“Is that my home anymore?” Callie asks, and I don’t think the question is directed at me.
“Okay, then we grab your stuff and Honey Bunny, and you can come with me to Lake Savage.” I present the option, knowing she won’t take me up on it. Knowing I’m begging and it’s not dignified.
“I—” But then she stops. Looks at her hands. Shuts her eyes.
“Calliope.” What more words are there? Haven’t we said them all? But no. We haven’t. Not all of them. I reach over and cover her hand with mine, feeling the ring under my palm, but she withdraws after a few seconds, the edge of the stone setting scratching my skin.
Callie raises her big dark eyes to mine, and my heart breaks in two along the fissure that was already there. Her eyes are begging me to understand, but I shake my head. I don’t. I won’t.
While Callie’s goal is to get her divorce and start over, mine has always been to protect my loved ones, which was a lot simpler when it was just my brother.
For some stupid reason, I thought she’d choose me.
She stands, and I panic, the black along the edges of my vision creeping in. This is happening too quickly. I thought I’d have more time.
My phone buzzes in my pocket again, and I want to throw it across the room. I struggle to find the words for how I’m feeling at this moment. How can I convince her to give us a chance?
And maybe more importantly—should I?
Callie steps closer and grabs my hands. I link our fingers together, the feeling both familiar and foreign. She might have been mine, but it was only ever going to be for a short period of time. I see that now.
I shake my head, and she presses her lips together at the motion.
“Please, Wesley.”
I bring our linked fingers to my mouth and press my lips to the back of her hand.
“Callie,” I say, finally able to voice words. “I will get you to Meadow’s.”
“I don’t need you to protect me, Wes.” Her voice is soft and regretful. “You need to leave me alone. Understand? This is over.” She squeezes my hand, then withdraws and turns away.
But if I’m not there to protect her, who will be?
No one.
She’s so reckless, and she’s got no one in her life to protect her.
“Fuck!” I say. The older couple at the table next to me stops talking and stares. Callie hesitates with her hand on the door, but then she pulls it open and slips through without turning around.
“Sorry,” I growl at the older couple, whose eyes widen. I slide my phone out of my pocket, intending to track Callie. There’s a text from my brother.
Noah
found the car
He sends me a dropped pin for a mile away. I check Callie’s location before leaving the diner, and with a last glance at where Callie disappeared around a corner, I turn in the opposite direction and jog down the city street, my heart breaking with every step that takes me away from her.
Chapter 34
The Truth
CALLIE
“He said he was handling a situation, and if I told you where he was, he’d hurt you.” Jake stares at me intently. His jaw is clenched, and he’s opening and closing his fists while sitting on the edge of the couch in his living room.
My brother’s blue eyes are so different from Wes’s light icy ones. Jake’s are a deep, marine blue that annoys the shit out of me because I’ve always wanted remarkable eyes like that.
“I guess I’m not surprised.” I let my head drop back onto the soft cushion and shut my eyes. I spin my mother’s ring on my right ring finger. It feels so good back where it belongs. It’s the only thing that feels right in my life right now.
