RONAN Kevin Wellspring, our best friend of so many years, picks tonight…of all god damn nights to crawl up my ass and stick a needle there. Without breaking eye contact, I speak to my brother. “Call Sarah, Mal.” I'd like to confirm if this madness Kevin is talking about is true. Sarah would never willingly go on a date with another man, not even with a gun to her head. Kevin’s brows shoot up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up.” He takes one slow step forward with his palms out. “Why are you calling her? She’s probably in the middle of her date right now. You want to ruin that?” I fight the crippling urge to roll my eyes. He really wants to play this game, doesn’t he? “You know exactly why, Kevin.” Kevin’s head angles backwards, and he lets out this dry laugh that doesn’t reach his eyes. When he looks at me again, there’s a wet line underneath his right eye. He wipes it away with one finger as his laughter slowly dies. “I wanted to believe whatever was going on with you and my sister was a one-time thing. That once I reminded you how important she is to me, you’d come back to your senses.” He steps closer. His tone hardens as he narrows his eyes on me. I hear the threat in every word that escapes through his clenched teeth. “Sarah is the only family I have left. The most important person in my life. If you think I would stand still and watch the three of you ruin her life, you have me sorely mistaken.” I part my lips to speak, but Jaxon leans forward and speaks up. “What the hell do you even mean by that? We’re your best friends. If anyone in the world cares about Sarah as much as you do, it’s us.” He hesitates. “We love her.” Kevin’s mouth twists into a cruel smile. I had always found it fascinating; the way his facial expressions could change in the blink of an eye. Never, not for one day, had I thought I would be on the receiving end.“Love?” He chuckles bitterly. “You love her? Last time I checked…” he points at me first, then Jaxon, then Malachi “…none of you are capable of that. And even if you were, even if these sordid feelings of yours were genuine, she’d be a target for every single person you’ve ever crossed,” I heave a tired sigh. There’s no smart cone back this time. His words are the truth. “I couldn’t come back to this city for years because I took the fall for something you three did.” Kevin concludes. “That was years ago. And you were in on it too. You’re not exactly a saint.” His mouth twitches. “You’re right,” he nods. “It’s my mistake. But my first mistake was getting involved with you maniacs in the first place. But you know what? I’m going to fix it, starting now,”He points at the ground. “Kev.” “By removing myself from anything that has to do with you three. And that includes my sister.” “Kev,” Malachi tries again. His voice is calm but tight in the same breath. “Let’s go inside. We can talk this through…” “There’s nothing to talk about.” Kevin cuts him off without even looking at him. “If you love Sarah like you claim, you’ll stay a million miles away from her. Her ex-husband is in jail for fucking murder. There’s too much hanging over your heads. What happens if some business rival decides to dig up your past? She’ll be dragged through hell again, just like she was with Aaron. I won’t let that happen.” I can feel Malachi’s muscles tightening beside me. You have probably heard me say this before, that he’s right. That of all the mistakes Sarah Wellspring has ever and will ever make in her life, we are the worst of them. There are too many skeletons in our cupboard. One has recently escaped and dangled over our heads ever since. The best thing for her would be to stay far, far away from us. Unfortunately, we’re three selfish pricks. She means the world to us. There was no light in this world for years until she walked into Vincent’s club like a whole beacon. That light pulled us in, and we’ve been stuck on it. We’re never letting it go. So, I say it. “No.” Kevin’s eyes flick to mine. “What?” “We said no,” I repeat, stepping forward so we’re barely two feet apart. “Yeah, our past is messy. And yeah, Sarah doesn’t know all of it. But we’re not going to put her in danger. We’ll tell her everything…every goddamn thing there is to know. And if she still wants to be with us after that, then she will.” My jaw tenses, but I push forward. “And if that means we have to fight you for the rest of our lives to make that happen? I’ll fight you until my last breath. But what you wouldn’t do, Kevin, is tell us to stay away, because we won’t.” As if amused, he raises his left brow. “You’re going to tell her everything,” Kevin says slowly. I swallow hard. “Yes.” His eyes narrow. “Everything.” I lift my chin, tuck my hands into my pockets. “Yes.” He glances between me and Jaxon. “Even the issue with your dad?” I tilt my head just enough to catch Jaxon in my view. He’s standing straight, gaze fixed on Kevin. “Yes,” he says without hesitation. Kevin’s smile is razor-thin as he applauds us. “Well then, my work here is done. There’s no way in hell she’ll stay in your lives once she knows the truth. And you better tell her everything, or I will.” “Fine,” I say. “Where is she?” Kevin checks his watch. “She should be heading out for her date with Julian about now. I’ll call him.” He takes his phone, dials a number, and presses it against his ear. Put my sister on the phone,” he says into the receiver. It’s not on speaker, but his face changes instantly. His easy arrogance fades into a faint frown. “What?” I demand. Kevin glances at me, something uneasy flickering in his eyes before he looks away. “I’m calling her. Apparently, she left the house about an hour ago.” The words cause my stomach to drop. She isn’t with Julian, so where could she be? “Where did she go?” Kevin shakes his head. “Julian doesn’t know. She told him not to follow her.” “What the fuck are you waiting for then? Call her.” Malachi snaps. He does, but it only rings and heads to voicemail. Beads of sweat trickle down my forehead. “She’s not picking up. She’s probably mad at me.” He drops his hand, the resignation on his face is obvious as he turns to me. “You can try calling her.” And we all take turns with our different phones, calling again and again. Every time it goes to voicemail, my pulse pounds harder. My jaw aches from how tight I’m clenching it. My thumb keeps jabbing my screen harder than necessary, as if force alone will make her answer. By the fifth failed attempt, Jaxon swears under his breath and slams his phone down. “To the car, now.” The tone of my voice leaves no room for argument. I keep my eyes glued to the road for any sign of her. We ask the security if she was seen, and when he tells us no, I continue to drive. Deep down, I try to tell myself she’s alright. She must have gone for a random drive to clear her head, and would call us when she gets back. But I can’t. Something feels terribly wrong. My headlights sweep the gravel shoulder where I see it…her car! “What the hell is her car doing here?” I push my foot against the brake immediately, bringing the car to an abrupt halt. We all but fly out. Her bonnet is propped open. The car seems to have developed some type of fault. “She came looking for us,” I start to speak. Frustration has me running my fingers down my hair. “Do you think she went to find help?” Malachi shakes his head. “The main road’s miles behind. It would’ve been easier to walk forward.” Which she didn’t. Kevin suddenly drops to his knees right there on the ground. “This is my fault,” his voice slowly breaks. “All my fucking fault. She must have been so mad that she…that she…”I stand over him, fists clenched so hard my knuckles ache. “Get up.” This is the last shit I need right now. He doesn’t. “This isn’t helping her or any one of us.” I bark at him, even though my chest feels like it’s caving in. “Let’s call the police,” Jaxon suggests while gripping Kevin’s shoulder. “If anything has happened to her, it’s the stalker. Remember? The one she told us about. It has to be them.” I offer him a quiet nod in response, and Malachi replies. “That does make a lot of sense. They could have followed her from home and…” “It can’t be.” Kevin cuts in with a breathless whimper. We all turn to him, but it’s Malachi who has his brows drawn tight. “Why not?” Kevin looks up. There’s guilt in his eyes, a heavy one that has my heart racing even faster than before. “Because…because I’m the stalker.”