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Chapter Nine

SOPHIE

I leaned against the cool, metallic frame of a weight rack at Warrior's Den while I waited for Liam. He was running late to the gym this morning. Where was he?

My fingers traced the patterns on a barbell. Could he be avoiding me because of last night? We gave in to our feelings for each other again. My body still buzzed with the electric memory of his touch.

The sex had been incredible. What blurred boundary lines? I think it was safe to say we completely erased them. As a personal trainer, I was supposed to be detached, but with Liam, detachment was a ship already sailed and sinking fast.

I closed my eyes, my mind drifting from the sound of sneaker soles on the floor and the scent of rubber mats. Last night, I felt safe with Liam, yet today, my mind wandered to Jack Thornton. The name alone brought anger and apprehension, like a cold whisper I couldn't quiet.

My phone vibrated in my pocket with the silent alarm I had set. I glanced at the screen—no messages, no new leads. Just time ticking by, reminding me that the line I walked was slowly unraveling.

With a sigh, I fixed my eyes on the entrance, waiting for Liam, the man who was both my confidant and my complication to walk through the door. Although my pulse sped at the thought of him, I couldn't shake the idea that Jack Thornton was in Sunridge, somewhere close.

The door burst open, and Liam staggered in. Sweat already glistened on his forehead. My first thought was he'd been out running. I told him to take it easy on that ankle. Why did he keep refusing to listen to me? Then my eyes caught something else. A darkening bruise decorated his temple.

"What happened to you?" My voice came out sharper than I intended.

Something unreadable flashed across his face before he reached out and took my arm, pulling me away from the other gym-goers. We found privacy by the wall plastered with posters of fighters.

"I ran into some trouble.” His voice was low and strained. I felt the coiled tension in his grip.

"Talk to me, Liam." My hand reached up, hovering near the bruised skin as though I could smooth it away with a touch.

“It’s about Jack Thornton.”

His words detonated in the air between us. A giant cold fist clamped around my lungs as I struggled to keep my face composed, to not let the shock scatter my thoughts.

"Jack?"

“I should have said something before.” Liam's eyes held mine. "I knew him back in the day."

"Knew him how?" I pressed. Dread pooled in my stomach.

"Like a brother." His answer was slow, reluctant. "We used to steal, break into stores at night when we were younger. I was stupid, and I didn’t have anyone else. We were tight until I made different choices."

His confirmation stung. "Liam, Jack was the man who attacked my family." The words tumbled out of me, edged with a pain I hadn't allowed myself to fully feel until this moment.

Liam cursed softly, the lines around his eyes deepening as he processed what I'd just said. "I'm so sorry for everything your family went through because of that bastard."

He reached out, as if uncertain whether his touch would be welcomed or rejected. His fingers grazed my arm, bringing warmth to the chilled surface of my skin.

"Sorry doesn't change what happened," I said, though the ice in my veins began to thaw under his empathetic gaze.

"Of course not." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I wanted you to know, Sophie. I can't forgive what Jack became, but I can't erase the past either."

My hands trembled as I processed his words. "You told me about your past before. I didn't even think to ask you about him."

Liam's brows furrowed, the lines etched on his forehead mirroring the confusion in his eyes. "Why would you even think to connect it?" Compassion softened his words.

"Because it's what I do," I nearly shouted, feeling the sting of tears threatening to spill over. My chest tightened, each heartbeat echoing the pent-up stress coursing through me. I could feel the weight of my former badge, reminding me of the instincts I couldn't shed even if I wanted to.

Liam reached out, but I stepped back, an instinctive move to protect myself from the invisible inner wounds. "It's okay. Jack might be out of jail, but I won't let him harm you. I'll beat that awful shit if he comes around."

His words were meant to assure me. Liam used to run the streets with the same man who hurt my family. I couldn’t shake the thought.

"I'm sorry, Liam." My voice broke through the thick tension that filled the space between us. "There's no way we can be together anymore."

He stepped toward me. "Sophie, don't do this. We can figure it out."

"No." My reply was a whisper, but it fell like a hammer. "We can't."

My gaze dropped to the floor, unable to match his stare any longer. The sounds of the gym faded into a distant hum. I felt tightness in my throat.

"Goodbye, Liam."

I turned away from him. Each step was a fight against our connection. I pushed through the doors of Warrior's Den, leaving behind the sound of Liam's voice calling after me—a voice I would have followed if things were different.

As the sun hit my face, I didn't look back. I walked briskly. Away from him, away from us, away from a fantasy that was never meant to face reality.

I WENT HOME AND SPENT the rest of the day and night alone. Sleep was a joke. The predawn shadows clung to the corners of my living room, where I sat wrapped in an old blanket that had seen better nights. Restless thoughts prowled through my mind. Liam's past with Jack Thornton surfaced like the bruise on his head, quick and painful.

I rubbed at my temples, trying to massage away the headache brought on by too little sleep and too much worry. There was nowhere for Liam and I to go now. After what he told me, and after what he didn’t say until it was too late.

I sighed, fogging up the glass of the window I stared through without really seeing. My gaze drifted to the fireplace, to the smiling faces of my dad and sister captured in a framed photo. I walked towards it. My sister's eyes, wide with trust and innocence, seemed to bore into mine. Grace’s voice echoed in my head from a phone conversation we had days ago. "Sophie, please, let this go. Hunting Jack is consuming you."

