Page 232 of When a Soul Cries

Sol lifted the Mercedes key fob slightly, her fingers wrapped tightly around it.

“Thank you.”

My expression softened.

“You’re welcome.”

Then I pulled the door closed behind me.

As I walked back toward my SUV, my mind shifted to Kai.

Hollis.

Desmond Vance.

A name tied to a life I’d spent years leaving behind.

Before climbing inside, though, I stopped beside the driver’s door.

My eyes moved toward the black Mercedes sitting beneath the driveway lights.

Then toward the upstairs windows of my house.

A week ago, none of this existed.

Now Sol was inside.

Halo was sleeping at my mama’s house.

Sol had accepted the Eastview job.

She had transportation.

An apartment was waiting if she wanted it.

For the first time since her life had fallen apart, she was starting to have choices again.

That mattered more than whether she chose me right now.

She needed her job. Her own money. Her own car. Her own place if she wanted it. Her own decisions.

I wasn’t trying to make Soleia Monroe dependent on me.

I wanted the opposite.

I wanted her strong enough to walk away from me whenever she wanted.

Because if one day, with every option available to her, she chose to walk toward me instead?

Then I’d know it was real.

I opened the SUV door.

Whatever softness had been sitting in my chest disappeared.

Because right now, I had another problem.

Kai.