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Prologue
I was still a young girl when I learned that not every penny tossed in a fountain or plea with a shooting star would grant me a wish, and that not every story ends in a happily ever after And as discouraging as that revelation was, it never deterredout hope
Hope for the drea who’d storreat white steed, pluck me from obscurity, and carryof an overactive i under the stars, fantasizing about a beautiful man who’d someday capture h to create the storybook-perfect world I longed for
I’d read all about great loves and tragic roes: those nasty hurdles in the road that delayed but rarely prevented the charrew older, I saw the exciteht man…what he’d do for me, and for my love
And while there ons to slay, since the ed into ain
Logan was ive—my love, my respect, and above all, my trust
Epic ending or not, this was our story…and one I’d cherish until my final breath
Chapter One
Reality
My home, once my sanctuary, was now a chaotic scene of dedicated officers, continuous strea tedious facts, and the occasional snap of a camera And then there was an stepped into the hall, tuckinghis bloodied shirt
Mixed into the congested air were Kurt’s agonized whimpers They echoed around us as the paramedics rolled him past on a stretcher I couldn’t look at hi solely on his soothing heartbeat and protective warmth that sheltered me
The front door slaan held me closer
“It’s okay,” he one”
The paralyzing adrenaline buzzing throughthe tension in my shell-shocked muscles
“Miss, I’m sorry, but we need to have the para else Is there a private room we can use?”
Miss?
I knew that voice I lifted ishly and peered up at the fa before me
My brows pinched together, and all I could do was stare blankly at the officer who, as a boy, had rass every summer I was Cassie to hiain—not ‘ would be unprofessional considering the circumstances, but the lack of it only added to my wounds I wanted to be me, not some victim
My shoulders sluan
I blinked then sed, clearing the dryness fro me
“Yeah, there’s a guest rooy, but I even estured toward the room I could do this
He nodded, watchingtoward the room
With an’s, I took a step, then another, each one forcing me into the here and now This was real life— what had happened I had just been attacked There was no dreaht I’an, I reminded myself
But as I took the third step, it hitpanic set in as I clutched his shirt and dragged aze up to meet his crinkled brow