She handed me the phone with trembling fingers.
I read the message.
Presley, it's Mrs. McAdams. I thought you should know. Mr. Jacob passed away last night. Heart attack. The council is coming for his things today. They're taking Mr. Cheddar to the pound. They say he's too aggressive to rehome. They're going to put him down, love. Maeve asked me to let you know, she was a little too upset to call you herself.
"Scheisse," I muttered.
Presley's breath hitched. And again. Then she was sobbing, her whole body shaking with it. The sound was raw, the kind of crying that came from somewhere deep and wounded.
"Mr. Cheddar," she choked out between sobs. "My grumpy, orange shadow. The only one who liked me when I had nothing. They're going to kill him, Fritz. They're going to—"
"No, they're not." I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her. She buried her face in my chest, her hands fisting in my shirt. "We're not letting that happen."
"But the council—" Her face was blotchy and tear-streaked, her nose running. She looked like a child who'd just had her heart broken. "And Maeve isn't there to get him for me. She can't go back to the park. It's not safe."
"The council can go to hell." I grabbed her phone, already scrolling through her contacts. "We need to go. Now. Before they—"
She swallowed hard, her throat working. "They want to kill him. Because he's grumpy. Because he hisses at people and brings them dead mice and doesn't act like a proper pet." Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "But he's not mean. He's just misunderstood. He just needs someone who gets him."
"Like you."
"Like me." She nodded, swiping at her face with the back of her hand. "He was the only thing that made me feel less alone before Maeve arrived at the park. When my parents died, when I lost the house, when I was living in that tin box wondering if I'd ever feel warm again—he was there. Every morning, he'd show up at my door. Every night, he'd curl up on my bed, like he was mine." Her voice cracked. "I can't let them kill him."
"We won't." I stood, pulling her to her feet. Her legs were unsteady, and I kept my arm around her waist to hold her up. "But on the way there, you need to tell me about Maeve."
Presley's eyes widened. "What?"
"She's gone into hiding. Why?"
"How do you know that?"
"I know everything about you and your friends." I kept my voice gentle, but firm. "I had to know if anyone could ever hurt you."
"She'd never hurt me."
"And would anyone who she's hiding from?"
Her throat worked. She looked away, staring at the garden, at the pergola that was being built, at the life we were creating.
"Maeve's bonded," she said finally. "To a man who hurt her. An arranged marriage her father forced on her to settle a debt. Gambling, business deals gone wrong, I don't know the full story. But the man she was traded to..." She swallowed hard. "His name is Callaghan. He's Irish mafia, Fritz. Real, dangerous, kill-you-and-dump-you-in-the-river mafia."
My blood went cold.
"She's been saving money to have the bond severed," Presley continued, her voice going flat. "But it costs one hundred thousand pounds. And I was going to give it to her from the surrogate arrangement. I was going to give her whatever she needed to be free."
"Not for a cottage," I said slowly.
"For a cottage too if I had twins." She laughed, but there was no humor in it. Just a brittle, desperate sound."
My chest cracked openand I wanted to hand her my heart.
"But then I fell in love with you," she whispered. "All of you. And suddenly the money didn't matter anymore. I forgot about it. I forgot that Maeve was still hiding, still running, still terrified every time a car drove past her caravan." She looked at me, her eyes pleading. "I failed her, Fritz. She saved me when I had nothing, and I forgot about her the moment I had something."
"You didn't forget." I pulled her closer, my hand cupping the back of her head. "You fell in love. That's not the same thing."
"It feels the same."
"It's not." I kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent. "You were going to give away everything you earned," I said slowly. "Every penny. For your friend."
