Chapter 28 Harper
HARPER
I was going to buy a house.
Not rent. Not lease. Buy. With my name on the deed and a front door that locked from the inside. If I was rebuilding my life from the ashes of everything Silas had burned down, I was doing it my way.
The dream wasn’t new. I’d been secretly saving for the last year I was still with him, squirreling away cash like a prisoner hiding a shiv. Every dollar was a tiny act of defiance. Every transfer to that hidden account was me whispering, I’m getting out.
And now I was out.
This rented bungalow was never meant to be forever.
It was a pit stop, a place to catch my breath while I executed the plan I’d been building in secret.
But having that plan and working on it kept me grounded.
Sane. Every spreadsheet update was proof I was moving forward.
Every budget adjustment was me taking action instead of just surviving.
The house was still years away. But the plan was solid. And solid plans were the only thing standing between me and the chaos I’d left behind.
Faith sat cross-legged on my couch, a container of pad thai balanced on her knee while Rainbow sprawled across her lap like a furry catastrophe. The dog’s tongue hung sideways out of her mouth, one bulging eye fixed on Faith’s noodles while the other seemed to be inspecting my ceiling fan.
“What are you working on over there?” Faith asked, gesturing with her chopsticks toward my laptop.
“Building a five-year financial model.”
She scrunched her nose. “Adding that to the list of sentences that have never once made me feel sexy.”
I laughed, the sound still foreign in my own living room. “I know it’s not glamorous, but if I’m staying in this state for good, I need a plan.”
Staying? Was it because Knox was in this state?
“No, I get it.” Faith set down her chopsticks, her expression softening. “I did the same thing when I was facing potential prison time. Drafted every document I could think of. Made sure the people I cared about would be taken care of if the worst happened.”
Something sharp and hollow twisted in my chest. I didn’t have anyone to take care of. No one who would let me anyway. Mom and Dad had siphoned plenty of money from me over the years, but it had gone straight into bottles and bad decisions. Nowhere useful. Nowhere that mattered.
What kind of person felt jealous that Faith had actual people who depended on her?
People who love her.
“Show me what you’ve got,” Faith said.
“Yeah?”
“Two intelligent, hardworking women tackling spreadsheets over wine and takeout? Hell yes. Show me.”
Rainbow let out a snore that sounded like a small engine dying, her stubby legs twitching against Faith’s thigh. That ridiculous growth on her side bobbled with each breath.
Normally, I wouldn’t share something as personal as my income with anyone. But this was Faith. Nonjudgmental, ride-or-die Faith. I turned my laptop toward her and walked her through my five-year plan.
Thirty-six months to save for a down payment. Thirty-six months of discipline, sacrifice, and saying no to every impulse that tried to derail me.
Like that limited-edition hardcover of a book I already owned in three formats.
Or that weighted blanket that promised to hug me to sleep.
Or the kitchen gadget that made eggs into little heart shapes because, apparently, my breakfast needed to be romantic now.
My online cart was a liar and an enabler, and I refused to negotiate with terrorists.
But at the end of that sacrifice was a house. My house. A foundation.
Faith studied the spreadsheet, her brow furrowing. “You know, you could probably save up even faster than this.”
“Really?” I scratched my eyebrow, leaning closer. “I’ve gone over these numbers a hundred times.”
“You’re putting everything into a basic savings account.
” She raised an eyebrow like I’d just admitted to storing cash under my mattress.
“You remember Jace? The billionaire with an army of financial wizards? I’ve learned that when you’re saving for something big, you can put that money into accounts that actually earn something. Make your money work harder.”
Before I could respond, she was already pulling out her phone. “Is it okay if Jace comes by?”
I blinked. “Er …”
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay here when he comes over.”
“He’ll just … come over? A billionaire?”
“Of course.” She said it like I’d asked if water was wet. “All these guys literally drop everything to help. It’s kind of their thing.”
My eyes burned without warning. I swallowed hard against the sudden lump in my throat. “Why would they do that?”
Rainbow chose that moment to rip a fart so aggressive that Faith waved her hand in front of her face while the dog looked around in confusion, apparently startled by her own biological warfare.
“God, Rainbow.” Faith fanned the air. “We’ve discussed this. You’re supposed to be charming company.”
The dog’s tail wagged so hard, her entire back end wiggled, completely unrepentant.
Despite the chemical attack happening in my living room, I couldn’t let the question go. “Seriously, Faith, why would a bunch of guys I barely know drop everything to help me?”
Faith’s expression shifted, something warm and knowing settling into her features. “These guys are kind of like a little Mafia family. Once you’re in the club, you’re in. If you’re ever in trouble or need anything, they’ll drop everything. Every single one of them.”
“But I’m not in the club.”
Faith’s smile turned knowing. “Actually, you are.”
