Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 73230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
I was shaking my head in disagreement before he’d even finished.
“I’m not leaving you. You’re not going to be some hero that goes after the bad guy in a hail of glory,” I insisted.
He didn’t smile at me.
“I don’t think you understand. I’m not giving you a choice,” he argued.
I blinked. “What do you mean, exactly, then?”
“I can’t do this,” he said. “I can’t live my life like this. You were fun. I’ll always care for you, but I can’t have this shit in my life. If you aren’t going to listen to reason, then maybe you shouldn’t be with me at all. It’s obvious that what I have to say isn’t important enough to you.”
My mouth dropped open.
“Casten, that’s not what I meant,” I said hurriedly.
He held up his hands.
“I just finally got my life back on track. I was happy where I was. I was safe. The bullets flying…that’s going to do some damage to me…and your shit was already pulled back to my house. Koda’s a good example of it,” he stared directly into my eyes.
I gasped as pain ripped through my chest.
He was right.
So very right that it wasn’t funny.
Oh, God.
“Okay,” I choked. “Okay. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’ll go wherever you want me to go.”
He shook his head.
“Wolf’s gonna let you stay at his cabin, about a five-minute drive from your school. He’s got some security on it that is near impenetrable. You’ll be okay there. Plus, I’ll have the boys check on you periodically,” he rumbled.
My eyes closed and I stood, turning to leave.
When I got to the door, Casten’s voice had a trace of something in it I couldn’t quite place.
“Be careful. Watch your six.”
And once again, for the second time in my life, I walked away from a man I loved in his hospital room. Hurt. Burnt. Sad. And insisting that I was the reason for him being where he was.
It wasn’t a good feeling.
Not at all.
***
“He can’t do this to her!” I heard my sister insist to Mig. “He can’t send her way out here. Do you know how hard she fought to get back to where she is right now? I spent nearly a year with a zombie. And that was over a childhood love. The love Tasha has for Casten isn’t a childhood crush. It’s fucking real. It’s what you and I have. You have to talk to him.”
I rounded the corner with Vitaly in my arms and stared at the couple.
Annie was in Mig’s face, waving her arms at him in the way every woman in our lineage did when they got upset.
Mig was standing there, his hands on his head, and his gaze down on the ground as he let her get rid of the venom.
It wasn’t Mig’s fault. It wasn’t Casten’s fault. It was my fault.
“Stop,” I cleared my throat softly.
Both sets of eyes turned to me, and my sister opened her mouth to protest.
I shook my head. “Seriously, just stop. I’m not going to break, I promise. At least if he stays alive, I won’t. You need to quit this. It’s not Mig’s fault that Casten made the choice he did. I don’t blame him for choosing his safe life over an unsafe life with me. Hell, almost anyone would do it.”
Mig’s mouth tightened as if he didn’t agree with me.
“And he got me someplace to stay, so you can stop asking him if I can move in. I won’t do it. I won’t put this little boy of yours in danger just because I’d prefer to not be alone. Okay?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mig’s frame released some of its tension.
“But I want you here,” Annie groaned with a pout.
I smiled at her, although it didn’t reach my eyes. Nor did it reach much of anything other than a small lift of my lips.
“I won’t be far away, and Wolf said I could have my phone. He said there was some sort of jammer there that kept it from being traced, whatever that means,” I mumbled.
Annie pursed her lips.
I turned to Mig and walked forward, offering him Vitaly.
He took his son from me with a small smile on his face.
Even after all these months of him being here, he never ceased to amaze me with the way he doted on his small family.
Badass and all.
“I’m gonna go now. Wolf said he’d give me a ride and pick me back up for work in the morning,” I informed them both.
When they both reluctantly nodded, I turned and started to walk back to the living room where I’d left Wolf sitting.
“Tash?” my sister’s voice stopped me.
I turned.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“I’ll keep you updated on how he’s doing. Don’t give up just yet, okay?” She half smiled.
I nodded at her, hopefully in reassurance.
Sadly, that was the last thing I was feeling.