I freeze halfway between the bar and the dance floor. I inhale quick, rapid-fired breaths to calm the anger bubbling in my veins. But no matter what I do, no matter how much I try to suffocate the jealousy building like an out-of-control wildfire, I can’t squash it. I’ve never been able to rein in my anger when it comes to Ava. Before I can contemplate what I'm doing, I spin on my heels and charge towards Rhys. He doesn’t balk. He doesn’t even blink an eye when he notices me storming his way. He just stands his ground, like a man who is on a mission to unravel me one thread atatime.
“Even after all this time, she’s still under your skin,” he says, his eyes bouncing between mine. “She is right where you left her, Hugo. If you want her that much, why don’t you go andgether?”
“I left for a reason,” I sneer, my angry snarl booming over the blaringmusic.
“Yeah and that reason is now dead,” heretorts.
I balk and take a stepbackward.
“Come on, Hugo. Give me some credit. I'm a lot smarter thanIlook.”
He takes a step closer to me. “The man who was charged with running down Jorgie goes missing the exact day the victim’s brother falls off the face of the earth, never to be seenagain.”
In the corner of my eye, I catch Hunter watching the exchange between Rhys and me. He runs his hand along the edge of his scruffy beard, signaling he is positioned to step in at any time. I crack my neck, advising that I’ve got this. Although Hunter moves deeper into the crowd, I can feel his eyesonme.
“You may want to get your facts straight before you go running your mouth. This town isn’t Rochdale,”Iwarn.
Rhys smirks, not the faintest bit intimidated by my threat. “Col Petretti wanted your blood. When he couldn’t get it, he went after the next closestthing.”
“That is why I left!” I snap, incapable of inhibiting my anger any longer. “That is why I stayed away. To protect my family!”ToprotectAva.
Rhys’ strong stance weakens. “I know that. But you can’t use that excuse anymore. Col Petretti is dead. I saw his body myself. So if you want to keep hiding, pretending you are dead too, you’re going to need to find another excuse, because your last oneexpired.”
My nostrils flare as my lungs fight hard to cool my overheated body. Even though everything Rhys is saying is true, it doesn’t stop the anger pumping my veins withferociousheat.
Rhys rolls down the sleeves of his shirt and puts on his jacket. Once his suit coat is buttoned up, he lifts his penitent eyes to me. “It took courage to walk away like you did. To sacrifice everything to keep your family safe. To keep Ava safe. But a man who can admit he made a mistake would be even more courageousthanthat.”
With a flash of an uneasy smirk, he ambles out of Destiny Records’ head office without a backwardglance.
By the time Peta finds me standing where Rhys left me, her glass of water is sitting at room temperature, and my mood iswoeful.
Peta’s unique light brown eyes dance between mine. “I’ll catch you at the next function?” she says, reading my pitiful mood without me even needing tospeak.
I nod, place a kiss on her cheek and make my way to my truck. Everything Rhys said plays on repeat for the entire drive to my apartment building. But it isn’t as simple as he makes it out to be. Just because Col is dead doesn’t mean I can waltz back into my old life like nothing happened. I'm also dead. The Hugo Marshall who was born in Rochdale is dead. I can’t come back from that. And even if I wanted to pretend the facts didn’t matter, there would be no possibility a woman like Ava would still be single and waiting for me to return.Wouldthere?
Hawke’s head lifts from his laptop monitor when he hears me entering the front door of my apartment. Although Isaac offered him his own apartment, he was happy to camp in the spare bedroom of my place while I was recovering at Regan’s. He watches me cautiously but remains quiet. I rip the stupid shoulder brace off my body and dump it into the bin in the kitchen. Grabbing a cold beer out of the fridge, I crack it open on the marblecountertop.
“Good night?” he queries, histonesmug.
I grunt before flopping onto the white leather sofa in my sunken living room. After grabbing a few extra beers, Hawke ambles into the room and sits in the seat next to me. If I ignore the cracks in my heart, I could pretend we are sitting back in his den, laughing and drinking beers like we did every Sunday afternoon when he wasn’tdeployed.
As the hours tick by on the clock, the beers settling into my belly lessen the anger coursing through myveins.
“Come back with me,” I blurt out, my mouth choosing to speak before my brain has the chance to object. “Come back with me to Rochdale,” I continue, turning my eyes toHawke.
He stiffens but remains as quiet as a churchmouse.
“I can’t,” he eventually replies, staring straight ahead. “I can’t go back therewithouther.”
“Do you think she would want this, Hawke? Do you think Jorgie would want you to be living like this? Either of us living like this? If you can even call it living. You are fucking miserable,” I shout, my voice rising as a surge of emotions pummel into me. “Jorgie would be rolling in hergrave--”
Before any more of my drunken tirade can escape my lips, Hawke’s stealthy moves have me pinned against the wall of my living room. The veins in his neck bulge as he tightens his grip around my throat. His nostrils flare as his broken, desolate eyes burnintomine.
“She’s never coming back, Hawke,” I sputter, my wordscracking.
He yanks me forward before slamming me back with brutal force. My body doesn’t register the pain of my head slamming into the hard wall; it’s too focused on the hurt projecting out of Hawke’s lifeless eyes to register anything. I don’t put up a fight because I know he needs this even more thanIdo.
My watering eyes drift between his. “She’s gone,Hawke.”
