Page 174 of Reeves

"Benjy's still young. New places are adventures at five, not disruptions."

She keeps tracing those patterns, absentminded but focused, as if she’s working something out she hasn’t said yet.

"I could start a new practice there and build something from scratch. I've done it once, I can do it again."

I go still under her.

"What about your parents? Your business here?"

"None of it's simple. But I’m willing to look at all the options, after you find out what options there are on your end."

She lifts her head, looking down at me, her eyes steady. "I'm saying I don't expect you to be the only one making changes, Reeves."

I shift beneath her, my hand pausing where it rests on her back.

"I haven’t told you this, but right before we met last week, I got an offer to buy my practice. He mentioned being able to work through insurance issues. It gives me an option."

Henderson’s name sits right there.

I press my thumb into her shoulder, hard enough that she shifts slightly against me.

I don’t say it.

She settles back against me again, her cheek brushing my skin.

"What do you mean?"

"I got that email this morning about the Medicaid issue. Iknow I didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s still going to take time and money to deal with. If I sell, they have people who can handle it. And I’d have the money to start over somewhere else."

"You don’t need to rush into that."

"Maybe it's fate, Reeves. Maybe it all happened like this for a reason."

My jaw tightens before I can stop it. I press my thumb into her shoulder a little harder, then ease up.

"Just give me some time to talk to the Navy."

Her breathing slows, her weight settling heavier against me as she drifts. I slide my hand up to the back of her neck, holding her there, keeping her close.

Not looking at anything in particular, I stare up into the mostly dark room. Sleep isn’t even close.

I see Henderson across his desk again, that smile like he was the king of the fucking before he realized I knew what he was up to.

My hand tightens at the back of her neck.

She can’t sell to him.

FORTY

Charli

The Gathering Place:The final destination of the route — where the music has been leading the procession all along, without anyone needing to say so.

The light filteringin feels wrong at first. Too soft, too even, like morning but not quite right. I blink against it, my brain catching up piece by piece. Underground. The bunker. Reeves.

The panic hits fast. Reeves and I fell asleep together in bed. Shit, another repeat of us scrambling to make sure Benjy doesn't catch up.

My hand slides across the sheets before I'm fully awake, searching for the weight and warmth that was there when I fell asleep. Empty space meets my palm instead. Cool cotton where his body should be.