I expected Lincoln to be livid by the way things ended at the restaurant, but his reaction of angry sex ended up being incredibly hot. I can only imagine how he would react if I told him the full story—that Kellen had been so insistent I fuck him when we returned to the apartment that it took the threat of a large kitchen knife to get him to back down. I spent the night in my studio with the knife tucked under my pillow, terrified he’d force himself on me again. I’m certain his reunion with Lincoln had triggered the unusual behavior, especially since Lincoln thinks Kellen was always jealous of all he had. It was probably his way of celebrating the fact that he “won” his twin’s girl in the end.

One thing’s for damn sure, Lincoln would’ve hated himself even more for getting aggressive with me had he known even a sliver of the truth.

The toilet in the suite’s bathroom flushes and Lincoln struts back into the bedroom, his half-hard cock swinging proudly. My mouth becomes bone dry with the sight of his massive body, all hard lines and smooth skin. God, he’s so damn beautiful. And I’m fairly certain that I’ve never seen him flaccid since we’ve been reunited.

Another bolt of longing ripples between my legs when I picture myself down on my knees, taking him in my mouth. I’m certain we could spend an entire week locked in here, pleasuring each other in every way possible. I hate that our time together is limited, and can’t stand the thought of him going back to Coronado. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when he’s sent on another mission.

“Are you going to your parents’ for brunch?” I ask.

His gorgeous features cloud over. “You really think I could face my brother again without rearranging his face?”

“No, but maybe he won’t show. Your mom seemed really eager to see you.”

“I’ll come visit her another time.” Shrugging, he lowers back to the mattress at my side and pulls me into his arms, pressing a kiss against the side of my head. “I’m not wasting what little time we have left together before I have to go back. Hopefully by the time I leave tomorrow morning you’ll change your mind and come with me. I won’t have a lot of free time, but I can at least sleep with you at night.”

Stroking his thick arm, I don’t entertain the idea although my heart tugs painfully knowing it’s an option. I need to wrap things up here and prepare for our visit to the Caymans. “Why did you stop talking to your parents?”

His chest heaves beneath me. “A big part of it has to do with the fact that my mother wouldn’t stand up for me. Ever. Even before the night they found you in my father’s office. She’s nothing more than a slave to him…always doing what he wants in exchange for all the money she could ever want. And she knows he’s not a good man. I got fed up with her shit.”

I lean down to kiss his thick bicep. Regardless of what he says, if I had stepped up and done the right thing, everything would be different. I close my eyes as the memory of that night creeps up on me.

---

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I passed through the open door of Howard Farrington’s office. Everything about the massive house reminded me of Lincoln, even though I knew he was sound asleep in bed like the rest of his family. Still, I kept hoping that he’d wake and find me, and somehow everything would be okay. Since he broke up with me, I had become nothing more than a shadow of the happy girl I had been when we were together. It felt like he had cut me in half and left me to bleed out.

I stared up at the jersey safely preserved inside a lit glass case, wondering why people were willing to pay obscene amounts of money for something dirty and used. I had no idea what I would actually do with it other than hand it over to my mom’s drug dealer and beg him to sell it in order to settle her debt. As much as I often resented her back in those days, I didn’t want her to leave me the way my dad had. With Lincoln out of my life, it would leave me completely alone.

By no surprise, the case was locked. At that point, adrenaline was coursing through my veins, making me jump with every little noise in the otherwise still house. Despite wanting Lincoln to find me, I also knew I’d be in the deepest shit if he found me standing in his father’s office. So I grabbed a giant sculpture sitting on top of his father’s desk and used it to break the glass.

Red lights flashed.

A wailing alarm sounded.

My heart slammed still.

My mom was as good as dead if they sent me to jail.

Yelping, I snatched the jersey from the display and started for a window overlooking the backyard. Unless I wanted to get caught, I only had seconds to get out.

Finally, the alarm and flashing lights stopped.

Then I heard, “Quinn? What are you doing?”

Relief rushed through me as I spun around to meet the gaze of the boy I loved. He wore low-slung pajama bottoms and his hair was a mess. Though he squinted against the flashing lights, there was no mistaking the warmth behind his confused gaze. He was still in love with me.

The need to run into his arms and tell him about my mom’s dealer came to a screeching halt when Howard Farrington stormed into the room wearing a black robe over black pajama pants, gun in hand.

“What the hell is going on in here?” he asked, scowling between me and his son. His eyes slid over to the broken case, then to the jersey in my hand. “Can’t say I’m surprised to discover you’re a thief.” He took the safety off the gun and his lips quirked with a smirk. “Set it down and back away, Cameron. The cops will be here any minute to take care of you.”

“What are you going to do, shoot her?” Lincoln roared, stepping between us. “She wasn’t stealing it. It was me. I handed it to her while I was trying to silence the alarm.”

I gasped and my pulse skipped. I couldn’t believe he was actually taking the blame.

“You can’t expect me to believe that,” his father snickered, lowering the gun by his legs. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“Because Quinn and I are running away together. I love her and I won’t let you get in our way. I’m done letting you control me.”

