The door swished open again. A family of four passed by and stepped inside the building, chatting excitedly, anxious to get to their destination.

He was anxious too. Only not in the omg-are-we-there-yet variety.

The doors closed.

Nobody had yet to approach him and ask him if he was okay. He wasn’t even sure how he’d answer that question. He was far from okay. He might never be okay again.

A guy working with airport security stood to his right, eyeing him every few seconds. They made eye contact at least twice, but the guy didn’t make a move. Neither did he.

Maybe he hadn’t gotten to the crazy, I’m-gonna-attack-you look. Though he felt crazy. An array of emotions circled his veins, filling him up, making him jittery and unsettled. He hated feeling unsettled. Being in control and organized kept him sane in a profession that was chaotic and disturbing every single day. He needed things to be orderly to survive.

He couldn’t stand here all day. He either needed to step through the doors, get on the plane, and continue to track his killer…or he needed to go back.

To her.

To the one thing that could bring his entire world crumbling down.

“Sir, can I help you with something?”

He twitched his head to the right to find the security guard had finally decided to make a move. How would he respond? Answer with honesty or bullshit his way through until he found the nerve to take a step?

“Sir?”

Or he could stand here like an idiot, immobile, too paralyzed to answer a simple question. What was wrong with him? He never froze. He was always one step ahead of the game.

Except today.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you—”

“He’s fine. He was waiting for me.” A smooth, soft hand slid into his.

Slowly, not missing the distrust in the guard’s eyes, he met her gaze. The one woman who had turned his world upside down with one sweet, innocent look.

She smiled. His knees nearly buckled. The gentle smile was aimed at the guard, of course. And it worked. Because the man nodded and walked away as she tugged on his hand. He finally found the strength to move. She guided him away from the door to the side of the building, out of the path of the other traveling passengers.

“What are you doing?”

Great question. He still didn’t know what the hell he was doing.

“Tate…I know—”

“I was not prepared…” The words came out clipped, then died on his lips.

How could he have been prepared to hear the truth? Nothing would’ve prepared him as her words from earlier pelted his memory over and over. Like a vicious cycle, battering his heart every time he thought about it. He wished he didn’t know. He wished he could erase the last few hours.

He didn’t want to say anything else, but she needed to know. “I’m going to kill him.”

Her gaze drew toward the ground. “I should’ve never…told you.” Her hands tightened around his as she lifted her sorrowful eyes his way. “You’re a cop. You don’t kill people.”

His eyes narrowed and glittered with hot rage as he squeezed her hand back a little harder than he should’ve. She winced. “I would’ve figured out the truth sooner or later.” He leaned closer. “And I will kill him.” He yanked his hand out of hers and stepped away before he caved in to the temptation to kiss her one last time. “Don’t try to stop me.”

He turned around. With his strength fortified, he knew his end goal had to be completed regardless of the consequences.

“He’s my brother!”

His footsteps paused, but he didn’t turn her way. “And he killed my sister.”

The doors swished open and his feet finally followed through, stepping over the threshold of no return. He had a plane to catch. A killer to take down.

He might’ve fallen in love with the man’s sister a little too effortlessly, but he had to die. No one hurt his family and got away with it.

Every choice had a consequence.

Like falling in love with a woman he could never have.

* * *

She sucked in a deep breath as she watched the man she had fallen for so quickly walk away.

One minute she was working at her desk, minding her own business. The next minute, he was approaching her, flashing his sweet, dimpled smile, sending her falling head over heels.

All it took was one glance.

One sweet, sexy look.

And those dimples.

Inhaling another deep breath to hold back the tears that wanted to break free, she told herself not to move an inch.

She couldn’t follow him. She couldn’t run after him, beg him not to kill her brother.

She couldn’t get on that plane with him, no matter how much she wanted.

When she realized the connection, what her brother had done, she wanted to kill him herself. She’d even confronted him in the kitchen. Her eyes had darted to the knife rack, analyzing, judging, assessing whether she’d have the time and the strength to grab the largest one and stab him.

Over and over and over.

Because he hurt the man she loved.

By killing his sister, he had broken a man she knew didn’t break easily.

Instead, she made him a sandwich, hugged him, and said good-bye. She let him go without turning him in to the police.

Now, Tate was going after him, and he would kill him. She had no doubt in her mind.

She never expected any of this to happen. Or what the hell she was doing.

Betraying Tate.

Now, betraying her brother.

The tired, sad look in Tate’s eyes overwhelmed her the moment he walked inside her house this morning. It hit her more fiercely than all the other times she witnessed his turmoil. She couldn’t handle the pain and agony she saw every day as he looked for his sister’s killer.

It just…blurted out.

That her brother killed her.

That she knew where he was headed.

That she trusted him to bring him into custody without a scratch on his head.

Boy, she had been wrong about the last one.

She felt like a two-faced joker.

Helping her brother escape.

Then helping her boyfriend capture him.

“Ma’am, I’m going to—”

“Thanks so much. Have a great day,” she cut off the security guard, then flashed him another charming smile—the one that men could never resist—and rushed inside the airport.

The security guard’s interruption jump-started her hesitation.

She had to stop Tate.

She had to make him see that killing her brother was wrong. Yes, he killed a person. Yes, he deserved to feel the pain he inflicted. But no, not by death. He could spend the rest of his life behind bars and feel the pain as crucially as anything else.

Death would be the easy way out.

She wanted him to suffer.

Because he ruined the love between her and Tate.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Fumbling to pull it out, she froze when she saw her brother’s number flash across the screen.

She swiped to answer but didn’t say a word. What could she say? He’s coming. Go somewhere else. She wouldn’t betray Tate again.

“Abby, when I get—”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it.” She didn’t. Because whatever her brother said, she knew she’d tell Tate.

She wanted her brother to pay. Yet, she didn’t want him to die.

That put her in a hard place. Hello, rock. Hello, place.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive you.”

“Abby? What’s going on?”

“I love you, Cooper. But I can’t forgive you for what you did.”

A long sigh sounded in her ear. Ha! That wasn’t going to work on her. She wouldn’t cave to her brother anymore.

“You told him. That was so dumb, Abby!”

She pulled the phone away from her ear as he shouted. Oh, boy. Things never ended well when he got upset.

“You did this, Cooper, so don’t be mad at me.”

He cursed, a loud crash echoing in the background. “I love you, Abby. You’re my sister, and I always will.”

“I know. Same here.”

“But that was the wrong thing to do.”

A shiver slid down her spine.

“Don’t call me again, Cooper.”

She ended the call, then shoved her phone back into her pocket.

If she didn’t know any information, she couldn’t help Tate.

Not to mention, it’d be safer. Because her brother was pissed.

At her.

Inhaling one last deep breath, she headed for the ticket counter.

She had a plane to catch.

Copyright © 2024 Amanda Siegrist - Second Edition.

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