FOLLOW ME BACK Excerpt
I hope you enjoy this little taste of Kale and Hope's story
I couldn’t hide this from him. Not when I’d already dragged him into the middle of it. I turned my phone toward him so he could see what it said.
Fury.
It ignited on Kale’s face.
Kerosene.
This was not a knight dressed in shining, unblemished armor. Not the kind fairy tales were made of.
This was the kind filled in history books.
The kind that fought to the death for what they believed was right.
Kale pressed a fist to the wall at the side of my head as if he was barely holding on, coming unhinged, words gravel as they scraped from his throat. “I want to erase him, Hope. I want to hunt him down and destroy him. Make sure he can never hurt you or Evan. Not ever again.”
“I hate him,” I admitted over the clot of horror and fear bottled like acid in my chest.
Kale dropped his forehead to mine, this time in a tortured, rattled rage. “Who is he?”
I blinked, pressed my mouth to the roar of his heart that pounded through his shirt. “You can’t do something crazy, Kale. You can’t. You have to trust me that I’m doing everything to end this and end it for good.”
I’d already gotten myself in deep enough without drawing more attention.
I needed to do this quietly and swiftly.
And God, I wanted to tell Kale, admit it all. But he was still Evan’s doctor, and I wasn’t sure I could risk putting him in that position.
Endanger him that way.
It wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t right.
So instead, I pushed my phone into my back pocket and wound my hands back into the fabric of Kale’s shirt. Clinging to him. Hoping he could hear the beat of truth in my words.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him away from my son. But the next months are going to be difficult. I’m up for the greatest fight of my life. I need you to know, I will do anything, sacrifice anything, to make sure I win that fight.”
I was gathering evidence.
Each text.
Each message.
Each threat.
My attorney was sure that would be all the proof of abuse we needed. The callousness and carelessness.
Kale groaned, as if it caused him pain. “And what if I want to be the one to do it? Protect him. Save him.” His big hand slid to my face. “Save you.”
My words were a breath. “You’re already savin’ me. In so many ways.”
Kale groaned again. But this time, it was in need. “God damn it, Hope. God damn it, what have you done to me?”
His mouth slanted over mine.
Commanding.
Demanding all of me.
Tangles of tongue and nips of teeth.
He didn’t break the kiss when he hoisted me from my feet and pressed me deeper against the wall, his hands on the outside of my thighs as he made a place for himself between my legs.
I ached and whimpered, my fingers sinking into his shoulders. As if I might be able to hold onto him forever. “Kale.”
“I won’t let him hurt you. I won’t. Not you or Evan. You’re mine.”
Follow Me Back - coming February 5th!
Gah, I can't wait for you to fall for Kale and Hope the way I have!! Get those calendars marked, and I'll have a special-edition release newsletter coming to you!
Do want a quick mobile update letting you know Follow Me Back is live?
Text “aljackson” to 33222
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