I stared at the floorboards as another memory surfaced suddenly.
Sharp enough to make my breath catch.
“Oh, my God.”
Hersh stepped closer instantly.
“What?”
“I thought he was trying to apologize.”
My voice sounded distant now.
Like I was standing back inside that house again.
“Three days before he died, he came into my room holding a box.”
Hersh’s breathing changed beside me.
I felt it.
“He looked…” My throat tightened painfully. “God, he looked exhausted.”
The tavern had gone completely silent now.
“He told me there were things he should’ve done differently.” Tears burned instantly behind my eyes. “I thought he meant my mother. Or how hard he’d been after she died.”
“Felicity,” Ava whispered softly.
But I barely heard her.
Because now the memory kept unfolding.
Piece by piece.
“He almost gave me the box.”
Hersh closed his eyes briefly.
Just once.
Pain flashed across his face so fast it nearly broke me.
“But then he heard a car outside.”
Tate straightened instantly.
“What kind of car?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I didn’t really look.”
Wolf muttered a curse under his breath.
My pulse started pounding harder.
“He panicked.”
The words barely came out.
