“He made it sound like you wanted to be a part of Matty’s life. Move him to California.”
“No. Never. The last thing I want to do is take away Matty from you and Liam.” She squeezes my hand so tight, I swear she’s trying to cut off the circulation, while at the same time her honey eyes plead with me to believe her. I nod, fully trusting deep in my heart that she would never try to come between us. “The last thing I want to do is take Matty away from you and Liam. I’ll make sure nothing changes. Landon and I talked a lot since he’s been here, and I think after Liam gave him the ass kicking, he figured it out and it woke him up. He really doesn’t want Matty and he’s not going to do anything. I promise you have my word.”
“Thank you for telling me this. It does make me feel better. Maybe it’s time to get him some help?”
“I will, trust me, especially after this.”
Now to go find my man.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LIAM
I stare up at the tile ceiling of my hospital room and sigh heavily. The nurse just left after wrapping my fists up. I only had one broken finger and a full set of swollen knuckles. This is the second time I've ended up in this hospital because of my brother and thinking I'm going to lose the only girl I've ever loved.
It's been hours since Landon told her the news and it's been absolutely silent on her end. Her phone is off and she's not replying to my text. So much for talking later. Sam did say she managed to get a hold of her, and she was on her way, but as time ticks on, I doubt she's coming. I know how I felt when I found out the truth, so I can only imagine what she’s feeling with the news.
Betrayed, overwhelmed, pissed.
I flex my sore fist as the overpowering scent of hand sanitizer lofts into the room. My eyes close tightly and it brings me back to my office, standing in front of my brother right as I grabbed him, remembering the stench of the liquor on his breath. Anger surges through me, recalling the moment Landon revealed he admitted the truth to Holly. How he deceived me when he went behind my back and told my girl he was the father! When months ago, he wanted nothing of it. In that second, he was no longer my brother. I will never be able to forgive him. What happened after is still a void in my memory, but he had it coming.
He had it fucking coming.
If I lose her because of him…
I shove the ice pack laying on my bed, sending it flying to the metal cabinets, making them rattle on impact.
"Hey there, killer."
"Holly?"
"Please don't say my name like I'm some ghost you're seeing in your dreams." She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again."
"Why? Because you were holding onto a deep dark secret?”
My shoulders deflate. "Yeah. It's just…"
"Stop.” She raises her hand and crosses the room towards my bed. Her scent invades my nostrils and it brings a sudden calm to all this madness. “If I'm mad at anyone, it’s him,” she says with a low growl as she points back at the door.
“But you weren't answering your phone.”
She rolls her eyes and a thin grin plays on her lips. “I admit I had to take a drive to clear my head. I felt like the world had been dumped on my shoulders and I wasn’t ready to talk to you. I went to see my parents. They helped a lot and led me back to you.”
“I guess I’ll have to send them a large thank you card.”
She slides onto the edge of the bed beside me and picks up my wrapped hand. "I hear you did a number on your fists." She places a light kiss on my bandaged knuckles.
"My brother has a steel jaw." I take my other injured and wrapped hand and place it on her cheek. She leans into my touch. I take in her appearance, her puffy reddened eyes, and her blotchy cheeks. A clear sign she’s been crying because of all this bullshit, and it’s my fault. She should’ve