Tears thickened in my throat as I placed my hands on Lincoln’s bare back, feeling the muscles in his shoulders twitch. He said he loved me with so much conviction that I believed it with all my heart. For a brief second, I even let myself fantasize what he said was true, and he was planning to take me away from my complicated life.

I looked over Lincoln’s shoulder in time to see his father raise the gun again. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to throw your future away for a junkie’s daughter.”

In that moment, Lincoln’s mother and Kellen came into the room. Their eyes were equally wild as they tried to piece together what they were seeing.

“I just buzzed the police in through the front gate,” Elaine told her husband. Lips curled and eyes darting in my direction, she set her hand on his forearm. “Put the gun down, Howard. Let them handle her.” She said “her” like I was diseased, unworthy of the Farrington family. But she was totally right. In that moment, I realized I was unworthy of Lincoln’s protection.

“She didn’t do anything,” Lincoln insisted, reaching back for me. He pulled me up against his side and I melted into him. Maybe everything would be okay. If he lied for me, maybe they’d let it slide and no one would get into trouble. Then he took the jersey from my hands. “I needed the money so her and I could start a new life somewhere else.”

Elaine’s mouth dropped and Kellen laughed to himself. The police announced their presence as they entered through the front door, and Howard finally lowered his gun.

“We’re back here!” he yelled over his shoulder.

A minute later, two uniformed officers entered the room. I couldn’t breathe when I noticed that each of their hands rested over the guns on their holsters.

“I’d like you to arrest my son,” Howard told the men. “I caught him trying to steal the jersey in his hands. It’s very valuable.”

My heart stopped. “No!”

As the officers exchanged a questioning look, Lincoln squeezed my hand and whispered, “I’ll be okay, Quinn.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” the older of the two men asked Howard.

Lincoln’s father nodded with conviction. “He needs to learn a lesson.”

Elaine clutched her husband’s arm like it was holding her up, and Kellen’s lips spread with a wide, menacing smile. I couldn’t believe his family was going to stand there and let it happen.

As the officers started for us, I jumped in front of Lincoln. “You can’t do this! He didn’t do anything!”

But Lincoln dragged me back, spinning me around as one of the officers stepped behind him with a pair of handcuffs. “I’ll be okay,” he repeated. His dark brown eyes held mine, begging me not to say anything more as they cuffed his hands and guided him toward the door.

I spun around to glare at Howard. “How can you do this to your own son?”

“Please escort this young lady on your way out,” he told the officer trailing behind Lincoln. Gaze dark on mine, burning with hostility, his teeth ground together. “She’s trespassing.”

I heard Kellen snicker as the man half dragged me from the room. If I weren’t so worried about Lincoln, I may have run back into the room to claw the bastard’s eyes out. But instead I waited until we were outside and shook out of the officer’s grip before running to Lincoln as he was getting into the back seat of the squad car.

“Linc, I love you!” I cried, wrapping my hands around my waist. “Whatever I did to make you break up with me, I’m sorry!”

But he refused to look up, or even acknowledge that I was standing there. Even after the door was shut behind him and the other officer was pulling me away from the car, I kept trying to get him to look my way.

“Linc, do you hear me? I love you!”

“Miss, you need to calm down and back away from the car. Mr. Farrington may have cut you a break for trespassing, but I can still bring you in for disorderly conduct.”

Defeated, I shuffled back, drowning in my tears as the officer slipped into the front seat. Lincoln slumped in the back, looking straight ahead. Panic rushed through me, making it impossible to think straight. I was scared to death of what would happen. Was he doing this to help me, or to punish me for something I had done?

The car started forward. I chased it down the driveway, ignoring the open stares from the Farringtons’ neighbors standing on their lawns.

“Linc, I love you! Please don’t do this!”

I continued running after the car, even after it became a blur in the dark night.

If I had known I wouldn’t see him again for seven whole years, I probably would’ve collapsed to the ground.

---

After wiping my wet face on my shoulder, I drop another kiss against Lincoln’s arm. “If I hadn’t tried to steal that jersey—”

“We’re done going over this, Quinn. If I hadn’t tracked you down, my brother wouldn’t have raped you, and you wouldn’t have chosen this fucked-up path where you continue to be his victim. I don’t want your apologies. This is all on me.”

Turning in his arms to face him, I frown. “Tracked me down?”

Looking away, he runs a hand through his short hair. “I mean…you know…sought you out…in school.”

“Sought me out? What does that even mean? Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something?” I jerk myself from his hold, scowling. “You are, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says, his voice losing its power.

“You promised that you’d tell me the reason you left me in high school once you knew I was fully invested in us. I’d say agreeing to be your wife is proof enough. Full disclosure, Linc. It’s the only way I can be with you. No more secrets.”

“Everything I’ve done was to protect you.” Sucking in a sharp breath, he reaches for my hand, linking our fingers together. His mouth turns downward and he shakes his head. “Promise me that you’ll stay and hear me out until I’m finished explaining myself.”

All at once I feel ready to puke my guts out, even though I have yet to eat anything for breakfast. Whatever he’s about to tell me must have the power to destroy us, or he wouldn’t look so desperate. Squeezing his hand, I nod. I’m not ready to give up on him yet, regardless of his carefully guarded secret.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeeze shut and he begins to speak.