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I paused, my hand on the doorknob. I never wanted to be Captain. I was happy being Declan’s right-hand man. And I still didn’t want the job. But we were family. And this family was about loyalty. “I don’t know.”
∞∞∞
I found her outside standing in the moonlight, her arms resting on the fence as she gazed out over the pasture.
“I don’t want to talk about it Rory,” she said, sighing heavily.
“How did you know it was me?” I asked, coming to stop beside her.
“Your cologne.”
I smiled, despite the tension in the air. “I didn’trealize you paid such close attention to how I smell.”
Kat turned to face me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “There’s a lot about you I’ve noticed, Rory. More than I probably should have.”
My heart raced at her words, but I forced myself to focus on why I’d come out here. “Kat, I know this isn’t what you expected when you came here. But you have to understand, this family—”
“This isn’t a family, Rory,” she interrupted, her voice sharp. “It’s a criminal organization. And I don’t know if I can be a part of it.”
I reached out and took her hand, relieved when she didn’t pull away. “It’s both, Kat. Yes, we do things that aren’t exactly legal, but we take care of our own. We protect each other.”
“At what cost?” She shook her head and turned to look at me, her expression unreadable in the moonlight. “Rory, I—” she began, then stopped, and bit her lip.
“What is it?” I pressed gently, sensing her hesitation.
She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. “I’m leaving tomorrow,” she said in a rush. “Going back to Nevada.”
The words hit me like a blow to the balls, knocking the air from my lungs. “What?” Imanaged to choke out.
She met my gaze, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I can’t do this anymore, Rory. The lies, the danger, the constant fear. It’s not the life I want.”
I felt my world start to spin, everything I thought I knew suddenly thrown into chaos. “Kat, please,” I began, reaching for her hand. “We can figure this out. We don’t have to—”
“I want you to come with me,” she interrupted, her voice barely above a whisper.
I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. “What?”
She turned to face me fully, her expression a mixture of hope and resignation. “Come with me, Rory. Help me run the bar, I’ll make you part owner.”
The offer hung in the air between us, tempting and terrifying in equal measure. I thought of Declan, of the Clan, of everything I’d ever known. And then I thought of Kat, of the future we could have together.
“I—I…” I felt my heart breaking as I looked intoher hopeful eyes. The thought of leaving everything behind to start a new life with her was intoxicating. For a moment, I let myself imagine it - waking up next to her every morning, working side byside at the bar, building a life together far away from the dangers and complications of the Clan.
But as tempting as that vision was, I knew deep down that I couldn’t do it. This life, this family - for better or worse - was a part of me. I couldn’t just walk away, no matter how much I wanted to.
“Kat,” I said softly, reaching out to cup her face in my hands. “I can’t tell you how much I want to say yes. The thought of waking up next to you every day, of building a life together – is something I want. You don’t know how badly I want that.”
I saw the hope flicker in her eyes, and it made what I had to say next even harder.
“But I can’t,” I continued, my voice thick with emotion. “This life, this family - it’s not just what I do, it’s who I am. I’ve been part of this Clan for so long. Declan and the others, they welcomed me like we were brothers. I can’t abandon them.”
Kat’s face fell, and she pulled away from me. I felt the loss of her warmth deeply.
“So that’s it then?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “You’re choosing them over me?”
I shook my head vehemently. “No, Kat. I’m not choosing them over you. I’m choosing to stay true to who I am. I can’t be something I’m not, and I want you to stay here.”
She turned away from me, staring out overthe moonlit fields. I could see the tension in her shoulders, the slight trembling of her hands.
