Free Collateral Damage by Kaylea Cross Page A

you, and there’s nothing more I can do.”
    The hell of it was, it did matter, even if he wished it didn’t. Every damn time he’d convinced himself he was finally over her, just when the jagged scars on his heart had begun to heal over, she found a way to split them wide open again. And this…
    Don’t listen. Don’t believe her.
    Liam swallowed. As unexpected as her words were, he couldn’t afford to take that risk again. How could he ever trust her again? Her actions were simply too little, too late.
    One look at her face and it was obvious she’d closed herself off from him again. Rather than feel relieved, Liam was overcome with the sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to grab her face between his hands, force her to look at him and tell him everything . Every single thing she’d told her family about him since that night, everything she’d gone through. But how the hell could he ever trust her again? He’d let her in deeper than he’d ever let in anyone else and she’d stabbed him in the heart.
    Honor knew all about his past and his fucked-up family life—a laughable term for his upbringing with an abusive alcoholic single father. He’d grown up wary, defensive, never letting anyone get close enough to hurt him. Since becoming an adult he thought he’d buried that scarred, terrified piece of him too deep for anyone to see, but Honor had . She’d seen it and loved him despite his baggage, and he’d made the fatal mistake of handing his fragile heart over to her.
    Dammit, she’d known she was his whole fucking world, had promised to be his forever when she’d accepted his ring, and then ripped his world apart when she’d abandoned him.
    He hadn’t seen it coming. Would never have imagined she’d ever be capable of something like that, he’d trusted her that much. He’d have to be goddamn insane to ever give her the chance to do that kind of damage again.
    Even as he steeled himself against her, that old, familiar longing rose up inside him. The wounded, lonely little boy he’d once been was still very much alive. That part of him wanted to beg her to love him again, to let him back into her life, so he’d finally know what it felt like to be loved and accepted. So he’d have a family and a real home at last.
    Honor had been all of those things to him, and more. Losing her had damn near killed him.
    She’s not lying this time , his heart whispered. She means it.
    No , his gut and head told him. Never again.
    Christ, he was so damn sick of this rollercoaster.
    Shoving all the turmoil and emotional bullshit aside, he focused on the blood that was still seeping through the bandages. “You’re not putting enough pressure on that.”
    She snapped her head around to stare at him and narrowed her eyes. “Just get out and leave me the hell alone, Major .”
    Her eyes were still boring holes through him when the door opened a second later and a pretty brunette dressed in scrubs walked in. She must have picked up on the tension between them because her greeting smile faded and her eyes widened as she glanced from Honor to him and back. “Hey, heard you were here,” she said slowly, turning her full attention to Honor. “What’d you do to yourself, hon?”
    If she’d really wanted him gone she could have asked her friend to order him out. Liam was relieved she didn’t. On some level she still wanted him here.
    “Shrapnel,” Honor answered, her lowered eyes and the catch in her voice telling Liam she was on the edge of tears.
    Honor rarely cried. Knowing he’d hurt her badly enough to push her to that point shredded him. Yeah, some fucked-up, twisted and dark part of him had wanted to lash out at her for what she’d done to him but he’d come in here with the intention of helping her, not hurting her. Now he was torn between the impulse to slam his fist into the wall and gathering her into his arms to never let go.
    Before he could even process that, Erin eased the gauze away from Honor’s