Page 156 of The Obvious Check

“Is that why you let him win?”

“Do you really think I would've agreed to kill the man you love?” He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair as his voice breaks. “Luke played us both, Sav. He knew exactly what he was doing when he put us in that ring together. He wanted to destroy you.” He shakes his head.

The weight of Luke's manipulation settles over me like a suffocating blanket, but what's worse is seeing the devastation in Jeremy's eyes, and the realization that it was never going to end the way he planned.

“But tonight, watching you with him?” Jeremy glances over at Cade, who's leaning heavily against Dash now, his face pale. “I've never seen you look at anyone the way you look at him. Not even when we were kids dreaming about our future.” His voice isbarely a whisper. “You're happy. Really, truly happy, and that's all I ever wanted for you, even if it’s not with me.”

Tears spill down my cheeks because I can hear the love in his voice, the sacrifice. The way he's choosing my happiness over his own heartbreak.

“Jer… You could have been free of Luke,” I whisper, my voice thick with emotion.

“Not if it meant destroying your happiness.” His voice is firm despite the pain in his eyes. “I'd rather spend my life in debt to that bastard than spend one second knowing I took away the light I see in your eyes when you look at your husband.”

He watches Cade, who is trying to stand straighter but clearly struggling. “Can I trust him? Will I get out of this if I help him?”

The question breaks my heart because it's not really about trust, it's about hope. Hope that maybe, somehow, we can all find our way out of Luke's web.

“Of course,” I say through my tears. “Cade didn't just want to win tonight; he wanted to take Luke down completely. He won't leave you behind, Jer. He's not that kind of man.”

“And he thinks this little USB will do it?” He toys with the piece in his hand, and I nod. “Fine. I'll go back in there and do it now. For you. For the life you deserve.”

“Jer. Please be careful.” The words come out as a sob because I can't lose him too. Not after all these years of thinking he was lost to me forever.

“I'm a foot taller than everyone in there, babe. Don't worry about me.” He tries to smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes. His gaze drops to my hand, stopping at my engagement ring. “I'm happy for you, Sav. Truly. You got what you always wanted. What we always wanted. Someone who loves you enough to fight for you.”

“Thanks,” I whisper, wiping my tears.

“Doesn't mean it'll be forever though,” he says, and for a moment, that old familiar smirk appears. “I'll still check back when we're forty, okay? See if you've come to your senses.”

I nod, trying to smile through my tears, knowing full well that Cade is my happy ending. But understanding, finally, what Jeremy has sacrificed for me. What he's always sacrificed.

Behind Jeremy, I see Cade's knees buckle slightly. Dash catches him, supporting more of his weight.

“Savannah?” Henry calls out, sounding exasperated. Cade's eyes roll back as he slumps completely against Dash as they try to support him toward the car. “As cute as it is to see you having such a riveting conversation with the guy who just pulverized your husband, Cade clearly needs medical attention and a stiff drink, so we need to go.”

“Cade!” I rush toward him, Jeremy forgotten for the moment as terror floods my system. My husband's face is gray, blood still seeping from cuts I thought were minor.

As I help support Cade's unconscious form, I look back at Jeremy one last time. He's watching us with that same protective expression he wore when we were kids, ready to fight the world for me even though his heart is breaking.

“Go,” he says simply. “Take care of him. I'll handle Luke.”

“Be careful, Jer. He’s dangerous.”

“Right now he is. But he won't be once we're through with him.”

“I hope you're right.”

When we get to the car, I sit in the back with Cade, and even though he's breathing and seems to have come back to us, my heart still aches for him. He fought for me. Bled for me, and now all I want to do is take care of him.

Cade winces when I buckle his seatbelt. “Does it hurt?”

“Oh, it's nothing. Just a little pain in the ribs.”

“Are any of them broken?”

“Not sure,” he answers honestly, and I drop my hand to his thigh, squeezing gently.

A pack of antiseptic wipes gets thrust between us. “Here, use these,” Henry says, and I look at him with furrowed brows.

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