Unforgivably Broken (The Broken Series Book Two) (30 page)

I nodded, taking the phone from
Kas as we headed back inside. This was the last fucking straw with Lizzie and I was going to let her know it.

Right after
Kas left with Conner, I headed out to Lizzie’s. I tried to think about exactly what I wanted to say but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my temper reined in the entire time.

As I drove,
Kas’ phone rang. I glanced down at the screen, surprised to see Tish’s name.

“Hello?” I asked
, letting him know it was me.

“She’ll listen. You have thirty seconds,” Tish said and I heard
Lili sigh into the phone right after he finished speaking.

“Pixie, listen to me, it’s not true. Okay?” I rushed through the words. “I didn’t… I couldn’t
and I would never hurt you that way. You have to believe me. I’m yours.”

“You’ve been spending time with her,”
Lili stated, her voice indifferent. I cringed.

“Yes
, but—”

“No buts, Zane. Look, Tish explained about your phone and that sucks but you know it wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t with her. And I wouldn’t have cared. That’s what’s so sad about this. If you
had told me you were letting Conner see her, that she was even asking to see him, hell, that she had an ultrasound last week, I wouldn’t have cared. But you didn’t. All that talk about honesty and being open with each other, I guess that was all one-sided.”

“No, I
—”

“Stop.
Please, just stop. I listened to what you had to say. I believe that you didn’t send the text. This does sound
exactly
like something Lizzie would do. But honestly, I just need some space. Okay? I’m still hurt that you lied—”

I cut her off immediately. “I didn’t lie.”

“A lie of omission is still a lie. I just…” she sighed and I could picture her face as I drove. “I need time. Okay? Let me deal with this here and I’ll deal with everything there when I get back to town.”

I noticed immediately that she didn’t say
home.
“Pixie—”

“Don’t. Don’t say ‘my heart’ because mine, too. Goddammit
, mine, too, and it’s fucking…” She let out a sob. “Just back off. Please.”

The line went dead as she hung up on me again and I growled out a string of profanit
ies at Lizzie as I drove. This was her fault. No, this was my fault. Lili was right, I’d hidden the fact that I was hanging out with Lizzie. I’d done it to try to protect her but in doing so, I’d hurt the woman I was in love with. I’d broken our pact to be honest with one another. But we’d also promised we would fight for this and Lili was breaking that by hanging up on me rather than working things out.

I was still fuming and furious when I pulled into Lizzie’s driveway. I flipped on the voice recorder feature on
Kas’ phone and slid it into my pocket before I opened the car door. I jogged up the steps and pounded my fist against the door, not letting up until she yanked it open.

“Zane?
It’s awfully early. Did you finally get tired of waiting on the pet to put out?” Lizzie purred as she stepped forward to run her hands up my chest.

I knocked her hands away and pushed into the house. “Where is it, Lizzie? Where’s my fucking phone?”

“Your phone?”

“Yes, my phone. I know you have it.” I moved to the living room and immediately spotted it, sitting right out in the open on the coffee table. I snatched it up, almost afraid to look at the messages and see what she’d sent. I spun to face her
, holding it up. “This phone, Lizzie! This phone that was right in the middle of your fucking coffee table! I haven’t been here since the accident so how did my phone end up in your living room?”

She sighed and stepped up to me again but I kept my distance, holding up a hand. “Stop yelling, God. Okay, I took your phone yesterday but I did it for us.”

“There is no
us
! My God, do you have any common decency at all? Who the fuck do you think you are? You can’t just step in and start fucking up my relationship!”

“You don’t really want her and you know it!”

“Bullshit! I love her and it’s none of your fucking business who I’m with! I don’t want you and I haven’t for a long time. In fact, between you nearly killing Conner and what you just pulled when I was trying to be nice and let you see him, I hate you.”

She gasped, taking a small step back as if I’d struck her. “You don’t.”

“Yeah, I do, actually. I fucking hate you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re nothing. I’m going to win this custody battle and when I do, you’ll never come near me or
my
son ever again!” I yelled before turning back toward the door, looking to make my escape before this escalated any further.

“You won’t win if I tell them how you stormed in here and threw me around just now. How you tried to make me lose this baby,” she threatened, her words making my blood run cold. She would be conniving enough to try that.

I turned slowly to face her, sliding my hand into my pocket to remove Kas’ phone. “That might’ve worked too, except I’m recording this entire encounter as proof of what you’ve done. I’m out, Elizabeth. I’m done.”

