I Promise You (Dare, #2) — Epilogue One

EPILOGUE ONE

COLE

REMEMBER WHEN I SPOKE about those defining moments? The second one happened when I was eighteen. Standing in an abandoned cemetery in the middle of the night after I killed a man. But that wasn’t what changed me. It was the girl who found me and showed me that it was okay to be who I am. My demons have never scared her off. In fact, she challenges them. And I love the way she accepts them as her own.

Austin, Lilly, and I have been living in our house in Austin for a month now. Deke and I are about to start our first year in college. Lilly will be in first grade.

I thought over time that I would begin to forget what happened to Austin.

That maybe putting distance between us and Collins would make it better.

I was wrong.

I thought over time I would begin to understand she was okay. That Kellan could no longer hurt her or take her from me.

Again, I was wrong.

Moving hasn’t helped the nightmares or the memories that flood back.

I’ve learned that loving someone comes with a price. Your sanity. And if they thought I was fucked up before, now they’ll think I’ve gone mad. Now I understand what I have to lose. It happens at night when I try to sleep. I’ve never been one to get much sleep to begin with, but now it’s worse than ever. Maybe it’s because things are going so well. Our plan worked, but I feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. So my worst fears come

to life when I close my eyes.

He’s dead.

I continue to sit in the ditch. The lights from my wrecked car allow me to see everything clearly. I silently rock back and forth with Eli in my arms. I cling to him as tears run down my face. It’s hard to breathe, and my head pounds. My entire body hurts, but I ignore it.

“Cole?”

I look up to a familiar female voice.

“Becky?” I ask in disbelief. “What are you doing here? I told you to go …”

“I can’t just leave you here,” she cries. Her arms are crossed over her stomach to hold her bloody, ripped crop top in place. “I did this …” She swallows and looks around the street with wide eyes. “They’re all dead.”

“Fucking go!” I dismiss her.

Her eyes fall to Eli. “I don’t know what happened …” She sobs.

I close my eyes. “Just go, Becky! I’ll handle it.”

“You’ve been drinking,” she reminds me.

My jaw tightens. “Becky …”

“They’ll arrest you, Cole. They’ll think you killed them all…”

“I did!” I scream at her. “I fucking did this!” I hang onto my friend’s lifeless body. “I did this.” I can’t hold the tears back as they run down my face. “Just go, Becky.” I choke out the words. Tonight was my decision. I wanted to go out, and I dared them to drink. It doesn’t matter who the fuck was driving. It was my car! They were my responsibility.

I hear her run from the scene for the second time.

“Please …?” I beg to no one.

I drop my forehead down to Eli’s and close my eyes. “I’m so … sorry …”

I choke on the words. They’re pointless. “I promise. I promise I’ll take care of Aimee.”

I hear the sirens in the distance. They’re too late.

I pull back and look down at him; his short dark hair grows like vines, transforming into long, thick, and dark strands. His face thins, his sharp jaw and high cheekbones changing to a petite face with a button nose. Short dark lashes replaced with full, long ones. His large body turns small and fragile.

“No!” I shout, shaking the body in my arms.

“No, no, no.” It’s Austin.

Her green eyes are open and stare up me, but they don’t see me. Nothing but cold and death. Then she blinks. Her eyes find mine, and she speaks, making my heart stop. “You succeeded, Cole. You broke me.”

I sit straight up, gasping for air. My bare chest covered in a thin layer of sweat, and my heart pounds so hard it hurts. I lean over and turn on the lamp that sits on the nightstand, bathing our master bedroom in light.

Looking to my right, I see Austin next to me. She lies on her side, facing

the window that leads out onto our balcony, her dark hair fanning the white pillow.

I take a deep breath and place my hand on her bare back. Leaning over, I kiss her soft skin. She shifts but doesn’t wake. My anger rises when I think about how fucking close I was to losing her. How close I was to having to spend a life without her because someone who was supposed to be my friend got too close to her.

I shove my hands through my hair and get out of bed. I throw on a pair of board shorts, turn off the lamp, and grab my phone before heading out of our room. I head downstairs, walk down the hall, and look into the cracked door to see Lilly fast asleep in her princess bed. Then I make my way out the back door and onto the patio into the hot summer Austin night. When I was here looking for a house, I only had one requirement—a pool.