Consuming. Maybe she was right. Anger, like a fire, flared to life in me whenever I thought of Jack Thornton walking free. Liam might be labeled a hothead and hard-headed. Those words could just as easily describe me.

Why did this have to be so hard? I wondered as I traced the frame of the picture. In the dim light, my reflection's eyes met mine, and I found tiredness and hurt staring back at me.

The shrill chime of my phone alarm pierced the silence. I turned it off before I paced across the hardwood floor. The Heartland Fight Fest was supposed to start in a couple hours. I couldn’t skip out. As much as I wanted to avoid Liam while I sorted through everything he told me, I couldn’t hide from him for much longer today. But I had no idea how I was going to face him, either.

A faint rustle came from outside. Lawn maintenance wasn’t supposed to be here until this afternoon. Did I miss a text or call from them saying they changed the time? I glanced at my phone’s missed call log. Last night, I put my phone on do not disturb. I wasn’t in any frame of mind to see anyone’s calls or texts, especially Liam’s.

He had called me twice.

I heard the rustling again. My bare feet padded against the floor as I inched toward the door.

I eased the screen open. The metal frame was a cold bite against my palm as I stepped out. Peering into the dim light, I saw nothing but shadows playing tricks on my eyes... until they didn't. My breath caught as dread and adrenaline spiked through my veins.

"Hey, Officer Brooks. How's the new trainer gig going?" Jack Thornton's voice slithered through the dark. His hand clamped onto the screen door, creating a physical barrier between me and retreat.

"Jack." His name was a stone in my throat. My fingers curled into clammy fists. He was the ghost that haunted my family’s peace, the pain behind Liam's remorseful gaze. And now he was here at my condo, showing up like a bad omen.

"It’s too early for house calls, don't you think?" I managed to keep my tone even. I couldn’t let him see me sweat. I wiped one hand on my jeans. "Only stalkers are out at this time." My eyes didn't leave his, searching for any hint of the menace I knew crawling behind the exterior.

"Stalker? That's a heavy word." Jack shrugged off my accusation like we were discussing the weather. "I heard Liam's climbing the ranks, all thanks to his new trainer."

"So you thought you'd come and see if there was something in it for you?"

Jack's grin twisted, taking on a sharper edge. "You got it all wrong.” He tilted his head. Maybe he thought the gesture made him look innocent. To me, he looked like one of those creepy carnival dolls whose smiles didn’t reach their empty eyes. "Prison taught me a thing or two."

"You should still be there," I shot back, barely containing the well of emotions. The image of my father, frail in a hospital bed, surfaced. "You put my father in the hospital."

He snorted, dismissing my pain with a flick of his head. "For all I know, your old man's heart was already giving out on its own."

I bit back the curses that rose to my lips. Jack had come here for a reason, and I needed to keep myself together long enough to figure out what it was.

I forced my breath to even out. The anger and hurt he wanted to provoke inside me were there, but I was determined not to let him win. "Well, now that you’re out, I wonder why you're not at the gym putting those prison 'skills' to use. There's nothing here for you to lift except your own guilt." I glanced sidelong at the door, calculating the distance to it.

Jack's smirk didn't falter, but his eyes narrowed. "I always have been curious."

I provided a slow nod. “Curiosity tends to get people into trouble." The words were heavy with the weight of truth for my own self.

His smile vanished. "Why’d you go from cop to glorified massage girl?"

I hated how crass he was. "Less stress, more flexibility." I shrugged as if the conversation bored me. Inside, I was a coiled spring, ready to snap.

"I don’t buy it." Jack got closer to the screen. "You’re saying you made Liam your client without knowing who he used to be?”

I didn’t blink. "I didn't know Liam was the one who tipped the police to help put you away."

Jack leaned in, his interest piqued. "Oh? He kept that from you, did he?"

I could practically hear the cogs turning in his head. I forced a steely calm over myself. "Don't talk about what you don't know, Jack."

His thin lips twisted into an amused smirk. “I think I do know. Liam's not the open book he pretends to be. And you. You're not just here for kicks and punches, are you, Officer?"

I swallowed hard against the knot forming in my throat.

He went on. “If you told Liam who you're really looking for in Sunridge, he wouldn't have trusted you.”

He was right. If Liam knew the whole truth, our connection would’ve shattered before we even got started.

I glanced past Jack's imposing frame, through the flimsy screen door. The faintest light of dawn was creeping up on the porch, gradually revealing more of the hard lines that marked his face.

I caught sight of an opportunity to slip back inside, where I could reach for my phone and call for help. I took a step.

"Going somewhere?" Jack's voice sliced through the quiet.

"Get out of my way."

Jack made an awkward step towards me, bumping his foot against a row of my plants. The pot holding my laurel tree fell and shattered against the porch stones. He cursed loudly as he nursed his foot.

This was my moment. While his attention was elsewhere, I spun on my heel, ready to dart back through the door. Fury propelled me forward, and with all my might, I heaved the front door toward Jack's face. He staggered back only for a heartbeat before wrenching it open again.

"Move!" I spat out the command as I scrambled for the console table. My fingers fumbled for my phone, the familiar shape of the pepper spray canister, anything to give me the advantage.

But Jack was quicker, and bigger. His hand clamped around my arm, dragging me backward. The world blurred into a frenzy of motion as he flung my lifelines, the phone and spray, down the hallway.

"Don't even think about it.” His grip was iron. Every muscle in my body tensed for the fight I knew was coming.

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