Page 87 of Knot So Sweet

"I’ll find Creed," I said, my voice hoarse but resolute. "Call Viper too."

Vaughn nodded. "He might be the only one I trust right now. I’d call him so you wouldn’t have to, but—" He hesitated, looking down at Kay, broken in his arms. "She needs me." His voice cracked. "My doll... she needs me right now. Candi, I can't leave her."

The rawness in his words made me flinch. Vaughn wasn’t supposed to break, but here he was, teetering on the edge, holding the woman he loved in a world that had gone mad.

"I’m sorry, Candi," he said, guilt layering his voice. "I’m sorry I’m putting you in this position—"

"No," I interrupted, shaking my head, ignoring the dread in my stomach. "It’s okay. I’ll send Creed and Owen up. Take her upstairs. I’ll... I’ll handle Adam. I'll handle everything, don't you worry. I got this."

"Thank you," he murmured.

But as Vaughn disappeared with Kay, the weight of my own words pressed down harder. I was about to make the call I swore I wouldn’t. I had to be the one to reach out.

Viper had told me I could, that no matter what, he’d be there. But the last thing I wanted was to let him back into my world—especially now, when I wasn’t ready.

The walls I’d been building around myself weren’t strong enough to keep him and Ghost out, not yet. The cracks were already forming, and once I let them in, I feared there wouldn’t be anything left of me to protect.

But I couldn’t think about that now. I had to protect the ones I loved. No matter the cost.

Chapter 38

Candi

Istood there, staringat the blood-soaked ground. Adam’s mangled body lay crumpled before me, a twisted reminder of how quickly things could spiral out of control.

My heart pounded like a war drum in my chest, the rhythm echoing the panic in my mind. Creed had gone inside after I forced him to check on Kay. I’d told him it was because Kay needed him more, but the truth? I couldn’t let him see me like this—vulnerable, raw, and about to call the one person I swore I’d never call again.

Viper.

The weight of the phone in my hand was suffocating, heavier with every passing second. Each tick of the clock felt like a countdown to breaking my own promise.

I had sworn I’d never need him again, never reach out for the MC’s help. Yet here I was, standing over Adam’s lifeless body, with nowhere else to turn.

I closed my eyes and took a breath, the air shaking in my lungs. I wasn’t ready for this—for him. I wasn’t ready to hear his voice, to feel the inevitable pull that would come the second he spoke.

The thought of him seeing me in pieces, knowing how weak I really was under all the bravado, terrified me more than the mess I was standing in.

I turned my back on Adam’s body, unable to stomach the sight any longer, bile rising in my throat. My pulse hammered in my ears, deafening as I tried to steady myself.

"You can do this," I whispered, my voice trembling with a fragility I hated.

My hand shook as I pulled out the phone. His number was already at the top of my contacts, staring back at me like the final thread tethering me to some semblance of control.

I had worked so hard to protect myself, to protect the people I cared about, but this felt like the beginning of everything unraveling.

This is for them, not for me,I reminded myself, gritting my teeth against the panic clawing at my chest. You have to keep them safe. That’s all that matters. You can’t afford to be selfish.

My thumb hovered over the call button, a part of me screaming to stop. For a split second, I almost hurled the phone into the alley, ran in the opposite direction, and disappeared.

It was instinct—this need to flee, to run from the emotions, the ache, the unrelenting pull toward something I knew I could never let myself have.

But there was no more running.

With a shaky breath, I tapped the button and lifted the phone to my ear.Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up. Don’t—

"Hello, sweetheart."

Two words. That’s all it took. Two words from him, and the ground beneath my feet felt like it was crumbling.

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