Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

“ S o, what exactly are you going to say to Callie?”

The sound of her name made Lock’s skin feel too fucking tight. That’s what she did to him. What she’d always done to him.

He looked at his brother as they walked down the street. “I’m going to be honest and tell her why I broke up with her.”

Kayden nodded slowly. “And tell me again why it’s taken you two years to tell her.”

Two years…a long damn time. And it had felt longer. “I panicked. I was scared. Hell, I thought he was watching the fucking street. And I thought if I told her the truth, she’d still try to contact me, so breaking all ties and putting security on her until we killed Malone felt safer. In my head, it was only supposed to be for a few weeks, until we eliminated him. But by the time I came back, she was gone, and no one would tell me where she was.”

She’d left Misty Peak, disconnected her old phone, and deleted all social media accounts. Her father and best friend had refused to tell him where she was.

The familiar frustration slid up his throat like acid.

A frown cut into Kayden’s brow. He was one of four brothers, all former military, and all back home now in Misty Peak, Tennessee. Their only sister lived with her partner in Cradle Mountain, a small town in Idaho, so they didn’t see her nearly enough.

“What do you think she’ll say?” Kayden finally asked.

A muscle ticked in Lock’s jaw. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if she’ll hear me out.”

The memory of her face when he’d ended their relationship flashed in his head. The disbelief. The hurt. Walking out of that house had taken every ounce of strength he’d had.

His brother clenched his arm. “So make her listen. You love her too much to lose her.”

He did love her. And time had done nothing to change that.

Lock looked at his brother. “You and Tilly seem to be doing pretty well.” Which was surprising as hell, considering who Tilly’s father was and Kayden’s trust issues.

Kayden’s eyes warmed. “I love her, man. She’s become the best part of me.”

They stopped in front of the studio. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. I want the same for you.”

There’d been a time Lock would have sworn that he and Callie were unbreakable…until he broke them. “I’ll see you Monday night. Dinner at your place, right?”

“Don’t be late.” Kayden thumped his shoulder before continuing down the street. Spending time with his brothers was one of the best parts about being home and out of the military. Would Callie be the next best part?

He looked through the glass to see the place empty. Was she even here? Damn, had he missed her?

Wrapping his fingers around the door handle, he pushed.

Unlocked.

So she was here. Good. It had already taken him too long to find her.

He was done waiting.

Quiet slipped over him as he stepped inside. His gaze moved over the reformer machines. The big mirrors and bold writing on the wall that read Callie’s Yoga and Pilates Studio.

She’d finally done it. How many times had she spoken about wanting to open her own studio? It had always been a dream of hers.

Fuck, he was proud of her.

He crossed the studio and was about to enter the back room when she stepped out.

Every muscle in his body locked at the sight of her. At her red lips. Her moss green eyes. Even that small scar on the base of her chin had him thrown back two years.

Damn, she was beautiful. And he’d been starved of that beauty for too long.

Her chest rose and fell, her gaze shifting between his eyes before she whispered one word. “Lock.”

The way his name fell from her lips was like a punch to the gut. He’d always loved the way she said it, but today, he felt it harder. “Hey, Callie.”

Her throat bobbed, and he could hear every whisper of air moving in and out of her lungs.

Two years. Two long damn years without her. It shouldn’t have happened, but it had. His hand twitched to reach out and touch her. Run his fingers down the pink of her cheek.

He clenched his fists to stop himself, forcing words from his lips instead. “How are you?”

Her brows pinched in a familiar scowl, and for a moment her mouth just opened and closed. “Really? It’s been two years, and you just show up unannounced and ask how I am?”

He had a million things to say to her and a million questions, but yeah, the first thing he wanted to know was how she was doing.

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a word out, she got in first.

“You need to leave.”

Leave? He’d only just gotten here. “Don’t you want to know what I’m doing here?”

“Nope. I don’t want to know what you’re doing here, I don’t want to know why you left the military, and I certainly don’t want to know why you broke my heart.”

She shoved passed him, and fuck, even that small touch of her shoulder against his was enough for awareness to rush through every limb.

“Callie—”

“I’m not doing this, Lock. I have too much going on. I can’t deal with you too.”

“What do you have going on?”

She scoffed. “You really think I’m going to bare my life story to you?”

Once upon a time, she would have. “You could.”

“No, I can’t.” She spun back toward him, and he just stopped himself from walking into her. “You broke up with me, remember? With barely a reason. Then you stopped answering my calls. You didn’t respond to my texts. You cut me off completely.”

That was true. It had taken them two weeks to locate and kill Malone and another week for debriefing and all the other shit he’d had to do before he could finally come home.

She’d tried to contact him every day, multiple times a day, and he’d never responded. Fear had dictated his every move, a desperate need to keep her separate from him and safe.

“So don’t walk in here expecting anything from me,” she continued. “I don’t owe you a damn thing.”

He knew that. He was the one who owed her .

She turned again and took a step toward the door, but he couldn’t let her go. He reached out and grabbed her arm. It was the first touch of her skin in years, and it slammed him back in time. Back to a time when life was easy. When it made sense. When she belonged to him.

The second he touched her, she stopped. Stopped moving. Stopped thinking. She wasn’t even sure if she was breathing. It was like his touch froze time.

Her back was still facing him, and it took four long seconds to look down at his strong fingers wrapped around her arm. Immediately, she wished she hadn’t. Because it set off a battle in her chest. A need to both run and tug him closer. A fight between her head and her heart.

The thud of his shoes sounded, then his heat spread into her back. He was everywhere. His body too close to hers, his deep sandalwood scent filling the air.

Everything about him was so achingly familiar; it was like he’d been imprinted into her soul.

“Please…” he whispered. “Let me explain what happened. Let me fix this.”

Fix it…

She closed her eyes, a part of her, such a big part, wanting him to fix it. But then a memory played in her head. Of a night that still haunted her. A night when she’d called him, needed him , and he hadn’t come. Hadn’t even answered her call.

She yanked her arm away, and the second his hand fell, her skin felt cold. A cold that slipped deep inside her.

“You can’t fix it, Lock.” Her words sounded as hollow as she felt. She opened the door but didn’t look at him, because she was scared that if she did, she’d cave and fall back into his arms. That she’d let him convince her the past hadn’t happened. But it had, and it would forever be a part of her. “Please go.”

He didn’t move, and the beats of her heart grew frantic and uncontrolled. Her breathing became shallow.

She couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now.

“I need you to go,” she pushed, desperate.

“Okay.” His tone was soft, like he understood how close she was to breaking. And maybe he did. He’d always read her better than anyone else. “But I’ll be back. We’re not finished, Callie. We’ll never be finished.”

He stepped outside, and it was only when he was out of sight that she finally closed the door. Her fingers shook as she clicked the lock. Then she dropped her chin to her chest and let the air rush out of her.

She’d missed him. God, she’d missed him so much.

But that night when he hadn’t answered her call, she’d promised herself never again. That she would never make herself vulnerable to a man who couldn’t be there for her at her worst moment ever again. No matter how much her heart told her she still loved him.