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I sit up next to her and shift my braced knee. “And never find the truth?”

“Would that be so bad?” She turns to me and tilts her head to the side. “I already don’t have a dad. What if finding out what happened to mine takes away yours and the others? How is that fair?”

I love her heart. How it bleeds for everyone, even if they hurt her. I hope it never changes. I cup her cheek and smile. “They’ve lived their lives while your mother and you were left to grieve.”

She parts her lips, probably to protest, but I slide my finger over her lips to stop her.

“Don’t say you didn’t grieve, you did. You didn’t think your dad was dead while we were growing up, but you knew he was gone. You didn’t know why. Neither did your mom.” I release a harsh breath. “It’s not retribution if they go to prison for what they did. It’s justice. It’s what you deserve, and what they would deserve if they played a part in it.”

“They’re powerful men, sweetheart.” Jack sets his tablet to the side. “They could fight the charges. Even with images, we might not have all that happened between them. They could claim he came at them or plead temporary insanity. Any number of defenses and the only ones who would truly know what happened in this quarry that night will be the three of them and your father.”

Harper nods. Her eyes gaze off into the distance. “I know. I just wish we could know. To have all the pieces.”

“In time, we will.” I run my hand over her smooth hair. No one is stopping the search. I tip up her chin and give her a smile. “I thought we came out here to be teenagers.”

She shakes her head and gives me a small smile. “Mostly I wanted to be somewhere where no one would stare at me because I’m your girlfriend or because I was attacked twice this weekend. I just wanted to be normal for a little while. Without feeling like we’re being watched.”

We still have someone planting cameras and listening devices. It could have been Zach, but more likely it’s our fathers. They don’t trust us to get the job done. Which makes sense because that’s not what we’re doing with Harper.

We’re with her because we love her and can’t imagine a future without her. We’ll do anything and everything to protect her.

When I brush her hair behind her ear and cup her jaw, she leans into my touch.

“You don’t like being watched, sunshine?” I raise an eyebrow and give her a playful smirk.

She smiles, and there’s a hint of mischief in her eyes. “There may be circumstances where I’m open to being watched. By the right people.”

Harper

I don’t hesitate and shift to straddle Nico’s lap. Part of me wants to forget everything, even as I struggle to remember. I don’t want to think, and I know exactly how to make that happen.

Leaning in, I press my lips against Nico’s. He drags my hips closer until I can feel him growing hard against my center. I’m already ready. Being near them makes me want more. I want this.

This is easy. Losing myself in his kiss and forgetting everything that may be conspiring to tear us apart. There are too many demons to fight and, at least for now, some of them are locked up.

I pull back. Nico’s dark eyes captivate me. I’m tempted to lean in and take his mouth again. He rubs my hips, massaging them, shifting them against his hard cock.

I wet my lips before turning to Jack. Careful of his bandages, I slide my hand around the back of his neck and pull him in for a kiss. He takes my mouth like he can’t get enough.

It’s intoxicating what these boys can make me feel. Nothing else matters in this moment. I push my other hand into Nico’s hair, gripping it, pulling on it.

He chuckles and his hands trail up to the hem of my shirt. We’re in the middle of nowhere with no one else around. I can have this moment. This time to not think at all. To be with the guys I love and reconnect with them.

Fuck, I need our connection.

Nico slips his hands beneath my shirt and touches my warm skin. Sparks light beneath his fingertips, stirring hot anticipation inside me.

I pull away from Jack’s mouth. His eyes have darkened, and the need I feel is reflected in them. I don’t release his neck as I turn back to Nico and take his mouth again.

Jack reaches under my shirt with Nico and cups my breast. My moan shatters the silence of this place. Nico smiles against my lips and pulls away, so he can lift my shirt off over my head.

I reclaim Jack’s mouth but help them remove my bra before sliding my hands to the backs of their necks again. I need to hold them, to feel every inch of them pressed against every inch of me.

The warm breeze blows across my bare nipples right before Nico takes one into his mouth, sucking hard. Both their hands caress my other breast. Their fingers touch, tease, and work my nipple.

I hold Nico to my breast as Jack fucks my mouth with his tongue, sending pulsing need between my thighs, making me so wet. I shift on Nico’s lap. The need for friction overwhelms me. I need to feel him deep inside me.

A hand works the button of my jeans. I pull away from Jack’s mouth and watch as he opens my jeans and eases his hand beneath my panties to find my warm pussy wet for him.