I connect my Bluetooth to the outside speakers and turn it down so it doesn’t wake the girls. After picking a random Spotify station, I dive into the pool, enjoying the cold water on my warm body and begin to do a lap.

Even now that I’m awake, the memories still creep up. Take over. There’s never an escape from them.

“We’ve got a pulse,” a man yells. “It’s weak but there.” They place Austin on a stretcher. Strap her down, and then they’re pushing her out of the kitchen.

I stand in the now silent room covered in her blood. Dazed. Completely and utterly lost. I walk into the hallway and see the officer and a medical examiner standing over a dead body at the bottom of the stairs. Celeste.

They call out my name, but I ignore them and walk right out the front door. I have work to finish. I’ll find them later once I’m done. I see my car still parked in the driveway, and I fish my phone out of my pocket and dial

Deke’s number. “Hello …?”

“Where the fuck are you?”

“Cemetery …”

I pop up out of the water, eyes closed, and take in a breath. The air burning my lungs. When I open my eyes, I see Austin sitting on the edge of the shallow end wearing nothing but one of my white T-shirts. Her legs dangle over the edge and into the water, making soft waves as she moves them back and forth. Her dark hair down and over her right shoulder.

“Bring You Back” by Dark Signal plays softly from the speakers, and my chest tightens. No words could be truer than the ones in this song.

I swim over to her. She opens her legs, allowing me to stand between them. My hands go to her bare thighs, and I squeeze her like she’s gonna

disappear into thin air before my eyes.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asks softly.

I just stare at her. How do I tell this woman that I see her lying dead in a pool of blood every time I close my eyes? I’ve never been good at expressing any emotion other than anger. And time hasn’t changed that. I tell her I love her every chance I get, but even she knows that the darkness lingers.

I told her the other night that I was done with blood. Seeing her bleeding out cured me of that sick disease. After killing Kellan, my need for revenge was over. But that doesn’t stop my need to protect her. That doesn’t stop my fear of losing her.

“I’m okay,” she assures me as if she can read my mind.

Another power she has. It’s a fucking curse and a blessing.

Reaching up, she runs her hand through my wet hair, her nails gently scraping my scalp, and just like that, she smothers all anger and makes a shudder run through me. I lean forward, pressing my forehead to her chest and soaking her shirt. My hands loosen from her thighs and wrap around her thin waist. She’s started putting weight on since Kellan shot her. But she’s still too small. Too far from where she was the night I found her in the cemetery. Even then, she was little, but now she teeters on breakable. Too fragile. I hate it!

“I’m right here, baby,” she assures me, kissing my wet hair. “And Kellan can’t touch us anymore.” Tightening her fingers in my hair, she rips my face from her chest and makes me look up at her. “Because of you, I’m safe now.”

I just stare at her. The porch lights are off, but the pool light casts a glow around us, making her green eyes shine. They hold concern. She thinks I’m going crazy, and she’s not wrong. I reach up and push the few strands of dark hair behind her ear, and the pad of my finger runs over all her piercings.

“Talk to me,” she says softly, cupping my face.

I hate when she does this—coddles me like a fucking child. And I hate it even more that I need it. Her hands on me. Her lips on mine. Any time I start to feel that fire brewing, she smothers it with a single touch.

Reminding me that I’m only human. A human can’t protect her. I need to be invincible.

The song finishes and changes to “Into It” by Chase Atlantic. I pull back, grab her wrists, and yank her into the pool. She gasps from the cool water.

Grabbing the hem of her shirt, I yank it up and over her head. After I toss the soaked fabric to the side, my lips are on hers, and my hands are in her hair. Her body shivers against mine, and I press my now hard cock into her lower stomach.

“I need you,” I pant, pulling away from her lips. Pride is no longer a concern when it comes to my love for this woman.

Her eyes search my face before they land on mine. “Whatever you want, Cole. I’m yours.”

I hate how willingly she gives herself to me. I’ve made this gorgeous woman bleed for me, and she forgives me. Just like that. See, I told you love equals madness. Because she is just as mad as I am.

