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Instead, I find myself looking at him.

“What is it?” I snap.

He looks at me for a long moment, his face a picture of utter devastation.

“Happy birthday. I hope this year brings you everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Every single thing. Even if I’m not there to see it happen. You deserve the world, Max. You always have.”

I swallow against the burning lump in my throat and give him a small nod before climbing out of the truck and closing the door behind me.

If only he knew that the one thing I want most is the one thing I can never have.

Him.

Chapter 29

Thursday

I let out a gruff groan when someone knocks at my door. Not only was I in a flow state, writing faster than my fingers could keep up with, but after this morning’s fiasco at Sydney’s funeral, the last thing I want is to see anyone.

“Open up, Max. I can hear you typing,” Sienna calls from the other side of the door.

I push myself out of the chair and walk over to let her in.

“Hey,” I mutter, leaving the door open as I head straight back to my seat.

“Hey to you too,” she says sarcastically. “Did I make your shit list for some reason?”

My shoulders slump.

“No. I’m just… I don’t know. Not in the mood for company, I guess. Not after this morning.”

“Sorry.” She shoves her hands into her pockets. “I guess I’m partially to blame for that.”

“You guess?” I arch a brow. “I told you I didn’t want to go.”

“I know. But how else was I supposed to prove Mr. Collins’s involvement in these murders?”

“Murder,” I correct. “As far as we know, only Amber was killed. The rest of the Reds’ deaths could still be explained as accidents. Hell, for all we know, even Amber’s death could be explained as a tragic car malfunction.”

“Come on. You don’t really believe that.” She drops onto the edge of my bed. “One death is an accident. Two might be a coincidence. But once bodies start piling up from the same group of people in the span of a few days, you stop calling it bad luck and start looking for the person responsible.”

“All I know is that your theory is flawed. Mr. Collins didn’t show up like you said he would. That should tell you something.”

Sienna’s lips press into a thin line. “All it tells me is that he’s clever. For all we know, he knows I’m an FBI agent now and figured I’d be there.”

“I think you’re grasping at straws.”

“And I think you’re not taking this as seriously as you should,” she counters. “Max, people are starting to talk. You think the Reds are the only ones who suspect you had something to do with their friends’ deaths?”

This time, I’m the one who frowns.

“This town has always loved a good rumor. Especially when I’m the one at the center of it. I couldn’t care less what they say about me behind my back. By Sunday, I’ll be gone anyway.”

“I just hope it’s of your own accord.”

My fingers still over the keyboard.

Sienna leans forward. “Have you ever considered that Mr. Collins might be deliberately pointing suspicion your way for a reason? That maybe he blames you for what happened to him just as much as he blames the Reds?”