Page 153 of Jude

‘I’m drowning.’

‘Talk to us,’ Maggie urged.

‘I want her back, plain and simple,’ I muttered. ‘But she won’t see me. Won’t talk to me. She rejects my help, my money, every single push I make to close the gap. I wrote her two tracks straight from my soul, and she scarcely acknowledged them. This stand-off is tearing me to shreds.’

Maggie set the popcorn bowl on the glass table, leaning forward with her hands on her knees.

‘If she won’t come back, Judah, you have to let her walk. She’s made her call. You can’t strong-arm her or buy her off with cash, songs, or cars. You broke her trust, son. That’s a deep wound.’

Kian nodded.

‘You took the word of a scum blackmailer over hers, Jude. You two were falling, hard and fast for each other. It was obvious every time you looked at her. Yet when the storm hit, you failed to have her six.’

‘So what? I just let her walk?’ I stared at my stepfather, my jaw clenching. ‘I quit?’

‘Yes,’ Kian said, his eyes unwavering. ‘Give her the power to release you.’

‘You’re talking about a divorce?’ My mind went dark at the word. ‘That’s surrendering. That goes against every damn thing I believe.’

‘It sets her free,’ Maggie whispered, as she watched my composure crack. ‘That’s what she needs.’

‘I never planned on loving her,’ I muttered, the truth stripping away the last scrap of my pride. ‘Not like this.’

‘However, if you love her, let her go,’ Kian said, letting the words hang in the room.

The thought was too much to handle.

‘A minute,’ I growled.

I stood, needing space before I snapped.

Pushing through the French doors into the back garden, I lit out, the cold night air biting through my tank as I dropped into an outdoor chair.

I threw my head back, staring up at the Tennessee sky and the sliver of moon cutting through the black.

Images of her hit me in a relentless barrage.

The lushness of her mouth when she laughed, the wildfire in her eyes, the gentle touch of her hands after I took a bullet in the parking garage.

The ache of missing her tore through my chest.

My right hand came up, thumb dragging over the silver eagle pendant and her ring on my collarbone.

In time, a quiet certainty settled in me.

If I wanted to prove I loved her, I had to lay down my weapons, my ego, and my demand to win.

I had to choke down my pride and put the control in her hands.

I’d sign the papers and let her go.

Chapter 32

SOFIA

Missing Jude was a constant ache.

I played the tracks he sent me on a non-stop loop, hunting for a road map through our mess.