Page 13 of Eternally Devoted

He nods too, taking a bite. “Missed you at the market today.” NotweorIorJuni. Justmissed you.He picks up his fork and knife, cutting a thin strip of steak. Before taking the bite, he looks up at me. “Juni missed you, too.”

Wait, so, that meanshemissed me. And so did Juni. I want to ask him if she said those exact words, but just the idea of asking has my cheeks warming with embarrassment.

With potato and steak loaded onto his fork, he takes a bite, a delighted moan drifting over the table. As he chews, my gaze finds his jaw then his throat when he swallows. Wiping his mouth with the napkin I laid out, Dash smiles before taking a sip of beer. Lifting the sweating can, he peers at it, then me. “We drinkin’ tonight?”

I get lost in him for a second, forgetting he asked a question. Coarse dark hair peeks up from the collar of his undershirt, his jaw covered in a day of growth, and reality slaps me.

He’s just like her. He’s gorgeous. And the two of them make so much sense together.

And if I were Juni, I’d choose him over me, too.

Thisisthe right choice.

“So,” Dash starts, stretching the word like taffy. He takes another bite, savoring the Hasselback potatoes in a few slow chews. Each pleased groan makes my cheeks tingle. I’m glad he likes dinner. Still, he eyes me.

I sip my now fourth can of beer, popping a second for him. “Yeah?”

“How come you didn’t come to the market?” Dash’s eyes hold mine, his veiny hands clenching silverware on either side of the plate, unmoving. He isn’t gonna take another bite until he knows.

“Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about,” I hedge, taking another pull of my beer that inadvertently finishes it. I crush it with my fist and reach for another, when Dash’s socked foot connects with my shin under the table. My eyes lift to his.

“Didn’t I text you that I wanted to talk?” he questions, the corner of his full lips lifting as he goes for another forkful of food. He brings a bite of steak to his mouth. “But you first. That way I can eat.” He dances his brows playfully before digging back in. I ignore his charm.

“Listen, I think it’s time that you go for it?—”

Someone whales on the front door so hard that the framed poster of Fenway rattles loudly over our couch. I cast my eyes back at the door, then toward Dash. “You expecting anyone?”

He swipes the napkin over his lips before crumpling it, dropping it to the table as he rises. “No, and never anyone who pounds on a door like that.”

On my feet, we move through the living space toward the front door. I’m about to crouch and look out the peephole, but the thudding sounds off again, this time followed by a soft whimper.

“Sterling, Dash, it’s Juniper.” Her usually gentle voice is flared with panic, lined with fear. “Please,” she begs, another thud, this time much less powerful, as if she’s losing energy.

I yank open the door and there she is.

Juniper.

My heart twists, nearly ceasing its beating in my chest as I take her in. I’ve never envisioned my worst nightmare, but seeing her like this, I think this is it. Acid crawls up my throat, and my lips tingle with a sick foreboding.

Blood streaked down her arm, spattered against her chest and chin, wisps of blonde hair framing her face, bottom lip wobbling, eyes rimmed red and dripping tears. At her sides, one of her hands is badly cut, blood dripping onto the WELCOME mat below her. It’s then I notice a golden dog sitting at her heel. One I’ve never seen before.

His lustrous flaxen coat is marred with heavy streaks of rouge.

“Juni,” Dash breathes, with so much concern and question in that one word that my chest clenches.

Reactively my arms come out as her eyes roll back, her knees fold, and she collapses.

CHAPTER

SIX

BOTH OF YOU.

Like a son traipsing in his father’s footsteps, I follow after Sterling, my body coursing with anxiety and aimless energy, unsure where to place it. I’m a police officer, for Christ’s sake, but Sterling is a thousand times better in the face of this particular, unnamed crisis.

“Grab some water, and some bandages,” he orders, his tone calm and even. “We need to get her cleaned up, and we need tobandage her hand, and assess what else is injured.” He pauses. “Get the dog some water, too.”

Nodding, I move through the house into the kitchen, filling a bowl with water, lowering it to the floor. The dog doesn’t come, and I can hear his tail thump against the linoleum flooring down the hall, telling me he’s still at Juni’s side. Grabbing the first aid kit and a bottle of water, I head into the bathroom, telling myself to stay calm.

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