Page 4 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

As much as he'd love to know where River's sister was, he and his brother had lost contact with Kenna soon after she turned eighteen when the state removed her from her foster family. There was no record of where she ended up.

"Yo, Zane." Kingsley jogged toward him. "Hold on a sec."

River threw her arms around Zane's waist. "Thank you."

He stroked her head, pulling her hair out from underneath her backpack. "Go home. You can talk to Phil tomorrow morning, and he can get you set up for your new job."

"Don't forget you'll have to find someone to help Lori in the kitchen. She can't handle all the work herself." She squeezed him.

She skipped away in the other direction, headed toward the house two hundred and fifty yards down the hill. He gazed at her until she walked through the front door.

Kingsley stopped beside him. "What's going on?"

His brother was unaware of what happened between him and River. Sharing the information made no sense because he wasn't planning to repeat the mistake.

"She's going to start working for Phil at the campground."

"Why the change?"

He inhaled deeply. "More money. She thinks the sooner she can save up enough money, the sooner she can hire a private detective to find Kenna."

"I should've known," muttered Kingsley.

"You wanted to talk?" Zane turned his back to the house. "Talk."

"Dad called. He wants us to visit the prison next Sunday," said Kingsley.

"Did he give you any idea about what he needed?" He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

Ridge Stafford had six years left of his fifteen-year sentence for felony assault with a deadly weapon. He hadn't killed the guy he beat, but the man probably wished he had died.

"You know Dad as well as I do." Kingsley shrugged. "We'll find out when we get there."

"I'll put the visitation request in." He shoved his hands in his vest. "He needs to keep himself out of trouble so that he can get his parole hearing. He could get out earlier than expected if he doesn't screw up."

"You think he'll stay out of trouble?"

"Who the fuck knows," he said.

They stood in comfortable silence. They had handled running the Gem Haven compound in their dad's absence and kept the motorcycle club profitable.

But they'd disappointed their dad. They'd failed to protect Kenna Pruitt. He and Kingsley searched daily, but Kenna had dropped out of sight.

Chapter Two

River

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In the dark, Zane parked his motorcycle outside the two-story garage next to the house and strolled toward the walk-through door. River watched him until the door shut. He was the sexiest man she'd ever seen.

Thick brown hair, a full beard, and covered in tattoos, he'd scare most people away from him. But to her, he was tall, strong, honest, and loving.

Dropping the curtain, she returned to the desk beside the queen-size bed. She stayed up late every night, hoping he'd enter the house instead of going to the garage apartment. The times he came into the house, he always waited until late, probably hoping she was asleep.

His determination to stay out of the house was the only sign that he remembered the night they had sex. He never spoke about it. He never hinted that he remembered. For the longest time, she thought maybe he had too much to drink, and the moment completely slipped his mind. Like, he'd blacked out.

But Zane never came to her drunk.

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