Page 47 of Catch Me When I Fall

I’d rather burn in hell for an eternity than see another tear fall from her eyes caused by me.

I pulled out my phone, dialed Jer, and looked at her one last time, taking in her beauty before I walked out of her life forever. He answered on the second ring and heard engines rumbling in the background. He was at Oasis tonight.

I held her eyes as I said, “Deal’s off, Jones. I won’t be bringing in Hale.”

A small whimper left her as a hand snapped over her mouth.

“Come again?” Jeremy asked, his voice lethal.

“Hale has been located. She’s safe. She’s settled. I won’t be bringing her back to St. Louis. If and when she wants to go back there, she’ll do it of her own accord,” I explained.

He was quiet for a moment, and I heard a door close in the background. “She’s okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Settled?” he pressed, repeating me.

“Settled,” I confirmed.

Another pause, and then, “Where?”

“I’m not telling you that, Jones. That’s not my business to share,” I told him, watching as her fingers fell from her lips.

“You’ve talked to her, I guess?”

“Yes.”

“And she’s…?” His question trailed off, but I knew what he was asking.

Holding her eyes, I said, “She’s perfect.”

Her lips parted as Jer sighed in my ear, muttering to the Big Man upstairs. A second later, he said, “The money is in your account.”

“Not necessary,” I shot back.

“I hired you to find her, and you did just that,” he told me, sounding tired. “Thank you, Grayson.”

I ended the call, tucking the phone back into my pocket as she continued to stare at me. “Thank you, bounty hunter,” she whispered.

My heart seized inside my chest, hating that she didn’t know my name.

She could never know my name.

“Lock your doors every night,” I told her, breaking our gaze and heading to the front door. Once my hand was on the doorknob, she called out for me.

“So that’s it?” she asked.

I couldn’t look at her. If I did, I’d become a different man, and that kind of man didn’t deserve to exist, not in this world.

“That’s it,” I confirmed.

Then, I was gone.

Twelve hours later. Red Snake Investigations. Charlotte, NC.

“You keep lingering in my fucking doorway, I’m going to fucking shoot you,” I bit out through clenched teeth, my fist resting on top of my desk. My eyes lifted to Hayes to find his jaw tight, arms folded over his chest, shoulder against the door jam. He’d been there for some time, studying me without saying a fucking word. It was ten in the fucking morning, and I was still on edge.

“Shoot me and I’ll break your spine,” he returned calmly.

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