“You’re not giving him a goddamn thing. He’s a coward who’s trying to take your power. He wants you to think you’re broken. He wants you to think he’s won. But that man’s been a loser since the day he was born, and he’s been broken ever since he realized he’s nothing without you. You hold all the power, Kerry Kind. And if you tell me you want him gone, I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen.”

I breathe in deeply, then release a long exhale. Laying my head against his chest, I nod. “Let’s take him down, Vic.”

He doesn’t say anything else. He simply embraces me, and I allow myself to drift into sleep, feeling safe, protected, and at ease knowing that the last touch I feel tonight isn’t pain, or fear, or the past. It’s him. It’s Victor Grimes.

Chapter 22

Her Last Touch – Vic

When I step through the front door with Kerry still cradled in my arms, the first thing I hear is laughter—loud, warm, and filling the space more than usual. Mom’s voice is at the center of it all.

“The lovebirds are back!” she calls from the other room, her voice drawing nearer. “We have a full house tonight! I’m sure you two have a funny story to—”

She stops dead in her tracks the second she turns the corner. Her eyes land on Kerry’s limp body in my arms, asleep but hurt.

The room stills. Laughter dies. And all that’s left is suffocating silence.

Mom’s gaze roams over the bruises blooming across Kerry’s face, the busted lip, the tension still coiled in my body, barely held together by restraint.

“Vic.” She gasps. “What happened?!”

Grace’s body locks up, her hands trembling at her sides. “My baby girl. Not again.”

Serena, Kiera, Izzy, and their husbands all react at once, stiffening and exchanging furious looks while Hudson is speechless.

Mom’s voice sharpens. “Who did this to her?”

Without hesitation, without a second thought, Kerry’s friends, the women who know her pain, who know her story, speak as one.

“Cory.”

Mom exhales. Then, a barely audible mumble slips past her lips.

“I just knew it when I ran that background check. Something wasn’t right.”

My entire body tenses.

“You knew he hurt her and didn’t tell me?” My blood boils, the rage clawing its way back to the surface.

She places a steady hand on my arm, her voice calm but firm. “I only had a feeling, Son. No proof. Nothing solid enough to bring to you.”

Mr. Kind doesn’t ask questions. He just pulls out his phone and starts dialing.