Page 126 of Fight for You

"It better be forever," I say with a little laugh, snuggling deeper into him. "You're not ever getting rid of me, Michael Ian Kincaid. If you try to leave me again, I'll just follow you."

He closes his hand around the Claddagh ring and then tilts my chin up so I'm staring into his eyes. The intensity burning there leaves me breathless. "I'm not ever fucking leaving you again, January. If they charge me with the murders, I'll empty my trust fund fighting to stay with you." He grabs my hand and slides the ring back onto my finger where it belongs. Satisfaction flares in his eyes, turning them my favorite dark gray color as he examines the ring on my finger. It still fits as perfectly as it did when he first slipped it on my hand. "I'm going to put a bigger ring on your finger soon. I'm not going to ask you to marry me, though. I didn't back then, and I won't now. Not giving you a chance to say no. You're mine, and I'm keeping you."

"I'm keeping you, too," I tell him, smiling through watery eyes. "And I would never say no to you. You're my Grover."

His lips curve into a half-smile. He shakes his head at me.

"I'm serious. You think you're scary, but you're not. Not to me." I pluck the last item out of his lap before holding it out to him.

He glances from my face to the item in my hand and then that grin widens until he's smiling so big those dimples appear. "I can't believe you still have this," he says, opening The Monster at the End of This Book and flipping through the dog-eared pages. "It's almost as old as you are. You had me read it to you so often before you learned to read. I'm surprised it didn't fall apart."

"I have a confession to make," I whisper as his eyes scan across each page. "I'd memorized the book before I ever even met you, but I loved it when you'd hold my hand and promise not to let the monster get me, so I pretended not to know the words just so you would keep reading it to me."

He laughs softly before pressing his lips to my ear. "I have a confession to make, too," he says into my skin. "I fucking hated when you learned how to read. I was so goddamn jealous of your books because I didn't get to read them to you anymore. I'd make Ma Lucia take me to the library so I could get a copy of whatever you were reading, just so I could talk to you about the book."

"Are you serious?" I ask, pulling back to look at his face.

"As a heart attack," he says, his expression solemn. "I loved getting to share that with you. I felt like it was something just for us. I fell in love with literature because of you." A gentle smile tugs at his lips even as sadness and regret float through his eyes. "I haven't read a single book since I left Los Angeles. Just thinking about reading made me feel like I was going to fall the fuck apart. I missed you every damn day, baby girl. Every day."

"I don't read much anymore either," I admit. "Every book I picked up reminded me of you. I missed you so much."

"But you kept this one."

"I will never get rid of it."

He sets the book aside and then scoops everything else back into the box, and closes it before setting it on the floor beside the bed. Once that's done, he picks me up and pulls the blankets back before scooting up against the headboard and laying me down with my head on his chest. As soon as I'm comfortable, he picks the book up and flips it to the first page.

"Are you going to read it to me?" I ask, laughing in delight.

"Damn straight," he growls, reaching for my hand. He lifts it to his lips to kiss the ring there before twining our fingers together on his chest. "I'm going to read to you every fucking day for the rest of your life. And don't worry, baby girl. The only monster that's going to get you at the end of this book is me."

"My Grover," I whisper, smiling so big my cheeks hurt.

"Hi, Mama. Hi, Titan," I whisper a week later, clinging to Cade's hand as we stand between their graves. "I'm sorry I've never come to see you. I should have come a long time ago, but I didn't want to face that you were gone. I've struggled for a long time with losing you guys. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I gave up on living after I lost you. I want you to know that I never forgot you. I never stopped missing you."

My throat burns, and unshed tears prickle at my eyes as I talk to them. I haven't been here since the day we buried them.

Their graves have grown over with grass and flattened out. Both my mom and Titan's graves have fresh flowers in vases. Judging by the layer of older petals, someone has been keeping flowers here for a long time. I have a feeling that's Cade's doing, but I let him keep that secret.

"I love you both and miss you so much," I whisper.

"Hi, Jana. Titan," Cade says at my side, his voice a soft rumble. There's a hitch in his voice, and their names tremble on his lips. He stands beside me for a second, not speaking, and then he releases me and kneels in the grass beside Titan's grave.

I clamp my hand over my mouth, trying to hold back a sob when he leans forward and presses his forehead to Titan's headstone. His shoulders shake, an anguished cry breaking from his lips. "I'm so fucking sorry, Titan."

I drop carefully to my knees beside him and wrap my body around his, holding him as he falls apart.

"I'm sorry," he says over and over as tears pour down his face. "I wish I could have saved you. You were my brother. I fucking miss you every goddamn day." He drops down on his ass and pulls me into his arms, holding me as he talks to my brother. Tears choke him, but he talks anyway, purging himself of years of grief, regret, and guilt. He tells Titan everything…but I kind of think Titan already knows.

I think that, maybe, he's been watching over both of us, trying to lead us back to one another.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for her when she needed me," Cade says, stroking his hands through my hair. "I promise you that I'll never let her down like that again. I'll never leave her side. I'll never give up on her. I'll never stop loving her. She'll be taken care of, Titan. I promise you that I'll love her right this time."

"Cade," I whisper as another flood of tears pours down my face.

"Remember what you said when I told you that I kissed her for the first time?" he asks, smiling through his tears. "You told me that she deserved to be treated like a princess, and that I'd answer to you if I didn't treat her that way. I didn't tell you then, but I was so fucking afraid I wouldn't be good enough for her and would disappoint both of you." He exhales softly. "I'll always work to be good enough for her. I'll always try to keep my promise to you to treat her like she deserves to be treated. I just wish like hell you could be here to see me do it."

I bury my face in his throat and bawl like a baby.

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