“What?” He looks confused. “What are you talking about?” He sits back down, but this time, he takes the seat next to me.

“Seeing you talk to them like that reminded me of how you used to talk to me.”

“I told you, I let that hate go. It’ll never be like that again between us.”

“But how can I be sure? How can I admit to loving you if I always have that fear?”

His concerned frown turns into a triumphant smile. “You love me?”

Shit.

“That’s not the point.” I try to play it off, but of course, Colt has no intention of letting it go.

“Well, it should be because that’s all that matters. I love you, and you love me. Why should we let the past get in the way of us being together now?”

“Because I’m scared that our past will be our future. I can’t go through that again, not after everything that’s happened. If you turned your back on me now, I don’t think I would survive it.” That’s it. I’m putting everything on the table. My darkest fear, my deepest thoughts. We had to go through hell to get here, but now we’ve made it. We came out on the other side together.

“It won’t be. I just know it, and if I have to, I’ll spend the next twenty years proving it to you. I love you, Leni. I want to be with you, and I won’t ever do anything to hurt you again. I swear.”

“I love you too.” The words have barely left my mouth when Colt’s lips are on mine. He buries his hand in my hair, pulling me closer into the searing kiss.

He holds my heart in his hand, and now it’s up to him to keep it safe.

EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER.

“Are you ready for this?” I take Colt’s hand and find it damp with sweat. It’s not difficult to imagine why he’s feeling this way. It’s been years since he last saw his mother in person, and she’s still comatose. There’s a good chance she always will be, thanks to how badly James beat her all those years ago.

But she’s alive and here in a hospital only a few minutes from his apartment. It took a lot of work, a lot of phone calls, and arrangements, but he managed to get her moved from the hospital in Florida, where James had stashed her.

He takes a deep, shaky breath. “She won’t even know I’m here. It doesn’t really matter.”