A fist closes around my throat.Not jealousy.It’s envy.Anguish.Resolution.
Kodiak returns from the house and lumbers onto the yacht behind Wolf, unreadable as ever.
Great.The dark one is joining the field trip.Exactly what I needed.A second apex predator staring at the back of my skull while my life unravels.
On the dock, Leonid guides Dove toward Monty and Frankie, keeping a protective hand at her back.She doesn’t resist, but she doesn’t stop watching me, either.
The yacht shudders, engines deepening, and we begin to drift.
I move to the aft railing.
She stands between Leonid and Monty, eyes locked on me.
The distance stretches.
She stays rooted.
I keep my face still.
This… This is what saying goodbye to the only person I’ve ever loved feels like.
A slow, surgical tearing.
A separation of bone from marrow.
I hold the railing with both hands as everything inside me strains toward her.Instinct.Memory.Ruin.But my body doesn’t move.I won’t let it.Outward composure is the last currency I have left, and I hold onto it like a dying man.
My throat burns, but I don’t swallow.My chest constricts, but I don’t breathe deeper.My gaze remains fixed, unblinking, absorbing the sight of her.
Inside, it’s carnage.Regret thrashes.Desire bleeds.Grief ruptures.
I watch her watch me until the dock is just a shape, and she’s just a blur, and the night swallows the sound of her heartbeat.
I don’t look away.Not until she’s gone.
Moments later, the spark of a lighter cracks behind me.
Wolf steps up to my side, shoulder brushing mine, a cigarette glowing between his fingers.
“Frankie and my dad…” Smoke rolls from his mouth.“They’re a disaster.A beautiful, money-soaked disaster.”
“Why do I care?”
“Oh, that’s just the appetizer.Leo and Kody?Worse.Gorilla-brain energy.Territorial as hell.Ready to rearrange faces over absolutely nothing.One time, Leo punched a bartender because the guy blinked at Frankie with too much enthusiasm.”
“He…Blinked?”
“Yeah.Leo said it was a flirty blink.It was probably dust.Didn’t matter.Dude got launched.”
I stare ahead at the dark water, refusing to engage.
“They’re overbearing and needlessly foul,” he goes on.“A grunting, mauling, animal kingdom soap opera.They’ve been banned from half the establishments in Sitka.The other half only tolerates them because Monty tips like he’s trying to buy the building.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you act the same way about Dove.”
My jaw locks.
