I stare down at my mother, imprisoned by fear. Terrified of a man we’ve known all our lives. Her pleading eyes sharpen my anger. To know that motherfucker has controlled my family for so long. To know he killed my father…

I shake my head. “No. I won’t forget it. They almost killed my best friend tonight.” Her eyes widen in shock. “They aren’t getting away with it. None of it. I’m going to bring every single one of the motherfuckers down.”

“Oh God!” She cries, burying her face in her hand.

Grabbing the photo from the mangled frame, I stand and walk away.

“Grayson, wait!” Scrambling from the floor, she runs head-on into my chest, wrapping her arms tight around my waist. “Please don’t hate me. I couldn’t handle knowing you hate me.”

My throat and eyes begin to burn like a motherfucker, desperate to release my conflicted fucking emotions, but I grind my teeth to ward it off. “I don’t hate you.”

I might be furious with her. Not only did my father lie to me but my mother did too, but I could never hate her.

She lifts her red, swollen eyes to find mine and sniffles. “And your father?”

I can’t even think about him right now or the pain might fucking kill me.

I lean down and kiss the top of her head. “Ask me that another day.” Unwinding her arms from around my waist, I walk out the door before the emotions suffocate me.

CHAPTER 30

Olivia

I frantically pace the floor of the living room. Glancing at the clock for the hundredth time, I wonder where Grayson could be. It’s the middle of the night and he left the hospital hours ago.

Once we knew Terrell was stable and he would be okay, Pap and I left shortly after his parents arrived. We wanted to give them time together as a family, and Pap needed sleep. He looked exhausted, weighed down after all the events over the last twenty-four hours. He tried to get me to come to the main house with him but I couldn’t.

I need to be right here waiting for Grayson when he returns.

He was so furious when he left. I’m terrified of what he’ll do. He’s the most honorable man I know, but he’s also not going to stand by and do nothing. However, after what they did to Terrell, I’m worried it’s pushed him over the edge.

My heart still aches remembering the way Terrell looked, so battered and broken. I don’t know how anyone could do that to him, and knowing it was a man I used to date… it has nausea rolling in my stomach. Add that to my fear for Grayson and my anxiety is through the roof.

I’m about to try his cell again when the distant sound of tires crunching on gravel fills my ears. Relief swamps me when I peek through the curtains and see his pickup. Flipping on the outside light, I open the door and run outside, eager to make sure he’s okay. He’s already out of the truck, slowly walking toward me. My feet falter on the porch when I get a look at him, and pure fear grips my chest once I catch sight of the blood staining his clothes.

“Oh my God. Grayson?” I rush over to him as he drops down on the bottom step. He buries his face in his arms as I frantically search to find out where he’s bleeding. “What’s happened to you? Where are you hurt?”

He mumbles something I can’t quite understand. “What? Grayson, please, answer me.” I cry. “You’re scaring me.”

His head lifts, and I suck in a sharp breath at the tortured look in his eyes. “It’s not my blood,” he grinds out.

Oh God.

Pain slices through me as tears begin to stream down his pale face. His head falls to his hands, his fingers gripping the long strands as he completely breaks. I watch his shoulders begin to shake with agony. The devastation pouring from him absolutely guts me.

I tamp down my emotions as best I can and wrap my arms around his neck. “Shh. It’s okay,” I soothe, whispering in his ear. “No matter what happened we’ll get through it.”

I hold him quietly as he works through his pain. The despair radiating from him seeps into every part of my body, shattering my heart into a million pieces.

Once he’s calmer he lifts his gaze to mine, looking completely destroyed. I hold his tear-streaked face between my hands and brush a kiss across his lips. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”

I steel myself for whatever he’s about to say, knowing it’s going to be bad if it has him this upset.

“It’s nothing but a lie,” he chokes out. “All of it, Liv. My whole life has been a lie.” My heart clenches at the raw sadness in his voice. “He was one of them.”

I frown in confusion. “Who?”

“My father.”

“One of who?” I ask, still not understanding.

Something hard flickers in his eyes as he stares back at me. “The KKK.”

I tense, thinking I must have heard him wrong. “What are you talking about?”

Through clenched teeth he tells me everything, what happened with Prichard, going to the compound, and finding the photo. Then the visit with his mother, and her suspicion that they are responsible for his father’s death.

My head reels to sort through it all, but mostly my heart rips open at how wrecked he is. “They killed him,” he whispers, “my father’s best fucking friend killed him, and I’ve been working for him all along.” Guilt and rage drips from his voice.

I feel helpless, having no idea what to do or say to him right now to make it better. I wish I could take his pain away and carry it as my own.

With a heavy breath I kiss his forehead then stand, reaching for his hand.

“Come on. Come inside.”

He allows me to lead him in, walking numbly and silently behind me. I bring him to the bathroom and start the shower, desperate to get this blood off of him before we talk anymore. “Give me your clothes, and I’ll throw them in the wash.”

After he strips I take the clothes to the laundry then walk back in the bathroom. Through the fogged glass door I see him standing under the hot spray, his hands braced on the wall while his head hangs between his arms in complete and utter defeat.

Removing my own clothes, I step in behind him and immediately start washing his body. I watch the blood wash away, mixing with the soap, and wish it was his pain flowing down the drain with it. As I move around to the front, scrubbing his chest and arms, he lifts his head, bringing his tortured eyes to mine.

“Who am I?” he asks, sounding so lost, so…distant.

Choking down the sob threatening to break free, I stare up at him through the billowing steam around us. “You’re Grayson Taylor, the bravest, most honorable man I’ve ever known.” Stepping closer, I reach up and cup his wet face, “I know it hurts right now, but what you found out tonight doesn’t reflect who you are. You’re still you and you’re still mine. I know you will find a way to make all of this right again. Just like you always do, and I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

His eyes soften with my words. Before I can brace myself he lifts me from the floor and pins me against the wall, my legs immediately finding their home around his waist.

“I need you, Liv. I need to feel you,” he croaks, his breathing harsh as he tries to rein in his emotions.

His swelling cock poised at my entrance, he awaits permission. My heart leaps with need. “Yes.”

He impales me in one solid thrust, sending an army of sensations to explode throughout my entire body. My head falls back against the wall, mouth opening on a silent cry as he completes me—body and soul.

“Look at me, baby.” Bringing my eyes to his, he begins to move, filling me with each deliberate stroke. “I need you.”

“You have me. Always.”

My fingers cling to his shoulders, encouraging him to give it all over to me—the pain, the betrayal, every last bit of his anger. Our eyes stay locked the entire time, his desperation and our love swirling in a storm of certainty between us.