Page 150 of Forbidden Romeo

Connor turns to me, torn. “Aimee, please.”

“Go,” I say firmly, crawling out from under Jack. “Leave.”

For a moment, I think he’s going to try again. Fight Jack and drag me kicking and screaming through the unruly crowds back to the house I never wanted to return to.

But then he turns away.

“I’ll see you again, bastard.”

Before Jack has a moment to respond, Connor slips away into the crowds.

Epilogue

Aimee

Alexas, Kate’s hand-picked driver, manuevers us through the city at astonishing speed. Not that either one of us seems to really notice.

No, as I cradle Jack’s head on my lap, the only thing I can think about is just how many stitches he’s going to need.

Even after his fight with that European champion, he’s never looked this bad. And from his uneven breathing, I’d say he’s broken at least one rib. But all I can do right now is stroke his hair and admire his hazel eyes that stare up at me in wonder.

“You chose me over your brother?” he whispers quietly.

I sweep across his bloodied brow with my hand gently. “I know,” I reply just as quietly.

“I thought… that’s what you would want?” he says carefully, trying not to let me see the vulnerability in his eyes.

“So did I,” I say, honestly. “But when I saw you there on the floor, I just… Something just cracked.”

“Cracked?”

With a sigh, I try looking out the window to try and find the words. “Whatever I feel about my brother is… complicated. Some part of me thought he’d always be my big brother, ready to protect me, but that illusion’s shattered.”

Jack doesn’t speak, letting my words hang in the air.

“I realized the only way I wanted to do any of this was with you. That you were the only person I cared about protecting in that ring.” I conclude quietly.

“I was going to kill him,” Jack says after a moment. “You stopped me.”

I think about that for a moment, revisiting the fear I felt after Jack threw the first punch. After I saw Connor go down and Jack’s relentless rampage.

“I don’t want anyone else to die. Least of all, anyone who you might regret killing later,” I reply truthfully. “It’s true, I don’t want my brother to be killed, but it’s you I worry about.”

Jack smirks a little at this. “That’s a bit fucked up.”

“Yeah,” I say with a huff. “But it’s the truth.”

“Thank you,” he says earnestly. “For stopping me.”

We pass by a row of brightly lit storefronts and then duck into an alleyway. Wherever we’re going, I get the feeling that Kate has made sure only a handful of people know the location. I’m so disoriented I can’t even tell which direction we are heading, let alone where we’ve been.

“Do you think…” I say absently before trailing off.

“What?”

I bite my lip. “Do you think Graham would have liked me?”

Jack reaches up a hand to stroke my cheek, “Of course, he would. He was a better man than me.”

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