Page 130 of Exile and Embrace

I kiss her temple. “I booked our room for two nights. And don’t worry, I’ve told the staff not to bring any vanilla whiskey to the room. Don’t want a repeat of what happened the last time we shared a hotel room.”

Her eyes shine with mischief as she stops and slides one hand beneath my shirt. “You seemed to enjoy what happened.”

“You’re not supposed to mix alcohol with the pain meds you’re taking.” I put two fingers beneath her chin and tilt her face up to mine.

Her soft moan as I pull her bottom lip between my teeth has my cock standing at attention.

I pull away from her before we can take this too far in the middle of the street. “Come on, Aves, let’s go back to the hotel.”

34

AVA

I didn’t know how much I would miss Oregon until we got back two nights ago.

The moment Finn and I walked into our house, it felt like all the stress from the last several weeks melted away.

I didn’t have to worry about his brother or his father, like I did in Tennessee.

Even though I knew they were dead while we were there, I couldn’t stop picturing someone else coming after me.

Finn insisted that it wouldn’t happen, but I couldn’t chase the nightmares away.

Not until we left Tennessee in the rearview mirror.

Now, I’m standing in the middle of our living room, looking at the stacks of things on the coffee table that belonged to my father.

His notebooks and journals tower high while papers I scribbled on to make notes are scattered around them.

Empty cardboard boxes sit beside me on the floor.

Brooklyn sits on the couch, looking at all the work we did while figuring out the truth about my father. Her eyes are still wide after telling her the story about the sex traffickers.

My chest clenches when I think about telling her the rest of the story.

The words are frozen on the tip of my tongue, but if we’re going to be friends, she deserves to hear the truth.

I swallow hard and perch myself on the one clear edge of the coffee table. “I know you’re involved with Cillian O’Reilly now.”

Brooklyn’s eyes widen. “How did you find that out?”

“Finn told me. He said that you were running some of their business through the coffee shop.”

Her jaw drops before it snaps shut. “I knew that you two were tied up in this shit, I just didn’t know how, and I didn’t want to ask. Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Finn kept as much as he could from me when it involved his work with Cillian. He didn’t want to drag me into things if I didn’t need to be. That’s not what else I have to tell you, though.”

“There’s more? On top of everything else you’ve told me about the sex traffickers and your kidnapping, there’s more?”

I sit on my hands, needing to do something to keep them from shaking as I speak. “There is. I was never engaged to Finn. It was part of the plan for coming to Oregon. A few years ago, he was sent to the prison I was working in. We reconnected and were friendly enough. I heard that he was coming to Oregon when he was released, and I begged him to bring me with him.”

“And he just did?” Brooklyn leans back in her seat and runs her hand through her hair. “He knew what he was going to be getting into out here, and he just decided to drag you along?”

“No. He was on the fence about it. He finally agreed, but he said that we had to pretend to be engaged. He needed to keep a cover story with Cillian for as long as possible, and I became part of that.”

“And this entire time, you’ve just been lying about who you are?” Brooklyn scrubs her hands down her face.

Her loud sigh fills the room while I wait for her to walk out.

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