I stared at her.
“Knox sent out his Batman signal to the men. To protect you. Take care of you.”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. “He did what?”
“Yeah. And it’s no small thing. These men will move mountains for you.
All you have to do is point them to which mountain you want moved.
” She ticked off her fingers. “They can call in an army of lawyers like that. If you’re scared of your ex?
They can surround this place with bodyguards. Whatever you need.”
The lump in my throat swelled until I couldn’t speak around it.
Too much. That’s what I wanted to say. This was too much.
My parents had done the best they could. I believed that, most days. But they never would have dropped everything to help me.
I’d been on my own since I was old enough to reach the stove.
The last time anyone had offered to take care of me was in the early days with Silas. Red roses and champagne, promises whispered against my skin. I’d let myself believe that after everything I’d endured, I was finally going to get my happily ever after.
But Silas never gave me freedom or support. He used money and gifts as leverage. A gilded cage was still a cage.
This was different. Having a band of brothers offering me the keys and letting me decide where to point them?
I didn’t know how to process it.
Rainbow wiggled off Faith’s lap and waddled over to me, her three-normal-steps-plus-one-cha-cha gait making her look like she was perpetually recovering from a wild night out.
She plopped down on my lap, her mismatched eyes somehow both looking at me and also definitely checking out the wine bottle on the coffee table.
“So, this is all because Knox told them to watch out for me?”
“Yep.”
My throat tightened. “Which means Knox could just as easily tell them to stop.”
Faith’s expression flickered. “First of all, that would never happen. Even in some alternate universe where Knox lost his mind and rescinded it, I’d be right there to reinstate it.
You’re my best friend, Harper. I know we haven’t been friends long, but you saw me through my darkest days.
” Her voice thickened. “I’m not going anywhere. And where I go? Those five men go.”
My eyes welled with tears I refused to let fall.
“But like I said”—Faith’s voice softened—“you don’t have to worry about that. Knox would never do it.”
“Why?” The word came out smaller than I intended. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“Harper”—she angled her body toward me, her expression landing somewhere between pity and amusement for how oblivious I apparently was—“you know how Ryker is Knox’s lawyer?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, the side effect of that is, he talks about Knox constantly. Between Ryker and Dakota and the other guys, I hear about Knox pretty much every day.” She paused, making sure I was listening.
“Aside from his ex and daughter, in fourteen years, Knox has never asked these men to watch out for a woman before. You’re the first.”
The words landed like stones in still water, sending ripples through everything I thought I understood.
“So, if he asked them to protect you”—Faith raised an eyebrow—“it means Knox cares about you. A lot. I bet he’s falling in love with you.”
My heart stopped. Stuttered. Restarted at twice its normal speed.
“That can’t be right.”
But even as I said it, something warm and terrifying bloomed in my chest.
Rainbow let out another earth-shattering fart.
“Oh my God, Rainbow.” Faith gagged. “You’re really killing the moment here.”
The dog thumped her tail against the couch, completely pleased with herself.
I laughed despite everything. Despite the tears threatening to spill and the way my world had just tilted on its axis.
Faith loved this ridiculous creature unconditionally. Genetic disaster and all.
There was something beautiful about that. Something that made me believe people could love the messy, broken parts of each other.
Maybe even the messy, broken parts of me.
Jace came and went. He studied my spreadsheet like it actually mattered, complimented the discipline behind every number, and helped me set up accounts where my money would actually grow. He even offered to buy me a house outright, framing it as doing him a favor.
He wasn’t offended when I declined; he understood that I had to do this myself. There was a difference between guidance and a handout, and I knew which one I could live with.
But surrounded by the warmth of real friendship, I appreciated the offer more than they would ever understand. For once in my life, I had actual people in my corner. Rooting for me. Sitting on the bench, waiting for me to call them into the game.
This state wasn’t temporary anymore.
This was home.
Later that night, after Faith and Rainbow had gone, I stood at my window, staring out at the quiet street.
Knox.
The man who’d killed someone and refused to explain why. The man with X-ray vision. The man who went perfectly still when he was truly enraged, like the calm before a tornado.
That man had sent word to four of the most powerful people he knew.
To help me. Protect me.
I pressed my hand flat against the cool glass, my reflection ghostly and uncertain.
If Faith was right, if Knox was falling in love with me …
Then I was in far deeper trouble than I’d realized.
Because standing here in the dark, with my heart beating too fast and my guard starting to crack, I was terrified to admit the truth.
I was falling for him too.
And I had no idea if this new life I was building, this foundation I was so desperate to plant, was something I could actually keep.
Or if it would all come crashing down.
As I stared out that window, what I didn't know was that someone else was out there in the dark. And by morning, the one thing I couldn't hide from Knox would be written all over my face.