stay at my parents’ house any longer.” I sniffled as my heart beat against my ribs. “Everyone keeps coming over and telling us how sorry they are.” I shook my head. “I’m sick and fucking tired of hearing it. I appreciate what they’re trying to do, but I don’t care that they’re sorry. I don’t care. I want my brother back!”

He got to me just as I broke down, pulling me out of the chair and into his arms. “Shh, baby,” he cooed as I cried silently. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m here. I got you.”

“I don’t know why I came here,” I admitted on a broken whisper. “I just knew you’d understand. I needed to see you.”

I don’t know what came over me. Maybe my grief was making it easier to forget all my inhibitions. Either that or it was causing me to quickly lose my mind.

I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I acted purely on instinct as I lifted onto my toes and pressed my lips to his.