Page 128 of Burn the Wild

“You are.” I rip a hand through my hair, standing in the doorway. “My brothers…they’re—”

“Right. They’re right.” A shudder shakes her slender frame. “I don’t belong here. I thought I did, but I was wrong. I don’t belong anywhere.”

Her words break my fucking heart.

All I want to do is get her in my arms.

“You do. You belong—”With me.

The thought pops into my head like a plea, but before I can give voice to it, she turns sad eyes my way. “Ever since I got here, I’ve been messing things up and pissing people off. I didn’t mean to cause more problems.”

Slowly, so slowly, she strips the bangles she’s worn all summer from her wrists. One by one, they slip free. White-knuckled, she sets the bracelets on her nightstand, the metal making a clanging tinny sound.

When my gaze drops to her wrists, I stop breathing.

Long, raised scars mar the inside of the delicate flesh.

The sight almost jolts me backward.

“Christ, Reese,” I choke out. “What—”

She whimpers and wipes her face, running her hands over those high, beautiful cheekbones.

I ball my fists at my side. “Who did that to you?”

“I did.” Her voice is soft but not weak. She lets out a long breath and finally meets my eyes. “Are you happy? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

My heart clenches. “No, Birdie. It’s not what I wanted.”

“Now you know the big bad secret.”

My mouth works but nothing comes out. I don’t know what to say. I never imagined this. Fuckingthis.

I reach for her, inching closer, needing to hold her. “Birdie, I—”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Her shoulders rotate back, her tone flat and emotionless. She’s closing up again, cutting me off at the pass. “Just go, okay?”

“Reese.”

“You can’t save me, Country Boy. It’s sweet of you to try.”

“Fuck,” I rasp. “Baby, I—”

“Go.” Reese shoves me roughly toward the door. I stumble backward onto the porch. “Go, Ford.”

She slams the door in my face.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this shit,” I mutter to Mouse. I’m in my truck, parked near the road, staking out Reese’s chalet. Every cell in my body screams at me to go kick that goddamn door down. But she wants space, so I can’t push. Even though I want to.

One thing’s for certain—I’m not leaving her alone.

I won’t let her fall.

Because that’s what she’s been trying to avoid this entire summer.

I haven’t been able to unknot the ball of pain in my chest since she kicked my ass out.

How did I miss it? Sure, I sensed a sadness about her, but I didn’t want to believe it. I waited for her to talk to me about it, when maybe it was bigger than me. Bigger than her.

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