I grab her right arm and slowly kiss the scar from where I took a knife to her flawless skin. She yanks it back from me and cups my face with both of her hands, forcing me to look at her. “Stop!” she demands. “Every love

story demands a sacrifice.”

“Don’t say that.” My voice is pained.

She gives me a soft smile, trying to reassure me, but it’s not working.

“Then let it go, Cole. I have.”

I wish it were that easy. She’ll forever have a reminder that I hurt her.

That I thought of her as nothing other than a toy. Something to fuck with and destroy.

“I can’t.” My hands grip her narrow hips, and I dig my fingers into her skin. She doesn’t flinch. She’s always been able to take what I dish out.

That’s one of the things I love about her.

“Kiss me.”

“Austin, I …”

“Fucking kiss me, Cole!” she growls as her hand falls beneath the water and finds its way into my shorts, seeking out my hard cock.

We’ve only made love since Kellan tried to kill her. I’ve tried to be slow and gentle with her, but I can tell she’s bored with it. She wants more. She’s been an outlet for my rage ever since I met her, and she knows it. But I’ve held back from giving it to her, wanting her to heal.

“I can take it, Cole.” She presses her lips to mine and gently kisses me. I don’t respond. “I dare you to fuck me, Cole, like I know you can.” Smiling up at me, she strokes me with her hand, but still, I do nothing. “Show me that I belong to you.” She stops stroking me long enough to push my board shorts down my legs. Then she leans in, running her tongue along my upper lip. My cock jerks in her hand, and she moans against my lips. “Like you

fucking own me.”

“I can’t …”

She slaps me across the face. Hard. It surprises me and turns me on even more.

My breathing picks up, and her eyes glare into mine.

“You like a little pain, Cole. I do too,” she says as she drags her nails down my chest, breaking the skin. The chlorine from the water makes it sting. “Stop treating me like I’m gonna break and give me what I want.”

Her lips slowly lift at the corners, giving me an evil smile that makes my heart beat faster. I love when her mind goes to a dark place. “You once told me that you wanted to make me a beautiful broken doll, Cole. All yours to play with. All yours to fuck. All yours to destroy.” She licks her lips. “Don’t go soft on me now.” She leans forward and runs her tongue along my lower lip, and I shudder. “Cole Reynolds is a fucking shark. You …”

My hands tighten in her hair, and she whimpers. “Is this what you want?”

I growl, hating how right she is. That this is what we need. I hold her head in place and lower mine to where our lips almost touch. “I might hurt you.”

Austin Lowes challenges my sanity and my patience. But fuck, I can’t deny that she was made for me. And I for her.

She gives me a sadistic smile as her arms wrap around my waist. “I dare you to do your best.”

“You know what those words mean to me,” I growl.

She closes her eyes. “I do.”

“You’re gonna regret that.”

Her lips part, and she begins to pant. “I hope so.”

I press my lips to hers. Within a second, I’m inside her, fucking her up against the wall of the pool as I swallow her moans and cries. Her back is up against the side of the pool, so I’m sure she’ll have marks. I can’t wait to see them while I fuck her from behind when we wake up in the morning.

I pull my lips from hers, and her head falls back, exposing her delicate neck to me as she cries out. Water splashes around us, and I hold her to me

like she’s gonna vanish any second.

This may be the last time you ever see her. My mind thinks of this shit

every second of every day.

It’s fucking exhausting.

“Cole …” She pants.

I pick up the pace. This may be the last time she says your name. Or can touch you. I wrap my hand in her hair again and lift her head so she has to look up at me. Her eyes are now heavy, and her lips parted. She’s so close. I bury my face in her neck and nip at her skin, tasting the chlorine on her.

“Fuck, you feel so goddamn good, sweetheart,” I growl, never wanting to be without this. Without her.

Her nails dig into my sides as she pulls me into her, wanting more.

Needing more. Her pussy tightens around me, and she cries out into the

darkness. I follow right after her.

“I love you,” I tell her breathlessly.

“I love you too, Cole Reynolds,” she says in a soft voice.

I take her left hand in mine and look at her engagement ring. I proposed the other day here in the kitchen. Becky had come over to have breakfast with her before she went shopping with her mother and sister for the day. It wasn’t a big fancy show of affection, but that doesn’t matter to Austin.

