I frowned, shaking my head. He hadn’t said a damn word, acting as if it hadn’t happened.

“I don’t know why she called him, Mols. Unless one of the kids is sick. But he would have told you that. My guess? It’s Julie playing her little games.”

Mike and Nate chose that moment to walk into the diner. I watched them walk across the small room, almost every set of eyes following them. Mike smiled his greeting at Lia, but when his eyes met mine, his whole body seemed to relax and his grin turned more playful.

I didn’t agree with Lia. Mike wasn’t in love with me. Part of me was disappointed that she didn’t see how much he felt for her; the other part was glad that she was clueless. He and I were having a blast, and were getting closer than we should, but love had no place here.

When he slid into the booth next to me, throwing an arm over my shoulders, a feeling of protectiveness washed over me. Julie could play whatever game she wanted, but she’d never met an opponent like me. I’d move mountains before I let her hurt this beautiful soul again.

Chapter Twenty

~ Mike~

It had been one hell of a long ass day, and it wasn’t even eleven yet.

When Mols had woken up early, I’d gotten up with her, adamant that I needed to go to breakfast with her and Lia. She refused, saying the whole point was to get away from me. Sam promised me that he had them and they wouldn’t leave his sight. I trusted him, but I hated the idea of me being stuck in a hotel room while she was out in the public where anything could happen.

I couldn’t do my fucking job if she wouldn’t let me.

She’d kissed me, swearing that there was nothing for me to worry about, and then she’d ignored my orders. I paced around the room for fifteen minutes before realizing the walls were going to close in if I stayed put. Changing, I headed to the hotel gym and pounded out my frustration on the treadmill.

I didn’t want Molly watching the tabloids. Just a few days ago, I’d convinced her to remove the Google notifications from her phone. She didn’t need to know what people thought of her.

On the other side of that spectrum, though, I wished she could’ve been a little more mindful of the fact that people watched her everywhere she went. I didn’t want her to be scared of going out. I just wanted her to be aware that her trip to a supermarket would make headlines.

I’d just increased the elevation and speed to give myself a grueling workout that would hopefully clear my mind and calm me down when someone stepped onto the machine next to mine. I didn’t glance over, too busy focusing on my breathing and my agitation toward the woman I couldn’t get out of my head, when he started talking.

“I used to know what you were thinking without you tellin’ me. I’d know what you were gonna do before you did it. I trusted you, above everyone else, ‘cause you’re my family. I never questioned any decision you made because you always saw the big picture.” Nate stopped talking as he started to run, almost matching my speed.

I hit the pause button, stepping onto the floor. I’d heard those words, almost verbatim, before. A year ago. For a minute, I struggled to catch my breath, watching him keep a quick pace as he ignored me.

“Ya know, I used to know what you were thinking before you told me. Most of the time, I knew what you were gonna do before you did it. I trusted you, above everyone else, ‘cause you’re my family, Carson. Closer than blood.”

I’d glanced up from the label I was picking off my beer, Nate’s tone putting me on edge.

I wasn’t the only one who felt the shift. Next to me, Reb adjusted in his seat, and across from us, Billy put his phone down and watched us closely, his eyes darting back and forth between Kelly and me.

“You fucking knew.” I didn’t have to ask him what he thought I knew. It was written all over his face, alternating between pain and unfiltered hatred.

I didn’t deny the claim. When Lee left that day, she’d left us all behind. I couldn’t do shit to find her, couldn’t chase her down, because I’d shipped off to boot camp. But that didn’t stop me from looking. I nodded. “Yeah.”

Kelly’s eye’s narrowed. “What the fuck?” The question was full of surprise, as if he expected me to deny it.

I shrugged. This was a conversation that was long overdue, but I was terrified it was going to cost me the man I loved like a brother. “What do you want me to say, Nate? I’m sorry? ‘Cause I’m not.”

“You went through it all with me, every drunk night, every never-ending day without her. You watched me torture myself, miserable because I couldn’t find her. And all the time, you fucking knew where she was. You were part of her life.”

“Yeah, I watched you mourn her. For a little while. You know what else I saw? A man who fucked anything that offered. A man who made a big show of dating only the most beautiful and perfect women, because he knew that Lee would be watching, and that it would hurt her. I saw a selfish dick who didn’t care how much he hurt the woman he was supposed to love.”

He stood up so fast that his chair fell backward and I was being yanked out of my own before I could stop him. I was bigger than he was, thanks to my years in the Navy, but there is nothing too heavy for a man enraged. He stepped in close, his nose almost touching mine. “You fucking lying prick.”

I shoved him, forcing him to take a step back, and poked a finger into his chest. “I never fucking lied to you. Not once. I told you the truth, explained why she fucking ran to begin with. She wasn’t hiding from me, friend. She was hiding from you.”

The truth of the words hit him. Hard. His hands clenched into fists at his side. “And, you were just going to let her keep hiding?” He stepped close again. “I would have fucking told you. I would have put your mind at ease, told you that the woman you loved was safe.”

“You knew she was safe. Her dad told you that!” After she’d disappeared into thin air, we’d talked to her mom, her dad, and anyone else we thought might know where she was. Eventually, her dad broke down and told me how to get a hold of her. Only because I never gave up, even when Nate did.

“He told me she’d find me when she was ready. I begged you to talk to him for me, to convince him to tell me.”

“Lee didn’t want you to know, Nate. Have you ever fucking thought about that? She told her parents not to tell you. She swore me to secrecy. If she had wanted you to know, she would have found a way to let you know.”

“Wasn’t that convenient for you? Finally saw your chance, didn’t you, Mike? Couldn’t let it go.”

“What?” I hissed, my own fingers fisting.

He laughed, but there was no humor or warmth in the motion. “How fucking stupid do you think I am? Did you think I didn’t know? That I haven’t known since we were seventeen? I’m honestly shocked it took you this long to move in on my girl. Only problem is, she never fucking wanted you, did she? Even without me in the picture, you were just a substitute for the real thing.”

I stepped into him, years of unrealized resentment bubbling to the surface. “Guess I’m not the only one keeping secrets then, am I? She was my girl first, Kelly. Don’t ever fucking forget that. I have years of memories that you will never have. A piece of Lee you never will.”

I saw the fist before it got close, and blocked him. Before I could throw a punch back, four arms wrapped around me, dragging me toward the door and out into the cool night air. Noah and Billy pulled Nate out right behind me, but they weren’t letting him go.

“You stole those years from me, Carson!” Nate screamed across the lot, not caring that people were filing out of the bar to watch the night’s entertainment we were providing.