Jenkens hugged Jacy and kissed her cheek. “We’ll get him, sweetie. Stay with your boy and trust in us. Okay?”
Jacy nodded. After shaking my hand, Jenkins strode away without ever seeing the menace in Jacy’s green eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jacy
This is my fault. I knew better than to stay here, to risk Declan’s life. Risk Avery’s.
I gazed down at Declan as he slept, his bandaged arm resting on a pillow, his kittens kneading the blankets covering him. He slept with the aid of a children’s pain killer, one that knocked him out almost immediately. Of course, the trauma of having been shot in his own home likely had an effect, too.
“Let’s let him sleep,” Avery whispered, tugging on my hand.
I permitted him to guide me from Declan’s room, then down the stairs. Our hero dog received a steak for his role in saving us from Carter, and he currently slept as hard as Declan on the TV room carpet.I knew he had it in him to be a protector.
“You’re unusually silent,” Avery observed, sitting beside me.
I refused to look at him. “This is my fault.”
“How so?”
“You know the answer to that.”
“Actually, I don’t. It’s mine for not properly protecting my home.”
Snorting, I stood up and paced to the hearth and the flickering fire within it. Its heat failed to warm me, yet the dancing flames almost mesmerized me. “I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m going to kill Carter, then I’m gone. I can’t face Declan ever again. I should never have stayed here.”
“Then that’s my fault for persuading you to stay.”
“Blow me.”
“Come here and I will.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’m here, let’s have at it.”
I glanced at him. Avery smiled, his expression open, sincere, and – loving. I couldn’t handle that.I’m responsible for Declan’s injury, yet he still thinks he loves me.“You’ll blame me sooner or later. In time, you’ll come to despise me, hate me. So it’s best if I go while you still think I’m a good person.”
“Jacy, youarea good person,” Avery insisted, standing up. “I love you. I understand why you think you’re responsible, but you’re not. I underestimated Carter and his determination. I’m to blame.”
I shook my head. “He would never have come into your lives at all if I hadn’t stayed. Goodbye, Avery.”
“Jacy!”
I lunged for the door, knowing he’d physically try to stop me. I yanked the newly repaired door open and plunged down the steps. Outside, a winter storm had arrived, complete with a howling gale and thick, heavy snow. Shifting, I hit the air just as Avery yelled for me to stop.
In the residential neighborhood, I ducked power lines, canted my wings to fly between them. Rising higher, I circled briefly, gazing down at Avery, backlit by the house’s interior lights. I knew why he didn’t shift and fly in pursuit.
This time, there was no leaving Declan alone.
“Goodbye, my love, my heart,” I murmured, then banked into the storm’s fury. “I love you. I always will.”
***
