End Game (New York Stars Book 1)

𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝄠 Until I Found You – Stephen Sanchez

ENGAGEMENT SEX DOESN’T GO ACCORDING to plan.

Which had better not be indicative of the rest of our lives.

Minutes away from Liam sliding into me, his cell rings. I know he put it on silent when he set it to charge so that means only a favorited number can reach him.

Knowing that, Liam pushes his forehead against mine and I growl, “Answer it.”

Panting, overheated, I scream in frustration as he rolls off me and grabs his cell.

“Ollie? Why are you calling so late at night?” he demands, setting the phone on speaker.

Immediately, my earlier sexual frustration shifts to concern even as my body is fully revved and ready for action when a soft sniffle whispers over the line.

“She’s dead. S-She d-died.”

“Oh, honey. I’m sorry, but who’s dead?” I ask dumbly.

“My mom. She overdosed.” I can hear him crying. “S-She l-left m-me.”

Heart twisting in my chest, I stare at Liam when he tosses the cell on the bed and starts dragging on the jeans he threw aside earlier.

“We’ll be there soon, Ollie. Send me your location?” he urges.

“I-I’m in the hospital.”

“Which hospital, buddy?” he asks softly.

But Ollie can’t answer, he just weeps. “She’s gone, Gracie. S-She’s really gone.”

“I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. So very, very sorry.” My throat clutches, making it hard to get the words out to assure him, “We’ll be with you as soon as we can, okay? You stay there. We’re on our way.”

Ollie sniffles. “Don’t go. D-Don’t leave me too.”

For the second time that night, I start to cry but I don’t care. I don’t even hide the tears in my voice. “I won’t go anywhere. I just need to get changed.”

Liam, already dressed, takes over for real: “We’re coming, buddy. I’ll handle things. I handled everything earlier, didn’t I? I’ll handle this too.”

“She’s gone, Liam. I-I know I was supposed to leave but I didn’t think I’d never see her again.” This time, he starts sobbing and I swear my heart doesn’t just twist, it breaks. Shatters, even, into a thousand irreparable pieces.

I know the woman was scum for how she abused him, but his hurt feels like my hurt.

I have no idea what they’re talking about with Ollie ‘leaving,’ but whether or not she was a junkie who died because she didn’t put her son first or not, he loved her.

And she left him.

“I know, champ, I know,” Liam rumbles. “I swear we’ll be there soon.”

“I’m ready,” I rasp, swiping my hands over my cheeks before Liam snags one of them in his own.

The night of our engagement might not have ended how we figured it would, and I’m definitely curious about what Liam ‘handled’ earlier, but I guess there’s only one thing that matters—we’re together and we’ll deal with it together.