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“I’m going to tell you that…” she trailed off, linking her arm with mine. “You’re falling for him.”

“Lay…”

“Don’t deny it.”

I didn’t. How could I? It was too obvious. I wasn’t in love with him, but it wouldn’t take much to fall. I was so close to the edge.

If I stayed, if we talked just one more time, if he held my hand and told me he wanted to flay my foster father for me, I knew I’d fall.

“That’s ludicrous, isn’t it?” I said. “To fall for him? Not with…” I motioned to us. “Not with all this ugliness we carry. Love is an indulgence.”

She stopped walking, turning to face me with a frown. “So, are you saying that broken people like us can never find love?”

“I’m saying…” I hesitated, my breath catching. “I’m saying I’m too jaded to look at love like other people do. For us, love comes with conditions, compromises, and shadows. It’s not the good kind.”

“Dee,” she said, her voice a mix of frustration and affection. “You deserve the kind of love that doesn’t care about your darkness, the kind that holds you together when you can’t do it yourself.”

“I already have it,” I said looking at her with a smile.

I had Layne and Trina. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? My life was perfect as it was, before Asher Maddox. But now… I wanted more. Was I getting too greedy?

She shook her head. “Yes, and you’ll always have it, but it’s different with us,” she said. “If you want him, then you better fucking go after him and hold on. If you let him go, I swear to God, I’ll…” She let out a sharp breath. “I’ll never forgive you for not choosing yourself for once.”

“Okay, I’ll try. I will try.”

“Good.”

We ate lunch at Mia’s Gravy.

“Oh God, this burger is to die for.”

“Trina would kill for it,” I said. “I miss her.”

“Should we ask her to come?”

“No, just let her be. She’s already dealing with the pressure of running that restaurant.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why she’s not opening her own,” Layne said, tapping the tumbler against the table.

“She will, when she’s ready. Do not pester her, Layne.”

“I don’t pester.”

I rolled my eyes, laughing. “You pester like nobody’s business.”

We were paying the bill when Vincent called. We walked to the motel, got into the car, and drove to the station. Deputy Clark was already waiting for us by the entrance.

“This way.”

Deputy Clark closed the door behind him. I took a look at Layne, and she gave me a nod, mouthing to go ahead.

Vincent motioned us to the chairs, looking through a file full of crime scene photos. Oh. I’d love to get my hands on them.

I told him that I was meeting her about her dead daughter, deciding to trust my instincts. Vincent was a good guy, just stubborn.

“Why? How do you know her?” Vincent’s voice rose as he slammed the file closed.

“She was in Hollowhaven.”