Sound whooshes through my house, and I drop to the floor like a trained military veteran. It was just the air conditioning kicking on. Instinct is what Chief calls it during my self-defense lessons.
But is it instinct if it comes from survival?
I release a heavy breath and knock my forehead against the hardwood floor three times.
“This is ridiculous, Clover.” I can’t imagine what people would say if they saw me like this.
Valen may not be the boy I once knew, but the man he’s become owes me answers.That particular voice sounds like Savvy.
She’s not wrong—I deserve answers.
I push to my feet, my weighted robe no longer offering the same comfort as I slide across the wall and creep down the stairs, holding my hands as though there’s a weapon in them.
I’m like all three versions of Charlie’s Angels without the weapons, the training, or the guts. But at least it makes me snicker at myself.
My fingers trace all three deadbolts. Rip is outside. Valen is outside. No one is getting in.
I’m safe.
Before I lose what little courage I have, I unlatch the locks and jump out onto my porch—ninja-style.
Oh shit. I didn’t really think this through.
Now what do I do?
Rip opens his car door and stands outside it, talking into a headset, but he’s too far away for me to hear his words.
My gaze swings to the car I know holds Valen, and our gazes connect. Surprisingly, my shoulders unclench and my stomach stops warning me that I might need a toilet soon. But my hands are locked in a child’s karate-chop motion that I can’t seem to get out of.
Valen’s head tilts, just an inch to the left in a gesture I recognize. The little boy I loved is still in there, even if he refuses to acknowledge it, but who he was is someone I’ll never forget.
Lowering my hand-weapons, I wave him over, though it comes out jerky and uncoordinated with the weight of my robe. I’m the cliché in every romantic comedy, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
He angles closer to the passenger side, and that’s when I notice he’s talking to someone—Roman.
Both doors open, and I swallow hard as they scan their surroundings, then cross the street and stand at the bottom of my steps.
“Everything okay, Clover?” Roman asks with a gentleness I appreciate, but my attention is stuck on Valen.
How can he possibly ask me that?
“Fine.”
Valen frowns as though he can’t hear me. He wouldn’t be the first to say so—my voice was stolen from me years ago, and I haven’t found a way to get it back.
Being quiet keeps you safe.
So why do I want to scream my throat raw right now?
“Miss Danforth?” Valen’s expression holds nothing but vague concern for a stranger.
“Why did you lie to me?” Something about Valen, even if he’s a stranger now, makes me bold—it always did. “Why didn’t you come back for me?”
He frowns and glances at his cousin.
“Clover, can we come inside?” Roman asks. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I can give you an update on Savvy.”
That gets my attention, so I nod, stepping backward until my ass hits the doorframe, then I gesture for them to enter.
