In that moment, she didn’t want to let him go. But that was stupid. They were basically strangers. She didn’t really know him at all.
He knew even less about her.
Passing strangers.
Yet as he turned and followed after his brother, a part of her ached. It felt as if she were losing part of her heart.
How stupid am I?
Eve would say infinitely.
Damn, she hadn’t hurt like this in a long time.
“Ready to go home?”
She blinked at Jinx’s question. The answer should be yes and yet . . .
I have no home.
Just a roof over her head and a place to take her meals. Sadly, she couldn’t remember ever having a real home.
“Sure.”
Hauk stepped back so that she could leave first.
Jayne stopped beside Mordacity. “Thank you for the hospitality.” With a smile, she ruffled the girl’s hair. “You stay out of trouble.”
The little green cutie pulled her thumb out of her mouth. “Okies.”
“She’s the spitting image of you.”
Mordacity smiled. “I know. But I see some of her father in her, too.”
By the way she said it, it was obvious that Mordacity had loved the girl’s father.
A lot.
Jayne smiled at her. “You two take care.”
“You, too.”
And with that, Jayne made her way to the hallway. Honestly, she was hoping to catch sight of Hadrian as she left.
He was nowhere to be found.
And that hit her so hard that she actually felt punched. It didn’t make sense.
Yet there was no denying how she felt.
Have a nice life, Hadrian. She meant it. Someone deserved to have their dream. If it couldn’t be her, she wanted him to have his.
Hadrian paused as they reached Nero’s fighter. He’d kept looking back, wanting Jayne to be there.
She wasn’t.
Why should she be?
Really. What could he offer her? Everything he owned was in the backpack he hated.
