CHAPTER FIFTY- TWO
MELINDA
I woke up at five am with my heart already racing, Ma's text burned into my brain. They were coming at noon. In seven hours my parents would be sitting across from Kieran, discussing money and debts and family business. In seven hours everything could fall apart.
I slipped out of bed carefully, trying not to wake Kieran. He stirred but didn't open his eyes, his breathing still deep and even. I stood there watching him sleep, this man who'd promised to fix everything, who had no idea how broken things really were.
I could run. Pack a bag and disappear before anyone woke up. Catch a bus to another city, start over somewhere Kieran would never find me. Let my parents deal with their own mess without dragging me down with them.
But running meant leaving Kieran,
