“Never leave me,” he breathes, his words raw and broken.

Tears burn my eyes and begin falling, mixing with the hot water streaming down my face. I bring my hands to his jaw to hold his face in place. “Never. I’ll never leave you,” I promise, the vow just as strong on my tongue as it is in my heart.

The look in his piercing blue eyes is unmistakable but the moment his mouth seals over mine, his strokes become faster, deeper, building pressure in the most incredible way as he takes what he needs from me. What I will inevitably always give.

“Mine.” He claims with a growl against my lips.

Eyes locked monumentally tight, I nod. “Always.”

He continues to move in and out with a force that can only be described as possessive, claiming every single part of me for his own. My body readily complies when my orgasm slams into me, hard and fast. On a deep groan, Grayson buries his face in my neck, taking his own release. His breath is harsh against my heated skin as I hold him through it all, whispering in his ear how much I love him.

“Everything will be okay, Grayson. We’ll get through this like we have everything else. I promise.”

He doesn’t say anything back but I feel more of the tension ease from him. I’m glad that for once I can be what he needs.

Be there for him like he’s always there for me.

CHAPTER 31

OFFICE OF THE GRAND DRAGON

The light in the room is bright yet dimmed with indignation, a gentle reminder of the secrets they’ve shared here. Secrets that have long been buried, or carried out and brought to fruition.

Make no mistake, it is not the light that guides them, but the darkness.

The hate.

The desolate fire of prejudice and contention is the only life they have ever known.

The grand dragon sits with purpose behind his large oak desk, strumming his fingers with rhythmic ease. He’s surrounded by dozens of photos adorning the walls of his office, a reminder of his birthright and where he came from.

Where he’s going.

His father was a Klansman, and his father before him, their bloodline of loyalty trailing all the way back to the late 1800s.

And it’s still alive.

Thriving.

Even now, when the world has grown far more tolerant and accepting, compliant, as he liked to call it, they refused to bow down. Refused to obey society’s definition of order. To submit to anything less than what his ancestors had taught him or what is written in God’s word.

“Everything in place?” he addresses the three men standing before him.

Each one is an honorary member and diligent servant. These men he trusts immensely. These men will help him keep the Klan alive and carry out the law by which they live and breathe.

“Yes, sir. All except Prichard. We haven’t heard from him since the other night and nobody can get in touch with him.”

The grand dragon leans forward, reaching for his pack of Marlboro Reds resting on the edge of his desk. He pulls one from the carton with his lips, tossing the rest back down before firing up. Inhaling a long drag, he exhales a white plume of smoke. “Don’t worry, he’ll show. No way he’ll miss this. The time has come, boys, the reckoning. We’ve waited a long time for this, and now we’ll know what it’s like to taste victory the way our fathers did, by eliminating those who have been allowed to diminish the superiority of our race and destroy our town.”

They all nod in unison. His message clear and undisputed.

“In a few short days, there will be a new leader in Harmony Falls.”

CHAPTER 32

Grayson

I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all. The lies. The betrayal. The truths I’ve discovered. I don’t think I’ve ever been so confused, so…conflicted in my life.

Then there’s Dixon.

Anger boils in my blood when I think about the damage he’s done, not only to me and my family but this entire town as well. A man I’ve known and trusted all of my life who is not only the leader of the fucking KKK, but likely had a hand in killing my father.

The knowledge burns in my gut like an inferno, destroying what’s left of my loyalty and respect.

After days of trying to sort it out, I’ve decided to push it aside for now, so I can figure this all out. I knew I wouldn’t be able do this on my own though. I need help. But the guy I trust most is still laid up in that goddamn hospital. Terrell’s conscious now but still in pretty bad shape. Liv has gone to see him, but I can’t. Not yet. Not until I bring down the fuckers who did it to him.

Every last one of them.

I ended up calling a friend of mine who works for the police department in the next town over. Dillon Lambert and I went to the academy together. Even though Harmony Falls isn’t in his jurisdiction, I knew he would come if I needed him. I didn’t tell him much except something was about to go down and to be on standby. Without hesitation he agreed, and thankfully didn’t ask a lot of questions. Which was good, because as of right now, I have very few answers.

After speaking with him, I called Wilkinson. He may be a rookie but he has a fire inside of him, the same one I feel burning in my own blood. He wears the badge for the right reason. So I went with my gut and it turned out I was right.

When I first revealed to him what I knew, he thought I was fucking crazy. That no way could Dixon be a part of something like that. But when I showed him the proof… To say he was shocked is an understatement, and he was also pissed enough to agree to help me bring it all down.

So here we are, long after dark, sitting at the kitchen table going over the contents of the files I took from the compound. I’m exhausted and frustrated as hell, but I refuse to give up. Time is everything at the moment. We need to figure this out and it needs to be now. Because whatever the hell Dixon was talking about, when I overheard him on the phone, is going down tonight.

Everything seems to be in fucking code and doesn’t make any sense. There are about a dozen photos inside along with a sheet of paper that has several sets of letters and numbers written on it, and we can’t figure out what the hell they mean.

After seeing the photos, I have no doubt that whatever the KKK is planning tonight is big and will inevitably rip our town apart.

“This is some sick shit, man,” Wilkinson says, holding one of the black and white images in his hand, his face twisting with disgust.

The photos date back to 1962. According to one article we found online, the twenty-seven-year-old man was brutally beaten and tortured before ultimately hanged on the courthouse lawn for expressing interest in running for Harmony Falls’s town council.

“Why have these now? Do you really think they would do something like this?” Wilkinson asks.

“Yeah, I do. Look what they did to Terrell.”

Just the thought has rage roaring in my veins. I lift the sheet with the letters and numbers that might as well have a big fucking question mark on it.

“Maybe they’re a combination to a safe or something,” he suggests.

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Usually combinations are all numbers, no letters mixed in.”

“True.”

I quickly cover the pictures up with the sheet of paper as Liv walks into the room, freshly showered. Her sweet scent assaults my senses as she moves to the counter and retrieves the full coffee pot before walking over to the table.

“Thanks, baby,” I say as she refills our mugs.

She places the empty pot on the table then I pull her down on my lap and drop my forehead to her shoulder, taking a moment to hold her. I don’t know what I would have done these last few days without her. Losing myself in this woman has been the only comfort I’ve been able to find. She’s the only real certainty in my life right now.