“He shoved the box behind his closet and told me to stay away from the windows.”
Nobody in the room spoke.
Not even Vaughn now.
Because suddenly this wasn’t a theory anymore.
This was fear.
Real fear.
And deep down…
I think everybody in the tavern realized the same thing at the exact same time.
My father hadn’t been hiding from Hersh anymore.
He’d been hiding from someone else.
“Hersh…” I whispered shakily.
His eyes met mineimmediately.
Gentle despite the storm building behind them.
“Yeah, baby?”
The endearment nearly shattered me.
“I found your letters in that box.”
34
BLAZE
The letters.
Jesus Christ.
I stared at Flick while thunder rattled the tavern windows hard enough to shake the bottles behind the bar.
And all I could think was:
I was glad she kept them.
Her father hid every damn one from her for sixteen years…
and still didn’t throw them away.
That meant something.
Flick stood wrapped around herself now like she was cold clear through to the bone.
I moved toward her without thinking.
Always toward her.
My hand slid along the back of her neck gently.
