It was the exact replica of Maraveet’s room. Dull white walls, crude, blinding lights, a window overlooking the parking lot, and a bed bracketed by two end tables. Juliette sat in the center of it, hooked to an IV and wearing a green gown that matched the blankets tossed over her lap. Her face was streaked with dirt and her hair was matted, but she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“Hey,” she whispered.

He dared a single step closer. “Hi.”

She fidgeted slightly with the blankets, tucked a lank curl behind her ear and swallowed before speaking again. “How are you?”

Killian almost laughed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

God, why was this so hard? Every moment thrummed with tension and unease and he didn’t understand it. He couldn’t recall a single moment between them that had ever felt so intense or awkward. Not even their first time and that had been an odd experience for him.

She broke the silence.

“How’s Maraveet?”

“Good.” He moved to the foot of her bed and braced his palms on the plastic footboard. “She already left.”

Juliette nodded. “Good. I’m glad she did.”

“She mentioned a plan.”

Her cheeks flushed and she chuckled.

“What was it?” he pressed when she didn’t elaborate.

She peered up at him with a sheepish half smile. “That we tell the police everything. That we were taken and held captive on that ship by Cyril and his men. That they were going to sell us, but we managed to take them by surprise and we ran. I made sure Maraveet told them we’d never met before and she was supposed to use a different name, just in case. But at least they got her statement and that will help put Cyril away. I also made sure none of this was traced back to you. I doubt Cyril will tell them you killed his parents, not without revealing that his killed yours first, or that he’d spent the last ten years plotting revenge. I also didn’t mention Marco. I said I didn’t see who grabbed me so … as far as the police are concerned, Cyril was a human trafficker and we were victims that got away. I’m also kind of hoping his men won’t talk, but if they do, it’s their word against mine and they’re criminals so I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”

Something tightened in his chest. It coursed through him, propelling his body to do something completely crazy like go to her and gather her up into his arms. The weight of the last couple of weeks hadn’t diminished, not even in that moment. It sat heavy on his chest, a suffocating force crushing his lungs. It killed him to see her there and not be able to go to her, or touch her, or love her. It hurt to stand there and not know what to do.

“That’s very elaborate,” he mumbled. “You really thought it through.”

Juliette gave a little shrug. “I had a few weeks to really perfect it, on the off chance we actually escaped.” She peered at him. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Kill him? No. Cyril was still very much alive, if not seriously rethinking his life choices. Killian may have promised Juliette he wouldn’t kill the little fuck. But even she wouldn’t have been able to stop Killian from beating the last two weeks into him.

Killian shook his head. “Tied him and his men up and left a note for the police. Frank stayed to make sure the police got them all when they arrived.”

She exhaled her relief. “Okay good.” She nibbled on her lip, a frown knitting her eyebrows. “What was Arlo doing there?”

He almost laughed at the disgruntled question. “Would you believe me if I told you he was there to help find you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “At what price?”

That was the question. Arlo hadn’t said anything when he and Killian parted ways by the ship, but he knew the Dragons would expect some kind of thank you gift, especially since Arlo was the one who actually found Juliette.

To Juliette, Killian shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re safe. That’s all I care about.”

Her gaze lowered to her lap. “Thank you for taking care of Vi. I’m really sorry about your windows. I’ll pay for the damages.”

Killian shook his head. “It’s not important.”

“Still, I should—”

“I don’t care about the windows.” The sharpness in his voice had her eyes lifting back to him and the sadness in them punched him in the chest. “The only thing I wanted was to get you back,” he murmured. “I know I said some things I shouldn’t have, but I’ll always be here for you.” His head dropped forward so he was staring at the twin peaks of her feet under the blankets. “You can come to me for anything. I won’t ever turn you away.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Thank you. That was it. But what had he expected? That she’d tell him she loved him and wanted to be with him forever? That she’d forgiven him for the horrible things he’d said to her? Even if she did, that didn’t mean he could bring her back into his world. Not ever again.

He drew in a breath. “Goodbye, Juliette.”

Her brown eyes held his and no matter how hard she fought to keep her face smooth, the gathering tears tore at him. It reflected in the tremor of her chin and in her white knuckled grip around the blanket. A pink tongue snuck out and wet her lips before disappearing once more.

“Goodbye, Killian.”

It was incredible how something so tiny could feel like she’d taken a bazooka to his chest. Two little words that it felt as hollow as her voice. The plastic beneath his hands creaked under the force of his grip. He relinquished it quickly and pushed back. He began to turn away, needing to leave before he did something infinitely stupid like beg her take it back, but he stopped. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his mother’s pendent. He set it gently on the foot of the bed, not trusting himself any closer to her.

“Take care of it for me,” he murmured, unable to look at her, knowing that if he did and she was crying, he’d never leave. “It’ll just collect dust if I keep it. You could give it to your children one day.” Children she wouldn’t have with him.

Children she’d create with some other man, someone who could give her children, someone who could give her the normal life Killian couldn’t. Someone who would get into bed with her at night and touch her and hold her and make her come apart. The man didn’t even exist yet and Killian could already feel his blood boiling. The very idea of this faceless person touching Juliette made his vision go red. But he didn’t take it back. Instead, he turned on his heel and stalked to the door.

“Don’t go.”

He couldn’t be sure if it was a voice in his head or if the words had actually been spoken, but when he glanced back, Juliette was staring out the window, her eyes unblinking and bright. Her arms were clasped tight around her and she was cutting a gash in her bottom lip.

She looked up when he stopped. Her eyes met his and a tear cut down the curve of her cheek to cling to the corner of her lips. Something hard kicked him in the stomach, hard enough to nearly send him to his knees. His chest tightened and he was sure he was about to die of asphyxiation. Her lips parted and Killian left. He ran before she could let the words he could see in her eyes spill through the room and further destroy him.

Chapter 30

Juliette waited until his footsteps had faded before letting the walls crash down around her in a flood of agony. The pain of watching him walk away devoured her all over again with a fresh urgency that made her insides feel hollowed out. It cut into all the tender places that were already torn open from their original break up and ripped the crude stitching wide open. She reached for the pendant and broke into a fit of sobs that mostly had nothing to do with Killian. It was as though the dam she’d built during her captivity burst and she was swamped with everything she’d kept locked behind it. It flooded over her, pulling her under until she was sure she would die. Even to her own ears, the sounds escaping her weren’t quite normal. They were the wails of someone under immense torture, which was exactly how it felt.