Page 28 of Second Goal

Brynne is about to argue, but Kiley interrupts, “He’s right. And honestly, I just need to lie down.” She gives a tight smile before turning and walking toward the elevator.

I’m about to go after her when Kane stops me. “Make sure she’s all right.”

I nod. “I always do.”

His back teeth clench and he nods. I can feel his gaze on me when I walk away, and I don’t care that he’s watching when I pull Kiley into my arms as we get onto the elevator. She leans into me, but she feels almost limp, like all her strength has been sucked from her.

“Stay with me tonight,” I tell her when we get off on our floor.

She doesn’t argue, and I’m glad for it, because this isn’t something she’d win.

“I’ll make you something to eat.”

“I just want to lie down,” she says softly, starting toward the bedroom.

I stop her, pulling her back into my arms and kissing her forehead. She’s freezing. Like all the blood has rushed from her body.

“First a hot bath.”

A shiver wracks through her. “Blake—”

“You need to warm up. You’re frozen.”

She sighs. The normal fire that’s behind her eyes, gone.

In the bathroom, I start the water. After I undress her and help her into the tub, I remove my own clothes and join her in the oversized jacuzzi. I pull her back against my chest and wrap my arms around her.

She’s silent, staring blankly at the stream of water that fills the tub. I can feel her pain. It vibrates from her. An ache so intense I swear it fills the entire room. I’ve learned to read her emotions. Learned her subtle nuances that she doesn’t even know she does. The slight twitch of her mouth when she’s sad. The way her breathing speeds up when she’s worried. The way her pupils widen when I touch her.

But this, the lack of anything, it scares me. I’ve seen her like this only a handful of times. Numb. Empty. Like she’s drowning in despair and has no energy to fight her way back to the surface and take the breath she so desperately needs.

I take her hand and twine my fingers with hers. “What happened at the park?”

Silence.

I don’t think she’s going to answer me, but then she lets out a choking breath. “The little girl...”

I press my lips against the back of her head and wait.

“She... I thought... thought she was...” She lets out a shaky breath, then shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t her.”

“Wasn’t who?”

More silence.

“Lucy,” she finally whispers. There’s so much pain in that one word that my own chest squeezes with it.

Despite the warm water that surrounds us, Kiley is trembling almost violently, and her teeth are chattering. I lean over and turn off the water, then twist Kiley toward me.

“Who’s Lucy?” I keep my voice steady, despite the fear that races through me. Whoever Lucy is, I know she’s a key to the tormented secrets Kiley’s been keeping from me.

I want to beg her not to shut down, to tell me everything, but at the same time, I wonder if pushing her now is going to break her. She looks so damn vulnerable.

So I wait.

Kiley glances down at our conjoined hands, and when she starts to speak, she’s so quiet I barely hear her words. “The last foster house I was at...”

I stroke her hair away from her cheek. “Tell me what happened.”

---