Even if we did manage to come to terms with the chemistry between us, it wasn’t the same as caring for an animal. I adored the thought of something friendly and alive to pamper. “What would we call it?”

“Flipper.” Pippa smiled. “Or Fish. I haven’t decided.”

“Fish?” Conner pulled a face. “Stupid name.”

Pippa whirled on him. “Oh yeah. What would you call it?”

Conner puffed out his chest. “Raphael, of course. From the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

Pippa rolled her eyes. “You’re such a boy.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

Galloway drifted off, selecting a spot of sand to sink into a sitting position. We’d all become intrinsically linked in the months we’d lived together. Where one went, the others normally followed.

If we had separate tasks, we were always aware of space between us, time apart, and suffered an almost sixth sense if either of us needed help.

I didn’t know if it was from our forced closeness or because we had no distractions—no outside influences and no other interaction. Either way, the bonds were like ropes, keeping us connected with knots and pulleys.

Without thinking, Conner, Pip, and I joined Galloway on the beach. Shoulders touching, our little bubble of safety was complete.

Together, we fell quiet, watching the turtles dig and prepare, revelling in the beauty of nature.

Chapter Forty

...............................................

G A L L O W A Y

......

THREE YEARS BEFORE THE CRASH

“DID YOU DO it?”

I looked up from my day on cleaning dishes. Two years, eight months, and sixteen days behind bars. I didn’t want to think how many dishes I’d cleaned in that time.

Bruce cocked his head, his arms covered in soapy bubbles.

Every day he asked that question. And every day I gave him the same answer.

“Yes.”

“And you admitted that in court?”

“Yes.”

“And your sentence is life?”

“Yes.”

“For killing a crooked doctor?”

“Yes.”

“Who’d killed a minimum of twenty-two people—that they know of—through malpractice and malicious intent?”

My hands curled. “Yes.”

I waited for the same thing that always happened after I’d answered his questions. Bruce shook his head, his eyes glowing with anger on my behalf. “Life is so fucking unfair.”

All I could say was, “Yes.”

.............................

DAWN TAINTED THE horizon.

The stars refused to give up their velvet darkness, fighting against the ever-lightening sky. But no matter how bright they burned, they fought a losing battle.

And the turtles somehow knew.

All night, we’d watched them dig and position themselves over their crudely made nests. One by one, the shelled creatures settled in to deliver hundreds of leathery eggs until a mound of potential life forms puddled in the sand.

The leader finished first, flapping and scrapping until she covered her loved ones, ensuring the vulnerable eggs were protected by a natural blanket.

My back ached from sitting, and Conner and Pippa succumbed to tiredness a couple of hours ago, resting their heads on Estelle’s and my shoulders, snoozing and snoring, refusing to go to bed where they would be comfy.

The turtles finally deemed their eggs safe and pushed off toward the ocean.

Estelle yawned, raking her fingers through her hair. Her nipples hardened beneath her black bikini, teasing me with the perfect shape as she stretched.

My cock twitched and everything I wanted to say collided in my head. I’d planned to put everything out in the open tonight.

But that had been before the turtles.

My eyes shot to the sky, contemplating the time left before a new day stole whatever privacy we might find.

It’s still possible.

We still had time. Time to give into each other. Time to stop bloody fighting the inevitable. Because one thing I was sure of, I was in love with her. Irreversibly, indescribably, completely, madly in bloody love with her.

Estelle caught my attention. Her voice mimicked a husky whisper. “You tired?”

“Not in the slightest.” I lowered my eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, the night hasn’t ended yet.”

The pulse in her neck hammered as she swallowed. “Oh?”

“It’s not over, Estelle. Not until we talk.”

Colour painted her cheeks. “You just want to talk?”

My heart pounded at the shy desire on her face. “Do you want to talk?”

“I think...I think talking might be secondary to something else I had in mind.”

Christ.

I stifled my groan. “Goddammit, Estelle—”

“Hey...you said you’d wake us when they were leaving.” Conner pushed off my shoulder, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

He shook Pippa. “Wake up, Pippi. They’re going.”

Pippa jolted upright. “Oh, no. I don’t want them to go.”

I laughed quietly, never looking away from Estelle. Damn kids and their interruptions.

She smiled, understanding exactly what frustrated me.

For once, we were on the same wavelength.

Long may it last.

Rubbing aching muscles, we all stood and followed the turtles down to the water line. Not one of them paid us attention. We weren’t important, apparently.

Conner reached out to touch the closest one.