“I get that, but you know everything that has happened to me.”
I blow out a breath. “When I was five, I was attacked by something in the woods one night.”
Ro frowns. “What were you doing out in the woods alone?”
“Who said I was alone?”
Understanding dawns in his eyes. “Who did you lose?”
“My brother.”
The silence between us seems to stretch on for an eternity until I finally break it with my soft apology. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
I hear a soft intake of breath from Ro as his eyes move to mine. “I’m sorry about your brother.”
“Let’s get you home.” I stand and make my way over to where I parked the car.
“Okay,” Ro replies, trailing after me.
Once we’re settled in the car, I twist to face Ro. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What’s going on with your mom?”
Ro frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Today when I stopped by, she wouldn’t open the door and sounded anxious.”
I don’t want to say it looks like she was hiding something and sounded afraid. The look in Hayley’s eyes was fear and dread. I know those looks, but she also looked like she was in fight-or-flight mode, and she was about to run.
“Mom always has a hard time around the date that Dad died. She usually will start drinking the day before and stay drunk until the day after.”
Guilt churns in my stomach because I immediately got suspicious of her because of her behavior when, in reality, she was coping with the loss of her husband, the same way I cope with the loss and trauma of losing Riley. Getting lost at the bottom of a bottle.
We drive in silence after that, and ten minutes later, we are pulling up at the curb of Ro’s house.
“Are you going to be, okay?” I ask.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You sure? I don’t like leaving you like this,” I reply, looking past him and at the dark looming house. I know he’s more than capable, but the idea of him being by himself fills me with a sense of unease.
“I’ll be okay. Plus, mom needs me.”
Ro jumps from the car, and I wait until he’s safely inside before pulling away.
Chapter Forty Six
Salena
Ianxiouslywalkthelength of the living room, my sock covered feet silent against the hardwood floor. Where is he? He has been gone most of the day. I know I’ve had Kai and Felix here with me all day, and the pack coming and going. But I need Logan. I need my mate. It’s getting harder and harder to keep everything from him. This case needs to be over, this killer to be caught, so I can tell him about the mate bond.
The sound of my phone dinging with a message fills the room, and I quickly snatch it from the coffee table. I sigh in relief and look over at Ghost who is sitting on the windowsill watching me pace.
“He’s on his way.”
Ghost meows loudly and jumps down, strolling toward me and winding around my legs. I’m so grateful Logan went and got her.
