I looked toward the window.
Toward the mountains.
Toward wherever Gerald was sitting.
Thinking he'd won.
Thinking he'd gotten away with something.
Thinking the game was still going.
The idiot had no idea.
Because this wasn't about rules anymore.
This wasn't about pride.
This wasn't about jealousy.
This was about protecting the woman I loved.
And God help anybody who threatened her again.
33
GERALD
Everything hurt.
My jaw.
My ribs.
My pride.
Especially my pride.
Darren sat beside me in the truck, staring out the passenger window like he had suddenly decided silence was safer than breathing.
Smart.
For once.
The courthouse disappeared behind us.
The judge's words still rang in my ears.
First-time offenders.
Bond granted.
Restraining order.
As if a piece of paper could stop me from seeing Sadie.
As if anyone in Eagle River could tell me what I could and couldn't do.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter.