She’s not that kind of girl, and we’ve never had that type of relationship.

She knows I’d kill for her, so me spouting some stupid fucking words about forever isn’t what she wants to hear.

I kiss her ring and then her lips again. When she pulls away, she gives me that smile. The one that makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

“Let’s go to bed, baby. I’m tired.”

I carry her over to the steps. “Go on in. I’ll be right there.”

I watch her get out, water dripping off her body like a downpour. I’d willingly drown in it. Grabbing the towel I had for myself, she looks over her shoulder and winks at me. I smile at her. Once she is inside, the smile drops off my face, and I let out a long breath. I tilt my head back and lower myself into the water, sinking to the bottom. I sit there for as long as I can.

My lungs burning for air. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, and it won’t be the last. The need to kill is gone, but the rage is still there. When Austin looks at my fisted hands or narrowed eyes, and she hugs me or kisses me, she makes it better for the time being. But the moment she walks out of my sight, it’s back.

I get out of the pool and wring out my shorts before putting them back on. Then I do the same with my shirt I took off her and grab my phone.

Walking into the house, I make my way to the kitchen for a bottle of water.

I find Deke in the kitchen with a girl he brought over from the club. He hasn’t mentioned anything about the car wreck or Becky since that night before we left Collins. And for once, I can’t tell if he’s putting on a front like everything is okay, or if he has truly forgiven me and moved on. I hate it. I want to ask him, but Deke’s like me. He’ll come to me when he wants to discuss it. And it’s not like he’ll have to go far. He ended up moving in with us when Becky decided not to.

“Late night swim?” he asks, looking over my wet shorts with a chuckle.

My wet shirt hangs from my right hand.

I nod. “Like every night.”

He slaps the ass of the redhead who stands next to him while they both snack on cookies that Austin and Lilly made yesterday.

“Have fun tonight?” I ask.

He nods. “There’s this club downtown. You need to go with me next weekend. It’s badass.”

I’m not really into clubs. I was never really even into parties after the death of our three friends. I would throw them at Liam’s house, but I mostly stayed locked up in the game room. But I say, “Sure.” I feel like I need to spend as much time as I can with him now. He needs me. Just like Becky needs Austin. They’re both hurting for different reasons.

“Bennett is coming down next weekend. He already said he would go.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I slap him on the shoulder and head back upstairs. I enter our bedroom to find it empty. “Austin?” I call out, closing the door behind me.

No response. My fear that something has happened to her rises. The covers are pulled back, but I don’t see my towel anywhere. My heart begins to pound. “Austin?”

I enter our master bath and see her through the stained-glass shower door.

Letting out the breath I was holding, I run a hand through my wet hair, then strip out of my shorts and join her. She has her head back, the water falling down over her face before rolling down over her perfect fucking tits and flat stomach. Any sign that Kellan ever laid his hands on her has disappeared except for the scar from her surgery, but even that’s fading.

“Cole …”

Her voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and I wrap my arms around her, pushing her into the wall. She laughs, opening her beautiful eyes, and looks up at me. I cup her warm cheek, and she blinks. Waterdrops fall off her long, dark lashes and run down her face. She licks her wet lips.

“I hope you didn’t think I was done with you tonight.” My voice comes out rough, letting her know what’s on my mind. I hope she thinks it’s lust and not the memory of her death.

I lower my head into her neck, and my right hand grips her thigh and brings it up to wrap around my waist.

“No,” she breathes, her hands digging into my hair. She leans her head to the side, giving me better access to her neck. “I expected more from you.”

I pull back and look down at her. I expected you to fight for me. She didn’t disappoint. I didn’t save her. She saved herself. She did exactly what I told her to do that day I chased her out of her father’s house and up to the cemetery. When I challenged her to fight.

She gives me a playful smile. “After all, I’m still standing.”

I lift my left hand and wrap it around her neck, holding her to the wall.

She arches up on her tiptoes. The warm water rains down from the showerhead, splashing the sides of our bodies. “You’ll be crawling when I’m done with you.”

There’s a glint in her green eyes when she whispers, “Promise?”

“Oh, I promise you, sweetheart.”