Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
“Thayer.” My voice came out small. “What was that?”
After shutting the door behind them, he turned to face me, his calm mask slipping just enough for me to see the fierce protectiveness burning underneath.
“You’re staying with me. Permanently.”
I stared up at him, my heart still hammering from the confrontation with my parents. “Why? If this is just about keeping me safe from some vague danger, then tell me what’s going on. I deserve to know.”
Thayer watched me for a long beat, then exhaled slowly. “You’re right.”
He took my hand and led me into the living room without another word. Then he sat on the big leather couch and pulled me onto his lap so I straddled his thighs, my hands resting on his chest. The position felt intimate, like he needed me close while he delivered whatever blow was coming.
His palms settled on my hips, his thumbs stroking slow circles through the thin fabric of my leggings. “I was going to tell you last night at dinner, but…”
My cheeks heated at the memory of what had distracted him, but I nodded for him to go on.
“Jax has been digging. Your medical records don’t add up. The scar on your temple wasn’t from a childhood accident. It was a botched surgery meant to hide something—an identifying mark. The surgeon who worked on you lost his license years ago for unethical cuts.”
“I don’t understand.” I touched the scar with trembling fingers. “Why wouldn’t my parents get me proper medical care?”
Thayer’s hands tightened on me. “Your mother’s pregnancy records are fake. There are payments traced to a shell company tied to people who traffic in babies. We think you were taken as an infant and sold on the black market to your parents so they could have the perfect political family prop.”
I shook my head, his explanation making no sense. My entire life was built on a lie so my parents could look like the ideal family?
“They bought me?” My voice cracked.
Thayer’s hold on me was the only thing keeping me upright. “Yeah. And they went to a lot of trouble to bury it. That’s why I don’t trust them with your safety. I don’t know how far they’d go to keep the secret quiet. I’m not risking you.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. “I kept telling myself they loved me in their own way. That the conditional stuff was just how they showed it. But if they bought me for optics…” My throat closed. “I don’t know who I am anymore. Everything I thought was real was built on lies.”
Thayer’s hand came up to cup my cheek, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Your past shapes you, Hadley, but it sure as hell doesn’t define who you are. The woman sitting on my lap right now—the one who laughs too easily, talks too much when she’s nervous, and sneaks off to underground races because she’s got fire in her—that’s you. Not some carefully manufactured politician’s daughter. No one and nothing else gets to decide who you are except you.”
The fierce conviction in his words was exactly what I needed. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to his. “I don’t want to go back to them. Not after this. But it still hurts.”
“I know.” His arms slid around me, pulling me flush against his chest. “But you’re not alone in this.”
The last of the tension drained out of me as I melted into him. His hands stroked up and down my back, grounding me when everything else felt like it was spinning.
Thayer tilted my chin up. “You’re staying, baby. With me. Where you belong.”
I didn’t argue this time. I just kissed him and let the rest of the world fade away as I lost myself in the only thing that made sense to me right now—him.
14
CAGE
The shrill ringtone jerked me out of a sleep so deep, my body felt carved from stone. I squinted briefly at the clock and groaned when I realized it was almost noon. I knew I’d worn Hadley the fuck out the night before, but it seemed I’d been equally drained from all the exertion.
I grabbed the phone off the nightstand and sat up, then swung my legs out of bed as I glanced at the number flashing on the screen. It was coming straight from my clinic on the compound.
“Shit,” I muttered, already bracing for whatever was coming. Calls like this never brought good news.
“What happened?” I answered roughly, my voice still edged with sleep but sharpened by instinct.
“It’s Tyre.” Kane’s voice was clipped. “Rolled into the compound about two minutes ago. Run went sideways. Took a fucking bullet to the shoulder. They’re bringing him to the clinic right now.”
“On my way.”
I ended the call and glanced back at Hadley, her soft face peaceful in sleep. Her tousled hair was spread across the pillow, her lips parted slightly, making my dick twitch. But I couldn’t linger, not with a club brother bleeding in my clinic. I dressed swiftly, pulling on jeans, boots, and my cut before leaning down and pressing my mouth to Hadley’s temple.