She visibly paled as I spoke, staring wide-eyed at the phone. When I finished, I turned, heading down the entryway and slamming the door on my way out. I waited until I started the car and drove away before I ended the recording.

I drove toward Tish’s shop, knowing I needed to pick up Conner but hating that I didn’t know what Lizzie had said to Lili. I pulled into the parking lot behind the shop, deciding to look and get it over with so I could calm down before I went inside. As I opened the screen, seven missed voice calls popped up. I pulled down the alert screen and Detective Sanders name was listed four times. There were voicemails from her, Tish, and Kas, but I didn’t listen to any of them. Ice ran through my veins as I hit the call button, already aware that something was wrong.

I lowered my head as Tish and I stepped out of the tunnel and into the crowd outside the courthouse Tuesday evening. It was getting worse now, the reporters tossing questions at me about my relationship with Hunter. Relationship? Seriously?

I hated how the defense attorney was already trying to discredit Brooke’s suicide note. Hell, Hunter even had witnesses saying that Brooke flirted with him all the time
. They were making him out to be the victim. This all came from Kaitlyn and Denni, who were in the courtroom. It terrified me. I didn’t know what they would throw at me when I took the stand and on top of everything else, I just didn’t think I could handle it.

All day I’d tried to focus on what I would say on the stand, to figure out what to expect from the lawyers on both sides, but my thoughts drifted time and time again to Zane. He’d sounded so lost on the phone this morning and I was second-guessing my request for space. I needed him. Even from a distance, he made a difference in my life. I could feel it today, the added weight of our fight and my declaration of space. I wished I could take it all back but the truth was, as much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn’t just let this go. We needed to talk about it, figure things out.

He had to learn that our honesty went both ways.

Tish draped his arm protectively over my shoulders, holding me close to his side as we stepped out into the evening sun. It was well after seven before the judge dismissed us tonight and I was looking forward to going back to the room and taking a long, hot shower. Maybe I would call Zane first.
Maybe not.

“
Lili.” The name caught my attention. It wasn’t yelled the way the reporters were yelling for me — of course, they were yelling for Kylee rather than Lili — but the voice was close and barely distinguishable in the noise. I froze, glancing around the crowded sidewalk as Tish’s grip on me tightened.

“Keep moving,” he whispered urgently, causing my muscles to tense as I tried to follow his instructions. He’d been more protective than usual this afternoon but I’d chalked it up to my parents trying to have a conversation with me
again. Apparently, I was wrong.

“Pix.”
At that, I turned, knowing I’d heard it. It only took a second for my eyes to meet his as he tried to wind his way through the maze of bodies between us. I gasped, nearly choking myself as I broke out of Tish’s grip and pushed through the people between us. I slammed into him, harder than I’d planned, and he immediately wrapped his arms around me tightly.

I could feel it in that moment — the connection between us. It was a separate entity, something outside of just him and I
. Something good and pure and perfect. I nearly sobbed in relief at the feeling.

“
Shh… It’s okay. Let’s get to the room,” he whispered in my ear and I nodded, keeping my face hidden against him as I let him lead me toward the motel. He followed Tish to the elevator and then around the corner to our room, holding me tight the entire time.

“What… what are you…
?” I tried to ask as we entered the room but I couldn’t seem to get the words out. I was shaking, my breathing shallow as I fought back the urge to break down in his arms.

“Hey, stop. It’s okay. I’m here now,” Zane
said, his voice soft. He led us to the bed and I heard the thud of his bag hitting the floor. He kept me close as we curled up, running his hand over my arms and back slowly.

“God, I missed you,” he whispered into my hair as I started to calm.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice just as quiet as his, as if I would somehow disturb the peace of the moment if I spoke too loudly. “Am I dreaming?”

He chuckled softly, the sound and feel of it as I pressed against his chest made the tremors return. He was really here. “
Shh… I just missed you. I couldn’t stand the way we left things and I needed to see you.”

The door clicked and I lifted my head as Tish slipped inside,
latching it behind him. He met Zane’s eyes and then mine, giving me a small smile as I clung to his brother with all the strength I had left.

“Where’s Conner?” I asked, feeling guilty for
only just now thinking about him. I sat up and Zane moved, propping himself up beside me.

“He’s with
Kas and Paige, but uh…” he trailed off, glancing at Tish.

“I’m
gonna head back to help them keep an eye on him,” Tish said, finishing Zane’s thought. I frowned, glancing at Zane and back to Tish.