"Son, I'm going to have to take you with me," Sheriff Townsend pronounces, his tone full of regret and predetermined judgment that chills me to the bone.
"No, you can't take him. If you take him, you have to take me too, because they're lying."
"Laney, Laney, look at me," London says, stepping directly into my path, his hands gripping my shoulders. His eyes capture mine, leaving me nowhere else to look. "It's going to be okay."
"No." I shake my head, my voice cracking. "It's not. They think you killed him."
"I did."
Two words. Two simple words that shatter everything. Tears well in my eyes, hot and stinging, and I blink frantically, wishing I could erase them along with this moment, wishing I could erase the truth.
"Please don't cry, heartbreaker," he whispers, his thumb brushing my cheek. "You're going to live a full, beautiful life."
"What are you saying?" Rage and despair war inside of me. "You're going to live it with me, London Hale. You said you loved me. That's supposed to be forever." My words come out broken, like the heart inside of me as I struggle through the fear and confusion.
"London," Sheriff Townsend's voice cuts through my spiral, his hand landing heavily on London's shoulder. "I have to ask you to come with me, son. I don't want to use the cuffs, but?—"
London nods, his jaw tight. "I'll come." His eyes never leave mine. "Can I say goodbye?"
"No, this isn't goodbye," I protest, but my words die in my throat as he pulls me against him. His arms envelop me in familiar warmth, and I feel like I might stop breathing at any moment. I can't lose him. I haven't had enough time. We haven't had enough time. Our lives were just beginning.
"I'll love you until they put me in a casket," he murmurs against my hair. "You're the first girl who ever truly saw me, the first one to ever love me. You're my heart and soul. Where you go, I go, but where I'm going"—his voice catches—"you can't follow."
I feel the tremble beneath his bravado, the fear he's trying to hide, and I hold him tighter, my fingers digging into his back, desperate to keep him with me. This isn't where our story ends. It can't be.
"You're going to fight this. We're going to fight this. It was self-defense." I pull back just enough to find his eyes, to force him to see my determination through my tears. "Promise me, London. Promise me. You're not accepting this. You're going to come back to me."
He swallows hard. "I'll fight." His voice drops to a whisper thatbelongs only to me. "I love you, Laney Hart," he says, placing a lingering kiss on my forehead before taking a step back.
Sheriff Townsend grabs his shoulder, his expression grim as he guides London toward the waiting police car. London doesn't look back, but his shoulders are straight, defiant even in surrender.
Sydney fills the void he leaves behind, rushing to me and wrapping her arms around me before I can crumble to the ground. I watch, my vision blurred by tears, as they take away the only man I've ever loved, the man who saved my life more than once. He said he loved me, and I believe him. He just sacrificed everything for it. Now it's my turn.
The police car's door slams shut with a finality that echoes through my bones. Through the window, I catch one last glimpse of London's profile—strong jaw clenched, eyes fixed forward—as the car pulls away, carrying with it my heart and the only future I ever wanted.
He's wrong.
Where he goes, I go. If he thinks I'll just continue on with a beautiful life while he faces this alone, then he doesn't know me at all. London may have saved my life, but what he doesn't understand is that, somewhere along the line, he became my life, our hearts and fates intertwined.
"I need to go," I whisper gently as I pull out of her embrace.
"Laney, wait. You can't just—" Her words fade behind me as I stand straighter, my gaze locked on the disappearing taillights.
London stepped between me and danger without hesitation. He chose me over himself, and now he's walking into darkness alone, thinking his sacrifice will set me free. But it won't—it can't—because his punishment is my sentence too. His hell is mine. If he's there, so am I.
Chapter 10
LANEY
SIX YEARS LATER
"Ican't believe you'll be spending the summer with me in Bardstown," Asha says as we turn onto the gravel road that cuts through her family's property.
"Me neither. Are you sure your dad is okay with me staying here? I don't want to be an inconvenience."
She snorts. "Are you kidding? My dad adores you. Trust me, there is more than enough room at our Fairfield Estate. I'm not even sure he knows who is and who isn't staying here at all times."
I met Asha Fairfield in my second year at the University of Kentucky. We both had an equine-assisted activities course together. She asked if she could borrow a pen and a notebook in class, which left me somewhat baffled until I realized she was covered in mud. I quietly passed her the requested materials, and after class, she broke into a long-winded explanation about her family, stables, and not having time to change. I heard stables, mud, and a horse named Phoenix. Needless to say, we were fast friends. It's hard not to be friends with someone who does most of the talking, especially when talking to people doesn't come as easily as it once did. I'm not shy. I'm just not interested.
