… And I knew exactly what I had to do.
45
JAGG
The last of the sun’s rays scorched the sky in orange and crimson as I rolled to a stop behind Sunny’s truck.
I stared at the bungalow.
One minute passed. Maybe more.
The bushes and trees swayed in the evening breeze, and I noticed that on the vines coiled around the porch railings, bright purple flowers had bloomed overnight—like her presence had coaxed the world into something softer, more beautiful. Fireflies blinked around the forsythias, their golden flickers dancing in rhythm with the cicadas' unrelenting song, a shrill chorus echoing into the deepening shadows of the woods.
Max launched from the Jeep the second I parked, his tail wagging as he disappeared into the pines.
Me? I couldn’t move.
One part of me wanted to throw the Jeep in reverse, crawl back to my hole of an apartment, and drown myself in case files. Forget Sunny. Forget the past few days. Forget the way she looked at me under moonlight.
But the other part—the louder, more dangerous part—wanted to vanish. Pack a bag, find some coastal town, and rot on a beach until time came to collect its debts. No more lies. No more pain. No more chasing ghosts.
I stared at the sliver of a window peeking through the bushes. The bungalow was dark. Was she in there, watching me?
Did she already know what I was about to do?
Would she hate me afterward?
Of course she would.
But I had to do it.
I pulled the keys from the ignition, my hand trembling just enough for me to notice. I’d be fine. I’d always been alone. I didn’t belong in anyone’s future, especially not hers. I didn’t do relationships. I didn’t do “normal.” Whatever this thing was between Sunny and me—it needed to end before it went any deeper.
Hell, I was doing her a favor. She deserved more than a wreck like me.
After Darby’s taillights had faded in the distance, I’d called Ryder. When I asked him if he could do me another favor, he’d said no problem. When I told him that favor was to put Sunny up in one of his spare rooms and be her bodyguard until I found Rees, then escort her back home, where I’d never see her again, he’d said, “You sure?”
You sure?
You sure?
With those two little words my mute-brother had sent off a bomb in my heart. Although Ryder’s contact with human civilization was shoddy at best, he’d obviously picked up on something—with me, with her.
Was I sure?
No. I wasn’t.
But I’d already made the call. Asked Ryder to keep Sunny safe. Told him to take her in, watch over her until I found Rees, then escort her back home. Without me.
And now here I was.
I stuffed the keys and my phone into my pocket and climbed out of the Jeep, leaving everything else behind.
Two squirrels scattered across the iron gate. The heat bugs roared. The forest pulsed with tension, humming with the strange energy of a full moon night.
I was bone-tired. In pain. Hungry. Angry. And—hell—nervous.
I pushed open the door.
