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“Don’t try to guilt me into this. I might not even be able to donate. I’m missing a fucking kidney, or maybe you forgot about that.”

“But you won’t know until you try.” I slam my hand on the table. “You need to try.”

“What I need to do to make sure that I’m there for Savannah and Grace.”

“This is bullshit, Sin!” I push back from the table and lean towards him. “You have your chance to save your sister. For eight years you thought you lost your only sister but didn’t!” I slam my hand into the table again. “You have another one. One that you might be able to save. I need you to do this, Sin. I swear on my life that I’ll never ask for you to do anything else. I can’t lose her. I fucking love her. I’ve loved her my entire life, and I’ve lived too many years without her. I refuse to live the rest of it without her by my side. I need you to do this.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

He doesn’t know if he can. I’m blown away by his response. I shake my head. “You know, for years you’ve talked about how it was your fault Sienna died. You were injured, lying on the couch when your sister took her last breath. We all know her death isn’t on your hands and it’s taken you a long time to believe that too. But this, this death, this sister? You have your chance to save her, and if you don’t at least try, then you’ll be the coward you thought of yourself all these years. You’ll turn your back on your family like you think you did to your men.”

With my chest heaving, I look at Bianca and see tears in her eyes. I know I'm harsh, but fuck it. I need someone else to fight for Tessa because I’m afraid that this fight is going to take more than just the two of us.

Hawk

I walk down the white halls until I see Tessa’s room. “Hey, beautiful.” I give her a wink as I enter.

“Hey.” She scoots over and pats the bed next to her. She’s fully dressed in the clothes I brought her this morning. “How’s Sam?”

“He’s good. He stayed with Lick and Jenni last night. I think she was taking them to the zoo today to get them out of the house. Are they ready to cut you loose?”

“Just waiting for the doctor.” She goes to say something more but stops herself.

I take her hand in mine. “What is it?”

“My father came after you left.”

I’m not a fan of Frank Reese. I wasn’t when I found out how he turned on Tessa before she left town, and I’m especially not since he said what he said yesterday. “What did he want?”

“He wants me to go back to their house. He wants a relationship with Sam, and that he’s sorry for how he handled everything back then.”

I can feel the blood pulse in my neck as my blood pressure spikes. I don’t want her going with them. I have a feeling, adult or not, if Tessa were to go with them, then I’d have limited access to her and to Sam. That’s something that I’m not willing to give them.

“I don’t think that’s the best option.”

She turns her head, her eyes crinkling at the edges. “Why?”

“Why did you come back home, Tessa?”

She drops my hand, but I pick it back up. I’m not letting her pull away from me. “Because I’m sick.”

“And?”

“I need help.”

“Yes, you need help. You came back to the last place you wanted to be because you need help. You came back because you needed my help, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to have to beg your parents to let me into their house to make that happen. You and I both know that they don’t care for any of us, and you moving in with them is a form of control they’re trying to place on you. I honestly don’t think it’s coming from a good place. I think if they had good, pure intentions when it came to you, then they wouldn’t have done what they did when you needed them most.”

“This is so fucked up.” She sighs, and I can’t help but laugh.

“It sure is. But it’s another hurdle that we’ll get over together—as a family. If they want to be involved, I don’t have a problem with that. I think the best place for you and Sam is Bianca’s.”

She opens her mouth to say something but a knock on the door has her stopping. Sin pokes his head in and when his eyes land on me, the anger I thought for sure would be present isn’t. Regret, maybe guilt. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Tessa says.

I scoot myself from the bed. “I’m going to check on what’s keeping the doctor. I know you’re anxious to get out of here, and Sam is going to want his mom home.”

“I won’t be long,” Sin says as I pass him.