Page 84 of Break Me

“No,” I say. “It isn’t. The point is I walked away without finishing things, and I came back to finish them.”

Knox studies me like he’s trying to decide whether to throw me out or hear me out.

“You don’t get to pretend this is a casual drop-in,” he says. “You lied to me. Again.”

“I know,” I say. “I came to tell the truth.”

Knox’s jaw tightens. “You came because you don’t like how it ended.”

“I came because it didn’t end,” I answer.

He looks away, breathing out slowly, like he’s bracing for what comes next.

“I married her,” I continue. “And I should’ve told you before it ever got that far.”

“You think marriage is the problem,” Knox snaps. “It’s not. The problem is you decided what we deserved to know.”

“I decided what she deserved,” I say. “And I don’t regret that.”

Knox steps closer. “So where does that leave us.”

“Here,” I say. “Unfinished.”

He studies me like I’m a problem he hasn’t decided how to solve yet.

“The problem goes deeper than marrying my sister,” Knox says. “It’s trust. And right now, I don’t know where yours actually sits.”

I hold his gaze. “If I was lying,” I say quietly, “I wouldn’t be standing here.”

Silence stretches between us, thick with history and everything we haven’t repaired yet.

Knox breaks the silence first.

“You want me to believe you’re done lying,” he says. “That you’ve found your line, and you won’t cross it again.”

“I already crossed it,” I say. “I’m standing in the wreckage because of that. I’m not pretending otherwise.”

He exhales slowly, like he’s choosing control over anger. “Probation wasn’t about punishing you. It was about protecting the club from decisions we couldn’t predict.”

“I know,” I say. “And I accepted it.”

“You accepted the rules,” he corrects. “You haven’t accepted what they cost.”

I don’t argue. I don’t need to.

“Ridgeback’s still moving,” Knox says. “They know you were there that night. If they decide your wife is leverage…”

“She was leverage the night they came for her,” I say. “Her blood made that true long before I married her.”

“You magnified it,” Knox says. “Because now everyone knows exactly where to aim.”

My jaw tightens. “Then say what you’re really worried about.”

“I’m worried,” he says, “that when it comes down to the club or her, you won’t hesitate.”

“I won’t,” I say.

That gets his attention.