“What?” Ben probes in my silence.

“Tell her . . . I need to tell her I love her.” My tongue thickens in my mouth.

Damn it. Is this how it’s going to be?

I meet Ben’s eyes again, gesturing at him. “You’re so fucking upfront with your feelings. How can I be like that with her? Is it enough to just say it? Will she know how fucking lost I am?”

“You’ve said it before,” he remarks evenly. “To that girl you proposed to. Was it hard then?”

“No, but this is Beth. I’ve never felt like this.”

“You’ve never loved anyone but her.”

“Right.” I lean back against the seat. My eyes lower. “Fuck,” I whisper.

That’s it. There it is, right there. How did I not see it until now?

I stirred all night in the absence of Beth. I’ve suffered through every separation from her, even in the beginning when we were only pretending.

Was I ever really pretending?

This, with her, has always been different. Molly could’ve been states away for years and I would’ve handled it. I never loved her. It’s only ever been Beth.

“It’ll be enough,” Ben assures.

I lift my head and catch his gaze briefly before his eyes turn back to the road.

“Tell her everything. How much you love her, how long you’ve felt like that. Don’t hold back. Don’t keep shit from her she deserves to hear. I think she’ll see how lost you are for her, Reed. It’s fucking obvious to everyone else. Right now, she just needs to hear it.”

“What if she doesn’t believe me? What if she thinks I’m just saying it now because she left?”

“She’ll believe you,” Luke assures me. He jerks his chin. “Just don’t say it while you’re knocking out this fucker, yeah? Wait ’til you can grab her face and hold her and shit. Girls love that.”

Ben laughs. “Really? Is that what you did with Tessa? Played the romance card?”

“Nah, that’s your style. I just fucked her ’til she knew I loved her.” Luke turns halfway in his seat. “That always works too. I . . . shit!” His body slams against the door. “Jesus! I was kidding!” he yells, prying Ben’s fist off his shirt.

“I’ll fucking bury you if you say shit like that again about my sister.” He slaps the back of Luke’s head. “Asshole.”

“You mean, my wife? You can start calling her that, you know.” Luke sits up, rubbing the back of his head. “And I was fucking kidding.”

I lean back with a heavy sigh. My leg resumes bouncing. “How much longer?”

Luke looks at the GPS. “It’s just up here on the right. 211 Willbank.”

The truck slows to a stop. Ben grabs my shoulder and pulls me back when I make to sprint for the house.

“Wait a minute. You can’t just go running in there, Reed.”

I shrug his hand off. “Why the fuck not? You’re both cops. Say you heard something suspicious. Kick the fucking door down.”

“You see that?” Luke nods toward the driveway behind me. The sight of Beth’s car makes my heart race.

And beside it, a black Lexus.

I crack my knuckles. “He’s here. Good. I won’t have to hunt his ass down to kill him.”

The sound of snaps popping open draws my attention back to Luke, then Ben. They both pull the slides back on their Glocks, then place them back into the holsters.

“Fuck,” I mumble, my anxiety pitting in my chest.

“We probably won’t need them. It’s just in case.” Ben jerks his chin. “Let’s go.”

The temperature in the air seems to drop as we climb the stone steps and collect on the porch. My eyes shift between the two of them. I’m expecting someone with an actual weapon to take charge.

“What do we do, knock? What the fuck is protocol here?” I ask curtly.

“Protocol? You realize we don’t have any jurisdiction, right?” Ben motions toward the door. “I’m just hoping this asshole is too stupid to realize we aren’t Kentucky cops.”

A low, feminine moan pulls my shoulders back, whips my head around. No. No no no she can’t be. She’s not . . .

“Shit,” Ben mumbles. “Reed, wait . . .”

Too fucking late.

I twist the knob and to my surprise and gratitude, the door swings open. I storm into the house. Grunts and wild, hungry growls muffle the commotion of our entrance. I cross the open room in four quick strides, barreling at the two bodies entangled on the couch. Long, dark hair spills over the edge of the leather. My stomach drops out. I grab the shoulders of the man thrusting into Beth and toss him onto the floor.

“What the fuck is this?” I shout, glaring down at Beth . . . only, it’s not Beth. I stagger back.

Heavily lined green eyes blink up at me. Her mouth, too thin, with a piercing in the bottom lip, pinches together. Startled, she throws her arm over her breasts and scoots up the couch.

“Hey, what the fuck, man? Shit! I ain’t breaking any laws!”

I turn my head.

Ben has Rocco easily pinned against the wall, face-first, one hand to his neck, the other securing his wrists behind his back.

“Don’t fucking move. You fight me and you’ll regret it,” Ben warns against his ear.

The asshole snarls. “You can’t just come into my house. Don’t you need a fucking warrant or some shit?”

“We heard suspicious noises. A women in distress.” Luke laughs. “You know, ‘cause your dick’s so fucking small. She sounded real upset about it.” Bending down, he grabs a white dress off the floor and tosses it onto the couch. “Get dressed and get out of here,” he orders briskly.

The woman quickly obeys. I step closer to Ben as a door closes in the distance.

My eyes flare with rage. “Where is she? Where’s Beth?”

Rocco turns his face so it’s flat against the wall. He laughs darkly. “Beth? Beth who?”

Ben grips Rocco’s dark hair and cranes his head back. Rocco winces through a moan. “Answer him.”

I step closer as Rocco shifts his eyes to me. He mouth twitches. “Ohhh, I get it. She came back ‘cause of you, right? My girl’s all sad and pathetic now. I should be thanking you. I like her better this way.”

My fist connects with his jaw the second Ben jerks him back.

“She ain’t your fucking girl!”

I get another hit in, this one to the nose. He groans as blood spills down his chin. Ben backs away and Rocco falls to his knees, cupping his face.

“Fuck!” he hisses. “You broke my nose!”

“You’re lucky I don’t fucking kill you!” A hand on my arm keeps me back when I try and lunge. I jerk my bicep out of Luke’s grip and loom over the prick on the floor. My chest heaves against my shirt. “Where is she? I won’t ask you again.”

“The bedroom.” Eyes watering over, he pinches them shut, still covering his nose. His head lowers with a strangled groan.

I make to turn and find a staircase, but I have more to say to this piece of shit. He looks up when I move closer.

“She’s leaving with me, and you’re to stay the fuck away from her. If I see you again, if you so much as think about my girl, I’ll put you in the ground. I will fucking kill you, you understand?”