Almost Lost by Alice T. Boone

WE WERE BEST FRIENDS ONCE. HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME?

Marshall
You were my Forever— but then you left.
I spent my entire life trying to enforce the rules. Fairness was the only thing that mattered. I spent a decade playing the scales of justice. Nothing happened in this city without my permission, but your disappearance changed everything. I’ve abandoned my old life, and now, Montreal has fallen apart.
I have nothing left to give. You’ve taken it all.
So how can you show up again, with a child that belongs to my best friend? You can’t ask for my help after you tore out my damn heart. You created this mess, and it’s only fair that you clean it up. I won’t kill him for you. I can’t betray the only friend I have left.
But what other choice do I have?
I won’t let you just walk away. I can’t lose you again, Jo.

Joanna
I made my choice 8 years ago. When you told me you needed a break, when I found out I was pregnant, I ran. No one in the world knows that my son is yours. I thought no one would ever know— until Connor showed back up.
He’ll take my son, Marshall. And when he finds out I lied, he’ll take my life.
I need your help, and I have nowhere else to go.
You’ve always done the right thing— even when it was hard. You’ve killed one king and now, I need you to kill another. I need you to help me clean this mess up, and before you can discover the truth, I’ll disappear again. It’s the way things have to be because I won’t let you break my heart again. I won’t let you be an Almost in my son’s life.