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to figure out what had happened that night. Chase and I had both answered all of their questions here in the hospital, and I knew they had asked the nurses to let them know as soon as Breeze woke up.

“You’re really here,” Breeze said to me. Her bright eyes seared me with a look of distrust that I felt in my soul. “You don’t have to stay. I’m feeling better today.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but a knock on the door made me pause. “Miss Shirley? It’s Detective Rodriguez. The nurse said you were awake, can we talk?”

Breeze gave me a sad look before answering him. “Come in.”

Detective Rodriguez swept his eyes over Breeze and let out a low whistle. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Breeze. How are you feeling?”

“Like a maniac stabbed me and beat the shit out of me before trying to light me on fire,” Breeze deadpanned. She sounded strong and defiant, her eyes blazing with anger that had nowhere to go. Lex was dead. He suffered from the flames he built, but there was no justice to be claimed from a dead man.

Detective Rodriguez pulled out his iPad and started typing. “Let’s dive right in then, huh? I’ll get your statement, and we can be done with this once and for all. Well, until your father’s trial, that is.”

Breeze went into a long explanation of what had happened. Detective Rodriguez seemed surprised that Lex had been hiding right under their nose in a vacation home on the beach. But I couldn’t help but feel nauseous. I should have known that Lex wouldn’t have left. He was resourceful and scrappy, good at hiding in plain sight.

And when Breeze started talking about what Lex said, my blood boiled. All of this happened because Violet thought Lex would tell on her. All of this happened because Brian and Violet were in the wrong place at the wrong time. So many things had to happen to get us to this point that it made me sick. And when Breeze was done telling her story, Detective Rodriguez shook his head and locked his iPad. “You’ve been through a lot, Breeze. I hope you have a very peaceful, uneventful rest of your life. I’m so sorry this happened and that Lex wasn’t found sooner. I’ll be sure to document all of this so we can end this chapter. If you have any questions or remember anything else, please give us a call.”

Detective Rodriguez started walking toward the door but paused. Spinning around, he turned to face me, then addressed Breeze. “Did you happen to see Lex when Chase Jones carried you out of the burning building?”

My chest constricted. I could have saved Lex, but my decision to leave him there to burn was one I refused to regret.

Breeze let out a sigh. “I couldn’t really see anything. The smoke was too bad. We had to get out of there.”

Detective Rodriguez nodded. “Right. Have a good day.”

When he left, I exhaled in relief. It was done. It was really done.

Well, almost. There was still one last thing to do. “Why are you here, Kai?” Breeze asked. Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were heavy. I could tell that she needed to rest again.

“I’m here because I love you. I’m here because I can’t push you away anymore. I’m here because being away from you is no longer an option. I’m here because I need to see you and touch you. I need to make sure you’re really okay and that you’re safe. Go to sleep. We can talk more about this later. I’m so sorry, Breeze. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Breeze’s eyes filled with tears, but none fell. “You said that last time,” she whispered. Ouch. Fuck. Yeah, I deserved that.

“I mean it this time,” I replied, feeling like a dick. I’d do whatever it took to convince her. “Go to sleep. I’ll be here.” I leaned in and grabbed her hand, aching for any physical touch she’d give me. I needed reassurance that she was still here with me.

Breeze

Everything hurt. There was a soreness in my soul that refused to let up. My mother kept commending me on my strength, and it made me realize that brokenness was a matter of opinion. Even though the world saw me as a survivor, my mind was a toxic place that kept reminding me of the feel of Lex’s blade sliding into my thigh. The brute force